Clark Wood in front of Weston Leader building. Original identifier: 110-19b. The Weston Weekly Leader was founded by W.L. Black and Paul D'Heirry on December 7, 1878. The Weston Weekly Leader saw many publishers and editors, starting with Black and D'Heirry in 1878, Williamson and McColl in 1879, and McColl alone in 1883. Felix R. Mitchell ran the paper in 1886, Martin A. Baker and Emsley Ridenour in 1888, Baker alone in 1889, Foster and Boyd in 1890, and Bowmer in 1891. In 1893, under M.J. Harvey, the Weekly Leader underwent a name change and was called the Philistine. It became the Weston Weekly Leader once more in 1896, when Clark Wood took over. Wood left in 1913, lured away by Charles Samuel "Sam" Jackson, founder of the Oregon Journal. After a year, Wood returned to the Weston Weekly Leader, writing, "In the city, the average man is a unit, in the country an individual."
Business Block, Weston, Oregon. Original identifier: 110-06. In 1885, Froome & Son were proprietors of The Marshall House, a hotel and restaurant located at the SE corner of Franklin & Main Streets. Fred J. Carlyle became proprietor in 1886, and then John D. Bower in 1891. In 1918, the Weston Merchantile Company occupied the western side of the building's lower floor. The office and residence of Dr. William McKinney was located on the upper floor. After the stock market crash in 1929, the building was taken over by Umatilla County for unpaid back taxes, with the building being torn down in the early 1930s by WPA workers. The site was later the location of the Richfield Gas Station, which was later replaced by the US Post Office building in 1960.
Brickyard workers, 1898. Original identifier: 503-01. Brick making at Weston dates back to Civil War days. However, in 1879, H.B. Nelson started a new brickyard and bricks were furnished to Walla Walla and Pendleton. In 1897 there were 280,000 bricks fired in the kiln. Pink Harbour and Ed Towery, father of Jess Towery, later operated it until its closing in the early 1930s. Located where the Weston Grain Growers Oil and Gas distributing plant was situated, the brickyard did a thriving business for more than 50 years.
