OREGON HISTORY: ‘The Biggest Little City in Oregon’

Haines, Oregon, is located in Baker County, about 11 miles northwest of Baker City along U.S. Highway 30. The first non-Native settler in the vicinity was Oliver Shinn in 1864. A group of 10 immigrant families camped along Rock Creek near the John Henner place in September 1865. Some of the campers remained in the location. The area was an ideal site for raising livestock, as it had plentiful grass and water. Israel D. Haines acquired land nearby. He was a pioneer lawyer, legislator, soldier, merchant and farmer who was born in Xenia, Ohio, on Dec. 27, 1827. He came to Oregon with Col. Loring’s rifle regiment at the age of 19. He remained in Oregon and Idaho until his death in Baker City on June 19, 1892. He donated 120 acres of land for the development of a community. The land was surveyed in 1868. A post office was established on Nov. 26, 1884. The office was named for Haines. The first postmaster was Florence A. Dorsett. A telegraph line reached Haines in 1877.

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