|
r:X194L : 9: W411111110I :7 :10W :1L 1•l-fd1 :1 »1►rr4:TJ: 11dLY1 111d*1
<br />The following interpretive topics were recurring themes during public discussions about the
<br />redevelopment of the riverfront property. They represent an incomplete collection of stories and topics
<br />that are appropriate for inclusion in the Cultural Landscape.
<br />Wiley Griffon's House
<br />Wiley Griffon is widely considered to be Eugene's first African - American resident. Well -known and popular, Griffon
<br />was the driver and de facto operator of a mule- driven streetcar service that carried early residents from West
<br />Eugene to the University of Oregon campus. A Sanborn map from 1912 shows Griffon's house to be located near
<br />the intersection of 4th and Mill Street, on the riverfront property near to the present -day EWEB Employee's Credit
<br />Union. On Eugene Skinner's first plat, Griffon's residence is located on Block 10, Lot 4.
<br />Born in 1867, Griffon came to Eugene from Texas in 1891 with Henry W. Holden, the railway entrepreneur who
<br />employed him. Wiley died in Eugene in 1913, at age 46, and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery among Eugene's
<br />other pioneer citizens. The location of his grave in the Masonic, and the fact that the local Elks paid for his funeral,
<br />says a great deal about the respect Griffon earned during his 22 years as a member of Eugene's community. By all
<br />accounts, he was a well - liked, respected man who made recognized contributions to the daily lives of others. He
<br />worked for many businesses during his time in Eugene, and purchased his small home overlooking the Millrace in
<br />1909. It is a simple story of a popular man made remarkable by that fact that Griffon lived in Eugene at a time when
<br />Oregon laws still barred African - Americans from residing in the state. Griffon's home site also provides as a
<br />connection between two adjacent sites of historic significance to the African - American community: the Mims
<br />House and Ferry Street Community site.
<br />Ferry Street Community
<br />More African - Americans came to Eugene, despite the discriminatory laws and ethic, in the 1930s- 1950s, with the
<br />Southern Pacific Railroad. In the 1940s, some of these new residents came together in a small community along the
<br />northern banks of the Willamette River, near the Ferry Street Bridge and just beyond Eugene's city limits.
<br />The Ferry Street Community was Eugene's first African - American neighborhood. It was located near the foot of the
<br />DeFazio Footbridge, on the north side of the river. The houses are remembered as being square in plan, wood -
<br />framed, and with simple roofs made from solid materials or canvas. The homes were constructed primarily from
<br />scavenged materials. Today, no physical evidence of the settlement exists. In July 1949, a Lane County
<br />Court ordered that the Ferry Street Settlement be razed and residents evicted. Newspaper articles
<br />reported that some families did not even have an opportunity to remove their belongings before the
<br />small structures were bulldozed. At that time, the community was reported to include 101 people, 65 of
<br />whom were "colored," 36 of whom were white, and most of whom were poor. In a 2006 interview,
<br />Mattie Reynolds, who lived on the site with her husband and children, recalled the names of eight
<br />families who lived on the site in 1948: Johnson, Mims, Nettles, Lester, Garrets, Holt and Henry, and
<br />Frenchwell. Newspaper articles from 1949 also reference at least three white families named Barber,
<br />Walker and Owens.
<br />Following demolition, Eugene's African - American community was dispersed to three separate areas of
<br />town: West Eugene, High Street and Glenwood. The land where several families relocated in West
<br />Eugene was without water or sewer service, and marked by seasonal flooding. Lyllye Reynolds Parker
<br />was among the children who were forced to move when the Ferry Street Community was demolished.
<br />Sam Reynolds Street in West Eugene is named for her father. Views to the area once occupied by the
<br />Ferry Street Community are afforded from the northern edge of the EWEB property, presenting an
<br />opportune location for historic interpretation and commemoration.
<br />Rivers + Hydrology
<br />On a calm day, the Willamette River exudes a bucolic character that belies its power and area of
<br />influence. On average, this waterway carries 32,000 cubic feet of water per second (cfs); during the 1996
<br />flood, that rate was 460,000 cfs, or 14 times its average flow. The Willamette watershed encompasses
<br />nearly 12,000 square miles and the river itself is 187 miles long, flowing north from the southern end of
<br />the Willamette Valley to its confluence with the Columbia River in Portland. Life teams in its waters, and
<br />Downtown Riverfront Specific Area Plan
<br />
|