Milepost 14

You can’t talk about the history of Walterville without talking about George Millican and his family. George Millican was born near Otsego, New York, on November 22nd, 1834. Millican was an adventurous spirit even as a young man and while his brother Robert took a ship to the West Coast, George decided to travel by land through the new states and burgeoning territories. With his faithful shepherd dog Nellie, George drove cattle into the Sacramento Valley in California. One of the talents George possessed was dog training and it’s said that Nellie could perform near unbelievable feats. The gold miners in Yuba River would gamble on whether or not Nellie could do what George told her to do. George went on to train and breed dogs for the rest of his life.

As a gold miner, George struck rich ground in Rabbit Creek, California, and moved to Yreka, Deadwood, Indian Creek, Green Bug, Humbug, Scotts Bar, Trinity, and Happy Camp. In 1861, he traveled again to Nez Pierce, Idaho and then to Portland Oregon before heading to Walla Walla, Washington. A year later George made his way south to San Francisco to sell his gold to the United States Mint for about fifteen thousand dollars which today would be worth around $350,000. After that George headed north into Central Oregon for the first time. He accompanied Captain Crouch on a military expedition over the Cascades to Boise, Idaho. Afterward, George returned to Lane County and helped create what is today the McKenzie Highway.

George soon settled down (at least for a while) with his wife, and in 1870 his son Walter was born. Even though he still trained and bred dogs, drove cattle under a brand in the shape of a heart, and frequently traveled far from home, he still found time to be the postmaster of his newly established town. As the postmaster, it was up to him to name the town, so he named it after his son. In 1875 the town of Walterville was founded.

Walterville grew into a fine community with a pioneer spirit. The Millican Century farm still operates today at mile post 13 and is open for viewing by appointment only. The descendants of the Millicans run the Triangle 5 Ranch and offers historic horseback tours through the foothills above the Century Farm. The Walterville Feed and Tackle is the first store established in the area and still has the post office box #1. The Walterville Community Fair takes place every year in September at the George Millican Memorial Hall at the east end of Camp Creek Road.