Vale
The first building on the site on the present City of Vale was built on the banks of the
Malheur by Jonathan Keeney in 1864. He offered accomodations to the migrants and miners on
their way to the Powder River area. The crossing of the Malheur, by the wagon trains on
the Old Oregon Trail, was made at Vale. Near the crossing, natural hot springs bubbled forth and
it is reported that the immigrants welcomed the source of hot water for laundering and bathing. The
Malheur was named by Peter Skeen Ogden in 1826 while in command of a fur trading expedition
for the Hudson Bay Co. out of Ft. Vancourver, who left a cache of supplies and furs hidden on the
river. When he returned for them, he found that Indians had raided hs storage place. He named
the River Malheur, which translated literally means "Evil Hour".
