Written by Cathy Ingalls, Albany (Oregon) Regional Museum volunteer.
Those traveling on Highway 99W six miles south of Monmouth, Oregon can't miss the signs for the Sarah Helmick State Recreation Site, west of the highway.
Sarah Helmick donated about five acres of her larger farm to the state in the early 1920s for a park. Family members gave more land later, and the state bought another parcel, bringing the park area to slightly more than 30 acres.
The park, in Polk County, is on the floodplain of the Luckiamute River and boasts grassy areas, big leaf maples, Douglas fir, and black cottonwood trees.
Helmick provided the property as a way to thank the federal government for giving her and her husband, Henry, a 640-acre donation land claim in 1846, a year after the couple arrived here from Iowa on the Oregon Trail.
According to information on file at the Albany Regional Museum, Gov. Walter Pierce and other state officials and about 7,000 other people gathered near the park on September 24, 1924, to dedicate the West Side Highway, as it was then called, and to honor, thank, and pay tribute to “the spirit which prompted (Helmick's) generous gift.”
By that time Helmick, a widow, was living in a home she had built at 138 Seventh Avenue SE in Albany. The house still stands.
So who was Sarah Helmick?
She was born in Harrison, Indiana, on July 4, 1823, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Steeprow. Later, her maiden name appears as Stepro.
One of 12 children, she was still living at home in Burlington, Iowa, at age 22, caring for her widowed mother. It was said that Sarah was a gifted spinner and weaver, helping her mother make hats and clothing to sell. Her formal schooling totaled three months.
Henry (Henrich) Helmick, a wagon maker, was born September 14, 1822, in Prussia. He married Sarah in Des Moines in April 1845, and they started west the next day with a wagon and supplies worth about $2,000. Sarah’s brother Harvey and a cousin, James Schuck, came along.
For the most part, Sarah walked the trail while Henry drove the ox team. At a place near The Dalles on the Columbia River, six months and three days after leaving Iowa, Henry loaded all of their belongings onto a moored raft to float it down the river once they had help. He arranged to meet up later with his oxen and other members of their party.
Before assistance arrived, the raft broke loose during a big wind and floated out into the river, where it was dashed to pieces in rapids. Alone the next day, without food, shelter, or additional clothing, the couple was giving up hope of survival when two Native American women appeared and offered them some potatoes to eat. The two women left to notify a Mr. Ebberts of Tualatin Plains about the Helmicks’ plight.
Ebberts found them a day later and took them to his house, where Henry did carpentry for about two weeks. He then repaired an old hay wagon; and when his oxen were delivered, the Helmicks went on to Oregon City, where Dr. John McLaughlin gave Sarah enough cloth to make Henry a shirt and a dress for herself.
The Helmicks moved to Salem, where Henry helped Ebberts and a Mr. Judkins build a grist mill. From there, the Helmicks headed to their donation land claim south of where Monmouth is today.
Living in a log cabin, the two raised hogs, planted corn and hops, and erected a smokehouse. Henry built and repaired wagons to augment the family's income. That first year was the hardest, food-wise, as their diet consisted of boiled beans and wheat and less than three pounds of meat.
In 1849, Henry caught gold fever, left Sarah behind and headed to the California gold fields. Family members said Sarah began smoking a pipe then, preferring the ceramic model.
Henry returned a year later without the fortune he anticipated. He died May 28, 1877, age 57. His holdings were valued at $35,000, including 750 acres of land. He was buried in Fircrest Cemetery in Monmouth.
The Helmicks had five children, two of whom died in infancy. It was rumored that Henry cut a daughter out of his will because she married a hired hand. Sons Lewis and James remained on the farm and constructed a grain warehouse in nearby Parker on the Siletz Railroad line. Lewis remained a bachelor and wasn’t very sociable. He died in 1898 at 52. James married and had children. He died in 1928.
After more than 30 years on the farm, Sarah moved to Albany where she was a founding member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. She donated small rawhide-seat chairs to be used in the church until pews could be obtained.
As she aged, cataracts blinded her, but she continued to enjoy life.
On her 100th birthday in 1923, the Modern Travelers Club held a large celebration at her house; she is quoted as saying that she never more thoroughly enjoyed a day so much in her life. The women of Grace Presbyterian Church baked her a cake lit by 100 candles.
Sarah Helmick died December 23, 1924, in Albany at 101. She also is buried at Fircrest.
Those traveling on Highway 99W six miles south of Monmouth, Oregon can't miss the signs for the Sarah Helmick State Recreation Site, west of the highway.
Sarah Helmick donated about five acres of her larger farm to the state in the early 1920s for a park. Family members gave more land later, and the state bought another parcel, bringing the park area to slightly more than 30 acres.
The park, in Polk County, is on the floodplain of the Luckiamute River and boasts grassy areas, big leaf maples, Douglas fir, and black cottonwood trees.
Helmick provided the property as a way to thank the federal government for giving her and her husband, Henry, a 640-acre donation land claim in 1846, a year after the couple arrived here from Iowa on the Oregon Trail.
According to information on file at the Albany Regional Museum, Gov. Walter Pierce and other state officials and about 7,000 other people gathered near the park on September 24, 1924, to dedicate the West Side Highway, as it was then called, and to honor, thank, and pay tribute to “the spirit which prompted (Helmick's) generous gift.”
By that time Helmick, a widow, was living in a home she had built at 138 Seventh Avenue SE in Albany. The house still stands.
So who was Sarah Helmick?
She was born in Harrison, Indiana, on July 4, 1823, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Steeprow. Later, her maiden name appears as Stepro.
One of 12 children, she was still living at home in Burlington, Iowa, at age 22, caring for her widowed mother. It was said that Sarah was a gifted spinner and weaver, helping her mother make hats and clothing to sell. Her formal schooling totaled three months.
Henry (Henrich) Helmick, a wagon maker, was born September 14, 1822, in Prussia. He married Sarah in Des Moines in April 1845, and they started west the next day with a wagon and supplies worth about $2,000. Sarah’s brother Harvey and a cousin, James Schuck, came along.
For the most part, Sarah walked the trail while Henry drove the ox team. At a place near The Dalles on the Columbia River, six months and three days after leaving Iowa, Henry loaded all of their belongings onto a moored raft to float it down the river once they had help. He arranged to meet up later with his oxen and other members of their party.
Before assistance arrived, the raft broke loose during a big wind and floated out into the river, where it was dashed to pieces in rapids. Alone the next day, without food, shelter, or additional clothing, the couple was giving up hope of survival when two Native American women appeared and offered them some potatoes to eat. The two women left to notify a Mr. Ebberts of Tualatin Plains about the Helmicks’ plight.
Ebberts found them a day later and took them to his house, where Henry did carpentry for about two weeks. He then repaired an old hay wagon; and when his oxen were delivered, the Helmicks went on to Oregon City, where Dr. John McLaughlin gave Sarah enough cloth to make Henry a shirt and a dress for herself.
The Helmicks moved to Salem, where Henry helped Ebberts and a Mr. Judkins build a grist mill. From there, the Helmicks headed to their donation land claim south of where Monmouth is today.
Living in a log cabin, the two raised hogs, planted corn and hops, and erected a smokehouse. Henry built and repaired wagons to augment the family's income. That first year was the hardest, food-wise, as their diet consisted of boiled beans and wheat and less than three pounds of meat.
In 1849, Henry caught gold fever, left Sarah behind and headed to the California gold fields. Family members said Sarah began smoking a pipe then, preferring the ceramic model.
Henry returned a year later without the fortune he anticipated. He died May 28, 1877, age 57. His holdings were valued at $35,000, including 750 acres of land. He was buried in Fircrest Cemetery in Monmouth.
The Helmicks had five children, two of whom died in infancy. It was rumored that Henry cut a daughter out of his will because she married a hired hand. Sons Lewis and James remained on the farm and constructed a grain warehouse in nearby Parker on the Siletz Railroad line. Lewis remained a bachelor and wasn’t very sociable. He died in 1898 at 52. James married and had children. He died in 1928.
After more than 30 years on the farm, Sarah moved to Albany where she was a founding member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. She donated small rawhide-seat chairs to be used in the church until pews could be obtained.
As she aged, cataracts blinded her, but she continued to enjoy life.
On her 100th birthday in 1923, the Modern Travelers Club held a large celebration at her house; she is quoted as saying that she never more thoroughly enjoyed a day so much in her life. The women of Grace Presbyterian Church baked her a cake lit by 100 candles.
Sarah Helmick died December 23, 1924, in Albany at 101. She also is buried at Fircrest.
Written by Cathy Ingalls, Albany (Oregon) Regional Museum volunteer.
Those traveling on Highway 99W six miles south of Monmouth, Oregon can't miss the signs for the Sarah Helmick State Recreation Site, west of the highway.
Sarah Helmick donated about five acres of her larger farm to the state in the early 1920s for a park. Family members gave more land later, and the state bought another parcel, bringing the park area to slightly more than 30 acres.
The park, in Polk County, is on the floodplain of the Luckiamute River and boasts grassy areas, big leaf maples, Douglas fir, and black cottonwood trees.
Helmick provided the property as a way to thank the federal government for giving her and her husband, Henry, a 640-acre donation land claim in 1846, a year after the couple arrived here from Iowa on the Oregon Trail.
According to information on file at the Albany Regional Museum, Gov. Walter Pierce and other state officials and about 7,000 other people gathered near the park on September 24, 1924, to dedicate the West Side Highway, as it was then called, and to honor, thank, and pay tribute to “the spirit which prompted (Helmick's) generous gift.”
By that time Helmick, a widow, was living in a home she had built at 138 Seventh Avenue SE in Albany. The house still stands.
So who was Sarah Helmick?
She was born in Harrison, Indiana, on July 4, 1823, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Steeprow. Later, her maiden name appears as Stepro.
One of 12 children, she was still living at home in Burlington, Iowa, at age 22, caring for her widowed mother. It was said that Sarah was a gifted spinner and weaver, helping her mother make hats and clothing to sell. Her formal schooling totaled three months.
Henry (Henrich) Helmick, a wagon maker, was born September 14, 1822, in Prussia. He married Sarah in Des Moines in April 1845, and they started west the next day with a wagon and supplies worth about $2,000. Sarah’s brother Harvey and a cousin, James Schuck, came along.
For the most part, Sarah walked the trail while Henry drove the ox team. At a place near The Dalles on the Columbia River, six months and three days after leaving Iowa, Henry loaded all of their belongings onto a moored raft to float it down the river once they had help. He arranged to meet up later with his oxen and other members of their party.
Before assistance arrived, the raft broke loose during a big wind and floated out into the river, where it was dashed to pieces in rapids. Alone the next day, without food, shelter, or additional clothing, the couple was giving up hope of survival when two Native American women appeared and offered them some potatoes to eat. The two women left to notify a Mr. Ebberts of Tualatin Plains about the Helmicks’ plight.
Ebberts found them a day later and took them to his house, where Henry did carpentry for about two weeks. He then repaired an old hay wagon; and when his oxen were delivered, the Helmicks went on to Oregon City, where Dr. John McLaughlin gave Sarah enough cloth to make Henry a shirt and a dress for herself.
The Helmicks moved to Salem, where Henry helped Ebberts and a Mr. Judkins build a grist mill. From there, the Helmicks headed to their donation land claim south of where Monmouth is today.
Living in a log cabin, the two raised hogs, planted corn and hops, and erected a smokehouse. Henry built and repaired wagons to augment the family's income. That first year was the hardest, food-wise, as their diet consisted of boiled beans and wheat and less than three pounds of meat.
In 1849, Henry caught gold fever, left Sarah behind and headed to the California gold fields. Family members said Sarah began smoking a pipe then, preferring the ceramic model.
Henry returned a year later without the fortune he anticipated. He died May 28, 1877, age 57. His holdings were valued at $35,000, including 750 acres of land. He was buried in Fircrest Cemetery in Monmouth.
The Helmicks had five children, two of whom died in infancy. It was rumored that Henry cut a daughter out of his will because she married a hired hand. Sons Lewis and James remained on the farm and constructed a grain warehouse in nearby Parker on the Siletz Railroad line. Lewis remained a bachelor and wasn’t very sociable. He died in 1898 at 52. James married and had children. He died in 1928.
After more than 30 years on the farm, Sarah moved to Albany where she was a founding member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. She donated small rawhide-seat chairs to be used in the church until pews could be obtained.
As she aged, cataracts blinded her, but she continued to enjoy life.
On her 100th birthday in 1923, the Modern Travelers Club held a large celebration at her house; she is quoted as saying that she never more thoroughly enjoyed a day so much in her life. The women of Grace Presbyterian Church baked her a cake lit by 100 candles.
Sarah Helmick died December 23, 1924, in Albany at 101. She also is buried at Fircrest.
Those traveling on Highway 99W six miles south of Monmouth, Oregon can't miss the signs for the Sarah Helmick State Recreation Site, west of the highway.
Sarah Helmick donated about five acres of her larger farm to the state in the early 1920s for a park. Family members gave more land later, and the state bought another parcel, bringing the park area to slightly more than 30 acres.
The park, in Polk County, is on the floodplain of the Luckiamute River and boasts grassy areas, big leaf maples, Douglas fir, and black cottonwood trees.
Helmick provided the property as a way to thank the federal government for giving her and her husband, Henry, a 640-acre donation land claim in 1846, a year after the couple arrived here from Iowa on the Oregon Trail.
According to information on file at the Albany Regional Museum, Gov. Walter Pierce and other state officials and about 7,000 other people gathered near the park on September 24, 1924, to dedicate the West Side Highway, as it was then called, and to honor, thank, and pay tribute to “the spirit which prompted (Helmick's) generous gift.”
By that time Helmick, a widow, was living in a home she had built at 138 Seventh Avenue SE in Albany. The house still stands.
So who was Sarah Helmick?
She was born in Harrison, Indiana, on July 4, 1823, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Steeprow. Later, her maiden name appears as Stepro.
One of 12 children, she was still living at home in Burlington, Iowa, at age 22, caring for her widowed mother. It was said that Sarah was a gifted spinner and weaver, helping her mother make hats and clothing to sell. Her formal schooling totaled three months.
Henry (Henrich) Helmick, a wagon maker, was born September 14, 1822, in Prussia. He married Sarah in Des Moines in April 1845, and they started west the next day with a wagon and supplies worth about $2,000. Sarah’s brother Harvey and a cousin, James Schuck, came along.
For the most part, Sarah walked the trail while Henry drove the ox team. At a place near The Dalles on the Columbia River, six months and three days after leaving Iowa, Henry loaded all of their belongings onto a moored raft to float it down the river once they had help. He arranged to meet up later with his oxen and other members of their party.
Before assistance arrived, the raft broke loose during a big wind and floated out into the river, where it was dashed to pieces in rapids. Alone the next day, without food, shelter, or additional clothing, the couple was giving up hope of survival when two Native American women appeared and offered them some potatoes to eat. The two women left to notify a Mr. Ebberts of Tualatin Plains about the Helmicks’ plight.
Ebberts found them a day later and took them to his house, where Henry did carpentry for about two weeks. He then repaired an old hay wagon; and when his oxen were delivered, the Helmicks went on to Oregon City, where Dr. John McLaughlin gave Sarah enough cloth to make Henry a shirt and a dress for herself.
The Helmicks moved to Salem, where Henry helped Ebberts and a Mr. Judkins build a grist mill. From there, the Helmicks headed to their donation land claim south of where Monmouth is today.
Living in a log cabin, the two raised hogs, planted corn and hops, and erected a smokehouse. Henry built and repaired wagons to augment the family's income. That first year was the hardest, food-wise, as their diet consisted of boiled beans and wheat and less than three pounds of meat.
In 1849, Henry caught gold fever, left Sarah behind and headed to the California gold fields. Family members said Sarah began smoking a pipe then, preferring the ceramic model.
Henry returned a year later without the fortune he anticipated. He died May 28, 1877, age 57. His holdings were valued at $35,000, including 750 acres of land. He was buried in Fircrest Cemetery in Monmouth.
The Helmicks had five children, two of whom died in infancy. It was rumored that Henry cut a daughter out of his will because she married a hired hand. Sons Lewis and James remained on the farm and constructed a grain warehouse in nearby Parker on the Siletz Railroad line. Lewis remained a bachelor and wasn’t very sociable. He died in 1898 at 52. James married and had children. He died in 1928.
After more than 30 years on the farm, Sarah moved to Albany where she was a founding member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. She donated small rawhide-seat chairs to be used in the church until pews could be obtained.
As she aged, cataracts blinded her, but she continued to enjoy life.
On her 100th birthday in 1923, the Modern Travelers Club held a large celebration at her house; she is quoted as saying that she never more thoroughly enjoyed a day so much in her life. The women of Grace Presbyterian Church baked her a cake lit by 100 candles.
Sarah Helmick died December 23, 1924, in Albany at 101. She also is buried at Fircrest.
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