Monument, Oregon
By Steve Lent, Crook County Historian
Monument, Oregon is located along the North Fork of the John Day River near the confluence with the Middle Fork in Grant County. Native Americans frequented the region for centuries and they called it "Man-Mint" which is a Sahaptin language term. The area surrounding what is now Monument was first settled in 1852. In a letter written by one of the first settlers, Isaac Vilott, dated June 18, 1869, Mr. Vilott stated that he had been here a week at that time and had only seen five other people. Mr. Vilott is credited with giving Monument its name. It has been stated that it was due to a mountain nearby which resembles a pulpit and named Monument Mountain.
A post office was established on October 27, 1874. The first postmaster was Prior S. Wilson. The first school was built in 1890, but it was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt out of stone from stone quarried from the hills east of Monument, but that also caught fire in 1927. Again it was rebuilt in 1928. School during this time was held in the church until the rebuilding, but the church even burned down. The school is now a prominent part of the community.
The growing town was in need of public services such as water and law enforcement and the means in which to pay for them. To make this possible a group of local people got together in 1904 and requested permission from the Grant County Court to incorporate. In January of 1905 the Country Court granted them permission to hold an election. The election was in favor of incorporation, and on March 1, l905, the Country Court adjudged that the town be declared incorporated under the name of "Town of Monument”. The incorporation did not continue for a variety of unknown reasons.
A group of local citizens decided to re-incorporate the city and a meeting was held on December 16, l946 to swear in a town council. The town of Monument was officially incorporated. in 1947. Currently Monument has an active city council, a city manager, a fire chief, a volunteer fire department, and an ambulance service. The estimated current population is 115 people.