John Zurcher, Co-founder of Enterprise, Oregon - c.1895
John Zurcher was born in Switzerland in 1837 and came to the United States with his parents in 1852. A Civil War veteran, he lived in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Montana before coming to what is now Wallowa County with his family in 1882.
When Wallowa County was created from part of Union County in 1887, a county seat was needed, and Zurcher and R. F. Stubblefield, who had settled in the Bennett Flat area, offered a townsite they had platted the previous year as a potential county seat. The town, known then as Wallowa City, was chosen and renamed Enterprise. Within two years, the fledgling town included a flour mill, bank, church and hotel, and by 1890 the town had 242 inhabitants.
Zurcher, a carriage maker and farmer, died in Enterprise in 1904 at the age of 66.
-- This photo is restored and printed by Old Oregon.
Photographer | Unknown |
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Location | Enterprise, Wallowa County |
Subject | Portraits |
Decade | 1890s |
Print Maker | Old Oregon |
Original Type | Glass Negative |
Size of Original | 4.1 x 5.4 inches |