History of Bend’s founder
Published 12:00 am Monday, December 12, 2016
-  Alexander Drake is pictured here later in life, when he lived in Pasadena, California.Des Chutes Historical Museum / Submitted photosFrame: Thinkstock
While some may think Bend’s Drake Park was named after the male mallards who frequent the grounds, in truth, the land was named in honor of the city’s founder, Alexander Drake.
Drake was a 41-year-old businessman from Minnesota who came to Bend in 1900 in a covered wagon with his wife, Florence. The couple were on vacation, looking for new economic opportunities in the Western frontier.
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Before the hamlet community voted for incorporation in 1905, Drake surveyed and mapped out lots in Bend’s first neighborhoods. He is also known to have built the first sawmill and set the foundation for irrigation projects in Central Oregon.
In all of Drake’s plans, historical narratives say he focused on creating desirable lands and saw the long-term benefits of leaving parts of the town untouched.
“The welfare of the future town must have held a prominent place in the thoughts of Mr. and Mrs. Drake,” according to an account in The Bulletin written in 1928 after the naming of Drake Park.
Historians at the Des Chutes Historical Museum say Drake’s accomplishments helped shape the city, but the way he went about his business was not as honorable.
Vanessa Ivey, manager of the museum, said Drake came to town with an agenda for financial opportunity, and not with goodwill to start a city.
“He is said to be all business and a rather controversial businessman. He undercut a colleague to get the irrigation rights for Pilot Butte Development Co.,” Ivey said. “It was Florence, his wife, who was the socialite of the pair as Drake would rather stay home than go out to a party.”
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Along with building Bend’s first sawmill, Drake’s companies built the first irrigation canal in Central Oregon and the original Pilot Butte Inn. In addition, Drake constructed a dam near Newport Bridge bringing hydroelectricity to Bend, a year before the railroad arrived.
“All this in 10 years (1900 to 1910) when Bend grows from 21 people to 356,” Ivey said.
In 1911, Drake sold his holdings and retired to Pasadena, California. He died in 1934, a year after his wife died.
The Drakes regularly visited California while they were living in Bend. They were some of the first Central Oregon snowbirds, Ivey said.
“They didn’t like the cold, so they would leave town when the weather turned bad, heading to California, only returning when the weather was warmer,” Ivey said.
— Reporter: 541-617-7820,
kspurr@bendbulletin.com