Saint Joseph, Oregon facts for kids

Saint Joseph is a small, unincorporated community in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. It is located about two miles west of Lafayette near Oregon Route 99W. People sometimes call this area "St. Joe."

Early History of Saint Joseph

Saint Joseph got its name from Ben Holladay, a famous railroad builder. He chose this spot as the end of his railroad line, hoping to create competition between the nearby towns of Lafayette and McMinnville. He likely named the station after Saint Joseph, Missouri. Another story says he named it to honor his brother, Joseph.

A post office operated in Saint Joseph from 1872 until 1878. Holladay had planned to extend the railway further south, but he ran out of money. Trains used special turning platforms called turntables to go back to Portland.

Saint Joseph was carefully planned with 74 blocks, each having ten lots. At one point, the town had 150 houses. There was a two-story hotel, and stagecoaches from McMinnville, Dayton, and Lafayette would meet the train. This train brought passengers from the East Coast who wanted to buy land. Around 1900, two companies formed to sell land in the area. In 1878, Henry Villard extended the railroad line from Saint Joseph south to Corvallis. After this, McMinnville became the more important railroad stop.

Railroads and Their Paths

Later, two lines of the Southern Pacific's "Red Electric" interurban train met in Saint Joseph. Southern Pacific had taken control of the old Oregon Central tracks in 1887. The westside line ran on the original tracks. The eastside line was added in 1906, connecting Saint Joseph to Lafayette.

This connection created a special Y-shaped track that allowed trains to travel in three directions. They could go north to Carlton and Forest Grove. They could also go northeast through Lafayette to Newberg. Or, they could travel southwest to McMinnville and eventually Corvallis. The Red Electric train service began in 1914 but stopped in 1929. After that, the tracks were used only for carrying goods.

By the late 1970s, Southern Pacific (SP) rarely used the westside line, known as the St. Joseph Branch. This was because most of the train traffic served a sawmill and a few grain silos near Carlton. By 1980, SP only stored empty train cars on the line south of the sawmill. By 1985, they had removed a long section of track north of Carlton. Today, the Portland and Western Railroad (PNWR) uses a small part of this line. They use it mainly to store train cars. PNWR still runs trains from Newberg through Saint Joseph to Corvallis.

Life During the Great Depression

During President Franklin Roosevelt's time, a special project helped people during the Great Depression. This project was part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The government bought about 1,500 acres of land in the Saint Joseph area. They divided most of this land into small dairy farms. WPA workers built houses, garages, and barns on these farms. The land was sold for $100 an acre, helping many families.

Saint Joseph Today

Even with all the efforts to boost its economy, not much remains of the community of Saint Joseph today. It is now considered a ghost town.