Theodore Thurston Geer
Encyclopedia
Theodore Thurston Geer was the tenth Governor of Oregon
, serving from January 9, 1899 to January 14, 1903. The Republican
politician was in office when the legislature adopted the "Oregon System", Oregon's system of initiative and referendum. He also served in the Oregon House of Representatives
, including time as its Speaker.
east of Salem, Oregon
, in what was then the Oregon Territory
. His parents, Heman Johnson Geer and the former Cynthia Ann Eoff, separated when Theodore was 14 years old. Geer was educated in the Salem schools and at Willamette University
in Salem. After his parents separated he began working, and in 1866 he moved to the Grande Ronde Valley
with his father. While living in Eastern Oregon
, Geer wrote letters to the Blue Mountain Times newspaper. In 1877, he returned to the Willamette Valley
and the Waldo Hills where he farmed.
, representing Marion County
in the House of Representatives. He returned to the House in 1889, serving through the 1893 legislative session, and serving as Speaker of the House in 1891. He served as a Presidential Elector in 1897.
Theodore Geer was elected as the 10th Governor of Oregon
in 1898 to replace William Paine Lord
, defeating Democrat and Populist party nominee W. R. King. A Republican governor, he served one term from January 9, 1899 until January 14, 1903. Geer was the tenth governor since statehood, but the first native Oregonian to hold that position. Geer supported the first amendment to the 1857 Oregon Constitution
that instituted the initiative and referendum system of legislation in Oregon. The amendment was passed by the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 1899 and 1901, and approved by the Oregon voters in 1902. Geer did not win re-nomination for a second term and left the office in 1903.
s. Governor Geer regularly bicycled from his home in Macleay
to the Capitol
.
newspaper from 1903 to 1905, and then owned the Pendleton Tribune from 1905 until 1908. In 1908, Geer moved to Portland, Oregon
, where he published Fifty Years in Oregon in 1911. Theodore Thurston Geer then worked in real estate before dying on February 21, 1924 in Portland.
. The Geer Branch off the Southern Pacific railroad's main Willamette Valley
line once ran from the Salem station
to Geer station on the prairie. The line was later used by the Willamette Valley Railway
. The Waldo Hills home of Ralph Carey Geer
, an uncle of T. T. Geer and a member of the Oregon Territorial Legislature, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
as the R. C. Geer Farmhouse. It is located on R. C. Geer's original Donation Land Claim
. For 155 years, Geer ancestors have lived on the same farm pioneered
by R. C. Geer, who in 1847 was among the first people to travel to the Willamette Valley
via the Barlow Road
portion of the Oregon Trail
. The farm, known today as GeerCrest (formerly Vesper Geer Rose Ranch), is now run as a teaching farm
. The farm is also known as the childhood home of Silverton
political cartoonist Homer Davenport
, whose mother, Florinda, was a member of the Geer family. GeerCrest is the location of a large black cottonwood tree, known as the "Riding Whip Tree", which grew from a stick used as a horseback-riding whip
and later pushed into the ground by 15-year-old Florinda Geer in 1854. It is listed as an Oregon Heritage Tree.
Geer Community Park in Salem is also named for the Geer family, and is located near a former section of the Geer Branch that was abandoned and later decommissioned.
Governor of Oregon
The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments....
, serving from January 9, 1899 to January 14, 1903. The Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
politician was in office when the legislature adopted the "Oregon System", Oregon's system of initiative and referendum. He also served in the Oregon House of Representatives
Oregon House of Representatives
The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 57,000. The House meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem....
, including time as its Speaker.
Early life
Theodore Geer was born on March 12, 1851, in the Waldo HillsWaldo Hills (Oregon)
The Waldo Hills are a range of hills in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, United States. Encompassing an area of around , the hills are located east of Salem. The hills are named after pioneer Daniel Waldo.-Geology:...
east of Salem, Oregon
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
, in what was then the Oregon Territory
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
. His parents, Heman Johnson Geer and the former Cynthia Ann Eoff, separated when Theodore was 14 years old. Geer was educated in the Salem schools and at Willamette University
Willamette University
Willamette University is an American private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the Western United States. Willamette is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges, and is made up of an undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and...
in Salem. After his parents separated he began working, and in 1866 he moved to the Grande Ronde Valley
Grande Ronde River
The Grande Ronde River is a tributary of the Snake River, long, in northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington in the United States. It drains an area southeast of the Blue Mountains and northwest of the Wallowa Mountains, on the Columbia Plateau...
with his father. While living in Eastern Oregon
Eastern Oregon
Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity, thus the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost counties in the state; in other contexts, it includes...
, Geer wrote letters to the Blue Mountain Times newspaper. In 1877, he returned to the Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
and the Waldo Hills where he farmed.
Political career
In 1880, Geer was elected to the Oregon Legislative AssemblyOregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...
, representing Marion County
Marion County, Oregon
Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was originally named the Champooick District, after Champoeg, a meeting place on the Willamette River. On September 3, 1849, the territorial legislature renamed it in honor of Francis Marion, a Continental Army general of the...
in the House of Representatives. He returned to the House in 1889, serving through the 1893 legislative session, and serving as Speaker of the House in 1891. He served as a Presidential Elector in 1897.
Theodore Geer was elected as the 10th Governor of Oregon
Governor of Oregon
The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments....
in 1898 to replace William Paine Lord
William Paine Lord
William Paine Lord , was a Republican politician who served as the ninth Governor of Oregon from 1895 to 1899. The Delaware native previously served as the 27th associate justice on the Oregon Supreme Court, including three times as the Chief Justice of that court...
, defeating Democrat and Populist party nominee W. R. King. A Republican governor, he served one term from January 9, 1899 until January 14, 1903. Geer was the tenth governor since statehood, but the first native Oregonian to hold that position. Geer supported the first amendment to the 1857 Oregon Constitution
Oregon Constitution
The Oregon Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Oregon, originally enacted in 1857. As amended the current state constitution contains eighteen sections, beginning with a bill of rights. This contains most of the rights and privileges granted in the United States Bill of...
that instituted the initiative and referendum system of legislation in Oregon. The amendment was passed by the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 1899 and 1901, and approved by the Oregon voters in 1902. Geer did not win re-nomination for a second term and left the office in 1903.
Bicycling
Geer was known for being an enthusiastic participant in the 1890s bicycle craze, and the governor-elect signed the 1899 "cycle path" legislation passed by the State Legislature that was to create a statewide network of bicycle pathBicycle Path
Bicycle Path is a historic road in Central Suffolk County on Long Island, New York, built in the late 19th Century in order to capitalize on the bicycle craze of that period...
s. Governor Geer regularly bicycled from his home in Macleay
Macleay, Oregon
Macleay is an unincorporated community in Marion County, Oregon, United States, about nine miles east of downtown Salem in the Waldo Hills near the Little Pudding River....
to the Capitol
Oregon State Capitol
The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the state legislature and the offices of the governor, secretary of state, and treasurer of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in the state capital, Salem. The current building, constructed from 1936 to 1938, and expanded in 1977, is the third...
.
Later life and family
In 1870, Geer married Nancy Batte Duncan, and they would have three children together. Geer was married a second time in 1900, to Miss Isabelle Trullinger. After leaving political office, he worked as the editor of the Oregon StatesmanStatesman Journal
The Statesman Journal is the major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851, the Oregon Statesman later merged with the Capital Journal to form the current newspaper, the second-oldest in Oregon. The Statesman Journal is distributed in Salem, Keizer, and much of...
newspaper from 1903 to 1905, and then owned the Pendleton Tribune from 1905 until 1908. In 1908, Geer moved to Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, where he published Fifty Years in Oregon in 1911. Theodore Thurston Geer then worked in real estate before dying on February 21, 1924 in Portland.
Family history and legacy
There are several places in Marion County named for the Geer family, who settled in the Waldo Hills and on Howell PrairieHowell Prairie
Howell Prairie is an area west of Silverton, Oregon, United States, between the Little Pudding River and the Pudding River. It was named for John Howell, a pioneer of 1843. Howell Prairie post office was established in 1876 and closed in 1881. In 1887 a post office named Howell was established at ;...
. The Geer Branch off the Southern Pacific railroad's main Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
line once ran from the Salem station
Salem (Amtrak station)
Salem Station is an Amtrak train station in Salem, Oregon, United States. It is served by the Amtrak Cascades and the Coast Starlight passenger trains.-History:...
to Geer station on the prairie. The line was later used by the Willamette Valley Railway
Willamette Valley Railway
The Willamette Valley Railway is a short-line railroad that operates in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. It leased a line from Woodburn to Stayton from the Southern Pacific Transportation Company in February 1993, as well as a branch from Geer west to Salem , and purchased the property in 1996...
. The Waldo Hills home of Ralph Carey Geer
Ralph Carey Geer
Ralph Carey Geer was an American farmer and politician in what became the state of Oregon. A native of Connecticut, he lived in Ohio and Illinois before taking the Oregon Trail west to Oregon where he started a nursery and later raised livestock and grew flax...
, an uncle of T. T. Geer and a member of the Oregon Territorial Legislature, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as the R. C. Geer Farmhouse. It is located on R. C. Geer's original Donation Land Claim
Donation Land Claim Act
The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 was a statute enacted by the United States Congress intended to promote homestead settlement in the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest...
. For 155 years, Geer ancestors have lived on the same farm pioneered
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
by R. C. Geer, who in 1847 was among the first people to travel to the Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
via the Barlow Road
Barlow Road
The Barlow Road is a historic road in what is now the U.S. state of Oregon. It was built in 1846 by Sam Barlow and Philip Foster, with authorization of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon, and served as the last overland segment of the Oregon Trail...
portion of the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
. The farm, known today as GeerCrest (formerly Vesper Geer Rose Ranch), is now run as a teaching farm
Agricultural education
Agricultural education is instruction about crop production, livestock management, soil and water conservation, and various other aspects of agriculture. Agricultural education includes instruction in food education, such as nutrition...
. The farm is also known as the childhood home of Silverton
Silverton, Oregon
Silverton is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States, along the 45th parallel. The population was 7,414 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
political cartoonist Homer Davenport
Homer Davenport
Homer Calvin Davenport was a political cartoonist from the United States. He was known for his satirical drawings and support of Progressive Era politics. A native Oregonian, he worked for several West Coast newspapers before being hired by William Randolph Hearst and the New York Evening Journal...
, whose mother, Florinda, was a member of the Geer family. GeerCrest is the location of a large black cottonwood tree, known as the "Riding Whip Tree", which grew from a stick used as a horseback-riding whip
Crop (implement)
A crop, sometimes called a riding crop or hunting crop, is a short type of whip without a lash, used in horse riding, part of the family of tools known as horse whips.-Types and uses:...
and later pushed into the ground by 15-year-old Florinda Geer in 1854. It is listed as an Oregon Heritage Tree.
Geer Community Park in Salem is also named for the Geer family, and is located near a former section of the Geer Branch that was abandoned and later decommissioned.
External links
- Historic images related to the Geer family from Salem Public Library
- 1911 biography