Collection	Hardy, Viola
Date of photo	1893 ca.
Description	Lilah Virtue Hardy and son, Ted, panning gold at an unidentified placer mine. Lilah's father and Ted's grandfather, James W. Virtue, came to Baker County from Dakota City, Nebraska, in the summer of 1863. He took up gold mining at Clarksville, a mining camp on the southern border of what is today Baker County. Two years later he was elected sheriff of Baker County serving two terms from 1866 to 1870. In 1870 he formed Baker County's first bank. For the rest of his tenure in Baker County, until his bank failed in the panic of 1891, he operated the Virtue Bank on the SW corner of Main and Court in Baker City. For many years he travelled the United States with a large "gold cabinet" full of specimens that wowed viewers. Shortly before his death in 1903, the governor and Oregon legislature honored him for his tireless promotion of the Northwest's mining industry. It's not a surprise that he involved his grandson, Ted, in mining from an early age. Ted turned out to be the last of Virtue's descendants, since Ted had no children and Ted was Virtue's only grandchild.
Object ID	1989.2.18

Baker County Library District, 2400 Resort St., Baker City, OR 97814 -- Ph. 541-523-6419 -- www.bakerlib.org -- Send comments to:     gdielman@bakerlib.org
Last modified on: December 09, 2017