WHO'S WHO
IN SHANIKO



Facts About Shaniko

1. The city of Shaniko was incorporated in 1901.
2. Some form of city government has been continuously in place since 1901.
3. There has never been a graveyard in Shaniko. Bedrock is six inches down.
4. There was never a church in Shaniko, services were held in the schoolhouse.
5. The population of Shaniko in 1910 was 600 people.
6. The population of Shaniko in 1978 was 7 people.
7. The population of Shaniko in 1999 is 25 people year round, plus 8 part time.
8. Marshall Gus Reeder served Shaniko for more than 50 years.
9. The most saloons operating at one time in Shaniko was five in 1910.
10. Mayor John Fowlie was the only person ever shot to death in Shaniko.
Livery stable owner Del Howell shot Mr Fowlie twice in the abdomen. Howell
was under arrest for being drunk and disorderly but had not been disarmed.
The shooting occurred just across the street from the Shaniko Hotel.
Shaniko City Officials - 2001
Mayor
Don Treanor
City Recorder
Shirley Stevens
Councilor
Ken Comstock
Councilor
John Nicholson
Councilor
Booker T. Pannell
Councilor
Goldie Roberts
Councilor
George Roberts
Councilor &
Fire Chief
Richard Roberts


August Scherneckau
1837-1923
*Photo - OrHi #14521
Shaniko is Named for August Scherneckau

August Scherneckau purchased a share of the Cross Hollows Stage Station in
1874. The stage station was located in the canyon a quarter mile south of the
present Shaniko townsite. There are number of free flowing springs in the canyon
that eventually served as a source of water for the town. As business expanded
Scherneckau built a store, a saloon and eventually a sixteen room inn. In 1879 a
post office was established. Scherneckau sold his Cross Hollows property plus
a section of land that included the eventual Shaniko townsite to Gus Schmidt in
1888. When the Columbia Southern Railway decided to build it's line through to
Cross Hollows in 1899, officials decided to name the town they would build after
Mr. Scherneckau. The indigenous Indians and other locals had difficulty in
pronouncing the German immigrant's name so they called him "Shaniko". So
the name of the new town was spelled the way that Scherneckau's name was
mispronounced.
Shaniko Area Chamber of Commerce
Mick Petersen
President
Rose Morelli
Vice President
Goldie Roberts
Secretary
Shaniko Train Station c.1910
*Photo # OrHi 14521 is the copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced
without specific authorization by the Oregon Historical Society. All other
photos on this page are copyrighted by www.shaniko.com.