By Cathy Ingalls, Albany Regional Museum board member
J. K. Weatherford. Photo from Museum collection ID 2009.060.007
Orphaned at age 10, James Knox Weatherford was passing the time three years later in 1864 at a mercantile in Unionville, Mo., when a friend of the family casually said to him:
“Jimmy, I’m leaving for Oregon tomorrow and you ought to come along and drive a team for me.”
Weatherford consulted his remaining relatives and got permission to make the trek.
Later as an adult in Albany, he became both an important and illustrious figure, and he acquired quite a bit of money and land.
“He stands in the front rank of Oregon’s really eminent citizens and in many ways has contributed to the development of his city, county and state.
“He has an unsullied reputation and possessed of the highest virtues,” according to an entry in the 1927 edition of the ‘History of the Willamette Valley, Oregon.’
Before he died in 1935 at age 85, Weatherford had been a teacher, school administrator, politician, president of a railroad, member of the Albany School Board, member of several fraternal organizations, and he served on the Oregon Agricultural College Board of Regents.
He probably is best remembered for establishing what is known today as the Weatherford Thompson law firm located on West First Avenue.
Weatherford’s great-great-grandson, Mike Cowgill, is among the attorneys employed there.
Weatherford was born in Unionville to Alfred H. Weatherford, a native of Virginia, and Sophia Smith Weatherford, who was born in Ohio.
Alfred Weatherford was a farmer and was elected county clerk of Putnam County, a position that he held when he died in 1856.
In Oregon, Weatherford first worked as a drover in La Grande and then moved to Brownsville, where he was employed at a woolen mill.
In 1865, the mill burned so he returned to his first career of driving ox teams.
When Oregon Agricultural College opened in 1868, Weatherford enrolled, graduating in 1872.
To help defray his educational expenses, he lived in a hut that he built for $75, and he worked summers as a farmhand.
Despite his frugality, he owed $800 when he graduated so he became a teacher for two years and then was elected Linn County Superintendent of Schools, a job he held for two years
In his spare time, Weatherford studied law, gaining admission to the Oregon State Bar in 1876 without having gone to law school.
He was recognized as an effective criminal lawyer, representing several clients accused of murder.
During this time, Weatherford invested heavily in real estate in downtown Albany, and he was buying farmland in Linn County and forests in Lincoln County.
The Weatherford house is still standing and located at 505 S.E. Montgomery St. This photo from History of the Willamette Valley Oregon Vol. 3
At his death, an obituary noted that Weatherford was “at one time perhaps the largest individual timber owner in Oregon.”
For a time, he was president of the Corvallis and Eastern Railroad.
As a Democrat, he was elected to both the Oregon House and Senate. In 1886 and 1887, he was elected mayor of Albany.
For his long service on the OAC Board of Regents, Weatherford Hall on the campus was named for him. The building now is known as Weatherford Residential College.
In 1877, Weatherford married Annette Cottle of Linn County, and they had two sons Realto and Alfred.
More information about Weatherford can be found at the Albany Regional Museum, 136 Lyon St. S.
Although the museum currently is closed because of COVID-19 restrictions, staff is often on hand to answer questions. You can call them 541-967-7122 or email, info@armuseum.com.