Justin Chenoweth
(d. 1898)
Cheri Dohnal, Columbia River Gorge: Natural Treasure on the Old Oregon Trail
Justin Chenoweth arrived in The Dalles in late 1848 with the First United States Mounted Rifles, although he was a civilian. He married Mary H. Vickers somewhere in Oregon Territory and they took a homestead west of The Dalles in 1852. Chenoweth, formerly known as Chenoweth Flat, and Chenoweth Creek are both names in Justin's honor. The creek flows across Chenoweth Flat, distributing its contents into the Columbia River near Crate's Point. It carried two other names prior to being called Chenoweth Creek: the Indians called it Thlemit and it was later called Olney Creek—named after Nathan Olney, the first private party to own a general store in the Gorge. The Chenoweth family left the local area in 1866 and Justin died in Portland March 16, 1898.
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