We’re Paige and Mason. The Bend Banner is our way of keeping tabs on this wild, beautiful place we call home. To the mornings that start with coffee and mountain air, the trails that somehow always lead to a brewery, and the kind of small-town stories that remind you why you chose to live here in the first place.

Street Credit History

We always thought our Wall Street was named after the New York City banking district. Turns out, that isn't the case.

It's named after an actual wall. Back in 1903, Alexander Drake built his place on the east side of the Deschutes. Cattle were wandering all over town, so he had stone masons put up a lava rock wall running from about where Greenwood is now down to Franklin. The road along it ended up being called Wall Street, but there's nothing left of that wall today.

That sent me down a rabbit hole on the rest of Bend's street names, and a lot of them have better stories than I expected.

Drake's company platted the town in 1904, so he, his crew, and his wife Florence named a lot of the early streets. There is a little New York in there after all. According to the Deschutes Historical Museum, Florence helped get land for an Episcopal church at the end of Wall Street with Broadway on the other side, the same way the Episcopal church sat at Wall and Broadway in Manhattan.

Hill and Harriman over by the railroad used to just be 4th and 5th. They got renamed after James Hill and E.H. Harriman, the two railroad guys whose crews spent years racing up the Deschutes canyon to get to Bend first.

Brosterhous Road is for Ed and George Brosterhous, two brothers who came to town in 1903 and built a lot of early Bend. George died in 1914 when he fell off the roof of Reid School while they were building it. If you read our Reid School issue a couple of weeks ago, that's the same building.

O.B. Riley Road used to be Ovid W.B. Riley Road, named for Ovid William Brockett Riley. He showed up in 1893 and worked at Shevlin-Hixon until the mill shut down in 1950.

Awbrey Butte is named after Marshall Clay Awbrey, who got here in the 1880s. Local historian Les Joslin called him a "pioneer namedropper," mostly because nobody's really sure what he did. His name just ended up on things.

Ever wonder why we have so many Market roads? Butler Market, Reed Market, Deschutes Market. In 1919, Oregon passed a law giving counties money to improve roads used for commerce. Deschutes County was brand new and needed the money, so pretty much every road that could qualify as a market road got the name.

Century Drive was named for the original plan, a route from Bend out past the lakes to Highway 58 that would have been about 100 miles. The byway ended up at 66, but the name stuck around.

Then there's Bond Street. It's right next to Wall, and nobody knows where the name came from. When The Bulletin looked into it in 2016, the historical museum said it hadn’t found anything after researching.

Which Street name surprised you most?

We’re Looking for a Realtor

A lot of you write in when you’re thinking about moving across town. Some of you might be thinking about moving and reading this to figure out which neighborhood feels like home.

So we’re looking for one local realtor to partner with The Bend Banner. Someone who knows the difference between Northwest Crossing and Larkspur, and actually cares about it.

You’d be in front of 4,300+ Bend locals every Tuesday. People who open this email because they love it here.

If that’s you, or you know someone who’d be a great fit, just hit reply.

This Week’s Conditions
☀️ Sunrise: 7:17 am
🌅 Sunset: 6:24 pm
High Temp: 77°F
Bend’s Current Mayor: AMA (Ask Me Anything)
Local Artist of the Week: Rich Bacon

🐾Bend’s Best Good Boys & Good Girls 🐾

🐶 Minnie – 5 Years, Great Dane
Don’t see a Great Dane here often, and it sounds like Minnie is ready to find her forever home, as she’s stressed in the shelter.

🐕 Benson – 2 Years - Mix
Came in as a stray and took a while to come out of his shell. Now he's a total sweetheart, happy to take pets and treats from anyone. His adoption fee is already sponsored.

🐶 Gizmo – 8 years - Mix
This little guy is a gentleman with irresistible charm and weighs under 24 pounds.