Plainview
By Steve Lent, Museum Historian
Plainview is located just southeast of Sisters and northwest of Tumalo. It is a somewhat level plain covered with sagebrush and juniper. It attracted early settlers who hoped to divert water from local streams for irrigation purposes.
Four early farmers, Tim Post, George McAllister, Charles Gist and I. M. Phillips constructed the first irrigation ditch which was known as Three Creek Ditch and it channeled water for their crops. More settlers soon arrived and a need for a post office and school became apparent. The first post office was established in the home of Charles Gist on February 14, 1907 and it was known as Gist.
A school was built in 1907 for the children of the surrounding area to attend. It was named Plainview School and was a descriptive name of the plain on which it was located and the view of the mountains to the west. The region also became known as Plainview. An irrigation construction boom began about 1914 in the area. The Columbia Southern Irrigation Company built nearly 35 miles of canals and 50 miles of ditches. The Tumalo Project located a few miles further south had a construction boom for a dam and canal system. This brought a large influx of workers to the region.
Unfortunately, the Tumalo Dam and the Columbia Southern irrigation projects failed but the Plainview area developed irrigation projects that were successful. The vicinity became a prosperous farming region. The Gist post office was closed on June 25, 1920 and mail was served from the Tumalo post office. The area has now become a developed neighborhood with numerous homes and small farms and ranches.