Pendleton, Oregon - A Colorful Past !!

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Pendleton, Oregon has a lively, infamous and entertaining past. No town has a more colorful history than Pendleton!

In the mid 1800's the Chinese were imported from Shanghai to help build some of the towns of the west and also to build the railroads in this country. They worked for practically nothing and lived very frugally underground in many cities. They came here in 1850 and were here until around 1956.

We took the tour of the underground city with a guide. On the tour,through the tunnels beneath the streets of Pendleton, we saw the Shamrock Card Room, Hop Sing's Chinese Laundry, the Empire Ice Cream Parlor. We visited the old Empire Meat Market, stood under the sidewalk prisms, and went through the secret passageway to the Prohibiton Card Room. The tunnels also lead to the underground Duck Pin Bowling Alley and then up the stairs to one of Pendleton's 18 bordellos; the famous "Cozy Rooms" run by Ms. Stella Darby and her working girls. We visited the Chinese living quarters, with the opium den and also visited the Chinese jail , all built underground. We learned how the Chinese were very influential in building the west.

We visited Hanley's Restaurant an old world- famous saddle shop which has now been converted into a wonderul restaurant. Millions of dollars were spent to have this restaurant resemble an old western saloon and hotel and it is absolutely gorgeous! You would have to see it to believe it. It is full of lots of wood, leather, antiques, and stained glass that give it such class and dignity. The food was delicious as well. You must have reservations to get into this restaurant for lunch or dinner. It is the most popular place in town!

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Photos

On the way to Pendleton
From 7 feathers we took Highway 138 to 97 to Highway 26 to 395 and then north into Pendleton. The canyons were beautiful on the way up. Here is a picture of the North Umpqua river on hiwy 138 at the beginning of the canyon. This is a wonderful fishing river. Lots of steelhead trout here.

Another shot of the canyon
We can't say enough about this beautiful area. Beautiful campsites, wonderful fishing and white water rafting. Great for family vacation fun!

The Shamrock Card Room
Local citizens of Pendleton would meet in this underground room and gamble and play cards until the wee hours of the morning. These rooms now have wax figures instead of real people occupying the seats.

Prohibition Card Room
If you gambled here you had to have the secret password to get in through the tunnel door. This card room was the high stakes room, where everything one owned could be and usually would be placed on the table.

What
The bartender here was a tough hombre! He was also the local sheriff, undertaker and any other odd jobs that he was needed for to keep order in the underground. When things got out of hand in the underground, he witnessed the killing, arrested the culprit and buried the dead. What a man! Bet many dollars were paid secretly under the table so to speak.

The Woo Brothers chinese laundry
They had two tubs, a stove for heating water, 4 irons kept hot on the coal stove, clothes lines, an ironing board, an old sewing machine and thread to make repairs and a couple of tables...........it was so hot down there!

The Woo Brothers Room
This is where they slept.

The Chinese Living Quarters
They slept here in these beds lined up against the wall. It was always dark in this room. To the back of this room was the opium den where they laid on their sides and smoked their opium pipes.

The eating area of the Chinese living quarters
Notice the bunk beds in the background with only a mat on the wood surface. They slept on very hard surfaces. They ate and played chinese games at this table.

The Chinese Jail
The Chinese people had their own justice system and it had nothing to do with the justice system of this country. They built their own underground jail and punished their prisoners themselves to keep unfavorable light from shining on the chinese people underground. If someone was caught stealing or any other breaking of laws, they were delt with in the chinese justice system and placed in the chinese jail keeping them out of public view of the Americans. Patti is only 5/4" tall and she could barely fit into this jail cell so they were very small people.

The Cozy Room
Here are the doors outside on the street to enter Stella Darby's Cozy Rooms. These were the most famous and most used doors in town!

The entrance into Stella's Domain
Here is the parlor where the public waited to see one of Stella's Girls for a little "entertainment". Stella loved mink coats and luxurious things. There were a total of 6 girls on each shift. A shift was 8 hours and they were open 24/7. When the girls were not here at this house, they were at the house in Walla Walla , Washington, a mere 35 miles away. Stella took very good care of her girls. She gave them a 50/50 split with the house. That was extremely high in those days. The girls lived well, but it was a lonely life.

The Pendleton Woolen Mills
Touring the Pendleton Woolen Mills was very interesting. Of course we had to purchase a few items while we were here, just to help the economy you understand! This facility was much smaller than we thought it would be.

Inside the Mill
For two weeks each summer, the mill closes down for repair and cleaning of the machinery. We were lucky to be here during that time and have a very quiet tour experience instead of the noisey one that most people get. We could actually hear the tour guide as the place was very quiet. It was quite interesting to see the raw wool become thread and wool and then made into the beautiful blankets, sweaters, coats , etc. that we see in the stores with the expensive Pendleton labels inside.