Traveling Smart / Close To Home -- Milton-Freewater, Ore.: Two Border Towns In One

MILTON-FREEWATER, Ore. - Despite being officially incorporated less then 50 years ago, Milton-Freewater is a town with a long history.

Surrounded by the foothills of the Blue Mountains and overshadowed by its Washington neighbors Walla Walla and College Place, this Oregon border town is easy to overlook.

But those who make the drive will discover the W.S. Frazier Farmstead Museum, a historic downtown section and a bevy of specialty food producers and produce marts. There's even a winery.

Bordered on one side by the Walla Walla River, the town of 5,580 straddles Oregon-Washington Highway 11.

As the hyphen suggests, Milton-Freewater was once two towns. Milton was established by William Samuel Frazier in 1872.

The town was named, depending on which historical documents you're reading, for the English poet, John Milton, whose poems Frazier admired, or for Milton, Ulster County, N.Y., the hometown of Milton, Ore.'s first postmaster, W.A. Cowl. In any case, the town board of trustees incorporated in 1886 under the name Milton City.

Freewater was established north of Milton in 1889 by a group of men who didn't care for how things were run back in Milton. H.H. Hanson, an agent for the Northern Pacific Railroad, in an interview shortly before his death, revealed a glimpse of the political wrangling that led to the establishment of Freewater.

Asked how Freewater came to be, Hanson was reported to have replied: "A meeting was scheduled and about a dozen attended. It was pointed out that one of the attractions of the new town would be "free water" for all home sites. The name Freewater was suggested and accepted."

The two towns remained separate until 1950, when they merged city governments and names.

(When driving around town, remember this used to be two towns. You'll find avenues with the same number on the north and south ends of present-day Milton-Freewater.)

The Frazier home, built in 1892, and many of the outbuildings are still intact and open to the public, 1-4 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, April-December. There is no admission fee, though donations are accepted.

The Frazier Farmstead Museum is at 1403 Chestnut St. From Highway 11 turn east onto 12th Avenue and go south on Chestnut.

The house, owned by the Frazier family until the death of Lela Frazier in 1983, contains many of the original furnishings. A few pieces - a spinning wheel, a small trunk and a desk in the dining room - were brought by the Fraziers in the three wagons that carried their belongings over the Oregon Trail when they left their Texas home after the Civil War.

The six-acre site, all that's left of the original 320 acres, are planted into flower, herb and rose gardens and meadows.

The McCoy Cabin, Umatilla County's oldest structure, built in 1856, has been moved to the museum grounds for preservation.

The grounds include early examples of farm equipment and machinery. A combination of carriage house, milk barn and tack room houses a variety of collectibles ranging from chaps and saddles to musical and medical instruments and a Model T.

The largest of the two barns, completed in 1918, has an unusual spiral staircase leading to the hayloft.

The neighborhoods around the Milton-Freewater City Hall, at 722 S. Main St., feature many attractive old homes. That's also where you'll find most of Milton-Freewater's restaurants.

Don't leave town without stocking up on a few specialty foods at The Mercantile, 6 S.E. 15th Ave. (503-938-3844). It's open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.

Seven Hills Winery, 235 E. Broadway Ave. (there's also a Broadway Street, which connects to the avenue) is open by appointment. Phone (503) 938-7710 for information or to arrange a visit.

---------------------------------------------. IF YOU GO

Milton- Freewater.

For more information, contact the Milton-Freewater Chamber of Commerce, 505 Ward St., Milton-Freewater, OR 97862; phone (800) 228-6736.