City of Cove Oregon

Cove lies in a natural pocket where Mill Creek flows from the Wallowa Mountains, and it has an elevation of 2,893 feet. It is on the east edge of the Grande Ronde Valley and at the west foot of Mount Fanny. The first family settled there on October 9, 1862, and on June 4, 1863, a post office was established that was given the name of Forest Cove, for descriptive reasons. Samuel G. French was the first postmaster, and he probably suggested the name. On June 29, 1868, post office authorities eliminated the first part of the name because of the confusion with Forest Grove in Washington County. As a result of this simple action, there arose in Union County a feud that lasted many years. In 1864, Union County was created, and, as was frequent in pioneer days, there was contention over the location of the county seat. In 1872, a bill was passed putting the matter to a vote, and the two communities that received the highest vote in the preliminary balloting were to be eligible for the final election. Some votes were cast for Forest Cove by old-timers to whom the new name did not mean much, and as a result an attempt was made to deprive Cove of its position in the contest. T. T. Geer's Fifty Years in Oregon, chap. 36, gives an entertaining account of these matters.