La
Grande, Oregon-La Grande, although not the county seat, is
the largest town in Union county. Its present population
is about 3,500. It is situated on the west side of the
Grand Ronde valley, and it is the principal supply for a
section of country whose area is estimated to be 500
square miles. The trade of this district includes
everything that a marvelously fertile soil, favored by an
equable climate, will produce. Chief among the productions
of the territory tributary to La Grande are grain, hay,
hops, fruit and vegetables, as well as wool, hides,
cattle, sheep and horses, and lumber. Within a radius of
20 miles of La Grande there are no less than 25  sawmills,
whose output during the cutting season is from 10,000 to
100,000 feet each per day.
La Grande is the end of a
division of the Union Pacific railroad, and is 305
miles east of Portland by this line. A branch of the
Union Pacific extends out from La Grande to Elgin, in
Indian valley, a distance of 22 miles. The Union Pacific
has established repair shops, round houses, coal bunkers,
etc., at La Grande, at a cost of about $100,000. About 200
men are regularly employed in the company's shops at this
point and the monthly pay-roll averages about $25,000.
La Grande is fully abreast of the
times in all modern improvements. The main streets of the
city are 100 feet wide and they are well macadamized with
gravel. The city contains 30 brick business blocks made
attractive by gracefully designed fronts. A water-works
plant, built by the city at a cost of $50,000, and a well
equipped fire department, are recent additions to the
city's improvements. The water supply of the city is
forced from a series of wells near the Grand Ronde river
to a reservoir near the city, with a capacity of 1,500,000
gallons. The streets, business houses and best private
residences of the city are thoroughly lighted by
electricity. The efficient electric light plant was
recently completed here at a cost of $37,000. 
LaGrande contains one
roller-process flouring mill with a daily capacity of 100
barrels, three planing-mills and a number of smaller
manufacturing enterprises. The Grande Ronde river
furnishes during nearly the entire year 150 horse power
available for manufacturing purposes here, but this power
is not being utilized at the present time.
The various mercantile pursuits
at LaGrande are conducted by an enterprising class of
business men. Two national banks, with a capital stock of
$60,000 each, are located at this point. The city also
supports three weekly newspapers, The La Grande
Gazette, The Grand Ronde Chronicle and The
Union County Farmer. La Grande contains a neat
little opera house and two brick hotels, one of which, The
Foley House, was recently erected at a cost of
$30,000.This hotel is strictly modern in all its
appointments and is heated throughout by steam and lighted
by electricity. In addition to the above, there are also
two smaller hotels conducted in the place.
The public schools of La Grande
are conducted in a large handsome building of six rooms
and in two wooden buildings of four rooms each. The main
school building was erected at a cost of $12,000. A
principal and a staff of 11 assisant teachers are employed
in the public schools here. The courses of study taught
range from the primary to the high school. The average
daily attendance of scholars at the public schools of the
city is about 625. The Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist,
Episcopal and Catholic organizations own their own church
buildings at LaGrande. The gross assessed valuation of
taxable property in La Grande for 1892 was $1,500,000 and
the total bonded indebtedness of the city at the present
time is $50,000.
During the past three years La
Grande has made very substantial progress. In 1889, 35 new
private residences were erected here; the following year
152 new residences were completed. In 1891, 183 private
dwellings were added, and in 1892 this was still further
increased by the erection of 100 more. La Grande is the
trading center of a rich section of country and its growth
during the past few years has been no more rapid than it
is expected it will be in the immediate future.
La Grande boasts of having one of
the finest hotels in the state outside of Portland.  The
Hotel Foley at this point, an illustration of which
appears in connection with the present article, is a
handsome three-story brick structure, occupying one of the
most prominent corners in La Grande. The house is heated
throughout with steam and it contains 50
elegantly-furnished rooms, all of which are lighted by
electricity. Free sample-rooms are provided for the
convenience of commercial travelers. The Hotel Foley was
erected in 1891 at a cost of $30,000 by the present
proprietor, J.E. Foley. Mr. Foley is an experienced hotel
manager and has earned a patronage for his excellent
hostelry such as is won only first class accommodations
and thoroughly courteous treatment of guests. The rates at
the Hotel Foley are from $2 to $2.50 per day.
Since the above was written the
city of La Grande has signed a contract with the La Grande
Electric Light Company for lighting the city by electric
lamps. Twenty 1,200 candles power arc lights will be used
for this purpose.
The Oregonian's
Handbook of the Pacific Northwest
Edward Gardner Jones, Editor
1894, The Oregonian Publishing Co.
Contributed by S. Williams
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