On the evening of Wednesday, May 29, 1935, over 100 people gathered at the Nyssa, Oregon railroad depot to catch a glimpse of the M-10001, the Union Pacific Railroad’s latest streamlined passenger train. As the sun set over the city, the diesel electric locomotive and six passenger cars, freshly painted in the bold colors “Armour Yellow” and “Leaf Brown,” roared past the gathered crowd as it headed toward Portland (The Gate City Journal 30 May 1935:1; Strack 2021). On June 5th, Miss Irene Hegeberg, “queen-elect” of the Portland Rose Festival, christened the train as the City of Portland. At 3:45 P.M. the following day, the sold-out train departed Portland Union Station and speeded eastward with 118 passengers on board (Oregonian 6 Jun. 1935:1). The train covered the 2,250 miles between Portland and Chicago in thirty-nine hours and forty-five minutes, over nineteen hours faster than the previous fastest running time over the same route (Chicago Tribune 9 Jun. 1935:29).
Nyssa is located in far eastern Oregon on the banks of the Snake River, along the border between Oregon and Idaho. The city is situated in the northeastern corner of Malheur County, about ten miles south of Ontario, Oregon and forty-three miles north-northwest of Boise, Idaho. Peter Skene Ogden, a trader with the Hudson’s Bay Company, visited the Snake River country in 1825-1826. Malheur County takes its name from the watercourse that Ogden named the “Riviere au Malheur,” or “unfortunate river,” known in English as the Malheur River (Gannett 1905:197; Mosgrove 1980:76).
Gold was discovered along the Malheur River in the early 1860s, and the earliest European American settlers were miners (Weekly Oregon Statesman 2 Sep. 1861:2, 2 Dec. 1861:1). Livestock ranchers arrived in the late 1860s and early 1870s, but more widespread settlement of the arid region did not occur until after the railhead of the Oregon Short Line Railroad (OSL) arrived in present-day Nyssa in December 1883 (WHPC 1902:520-524; Idaho State Journal 22 Jul. 1963:20). The OSL established a section house at Nyssa, and not long afterwards trader Lennox B. Boyle opened a trading post near the railroad line (WHPC 1902:552). A post office was established in June 1889 (Nyssa Gate City Journal 27 May 1954:13). In November 1891, Boyle claimed 160 acres under the Homestead Act of 1862, and his claim later became the south half of the original Nyssa townsite (BLM 2021:ORBAA 104183). Boyle was soon joined by other early settlers such as Philip Beck, who claimed 160 acres in June 1891, and Daniel R. Ehrgood, who claimed about 104 acres between the OSL line and the Snake River in September 1891 (BLM 2021:ORLAA 104175; ORLAA 104180). Beck’s claim later became the north half of the original Nyssa townsite. Elizabeth Morehead, Daniel Ehrgood’s daughter, recalled in 1954 that when their family arrived in the early 1890s, the town of Nyssa consisted of only the railroad water tank and a few houses to the east of the railroad tracks (Nyssa Gate City Journal 27 May 1954:13).
Nyssa remained just a watering stop on the OSL line into the early 20th century, and the only railroad facilities located along the railroad tracks were the section house and the water tank. In late March 1901, OSL officials wrote a letter to John Lackey in Nyssa, which stated that the railroad would construct a depot building at Arcadia, which was located along the OSL mainline approximately three miles to the north of Nyssa (Nyssa Gate City Journal 26 Dec. 1974:1). The residents of Nyssa made it clear to the OSL that they wanted a depot in their city and not Arcadia, and their position was widely covered in newspapers all across Oregon and also in Salt Lake City, Utah (Deseret News 6 Apr. 1901:7; Oregonian 7 Apr. 1901:10; The Hood River Glacier, 12 Apr. 1901:1; St. Helens Mist 12 April 1901:1). Nyssa even dedicated a portion of land to the OSL on which to construct a depot, but the pleas of the city for a permanent railroad passenger and freight facility continued to go unheeded (East Oregonian 9 Dec. 1902:7).
Despite extensive research by the author, the precise construction date of the first depot building at Nyssa remains unknown. Based on available newspaper coverage and photographic evidence, it appears that the first depot building at Nyssa was built circa 1903 to 1907. There was a property ownership dispute between the OSL and adjacent property owners in December 1903, so it appears that the railroad may have been planning to make improvements at that time (Statesman Journal 11 Dec. 1903:1; East Oregonian 11 Dec. 1903:1). The OSL appointed a new passenger agent and operator in 1904, which is the strongest evidence that a depot building may have been constructed circa 1903-1904 (The Holt County Sentinel 30 Dec. 1904:4). However, in 1974 the Union Pacific Railroad told Nyssa city officials that the first depot had been constructed there in about 1907 (Nyssa Gate City Journal 26 Dec. 1974:1).
Nyssa finally had a depot building, but residents continued to have complaints about the level of service provided by the OSL. In July 1907, fifty-two residents of Nyssa sent a petition to the Oregon State Railroad Commission asking that their city be made a flag station for two OSL express trains: Train Number 1, the Overland Limited, and Train Number 2, the Fast Mail, which both passed through Nyssa at night. The residents also requested that the trains drop off mail when they passed through so that it would not be delayed by being carried through to other stations and then returned on slower local trains (Salt Lake Telegram 17 Jul. 1907:9; The Oregon Daily Journal 20 Jul. 1907:8; Statesman Journal 21 Jul. 1907:5). Additional complaints were made in November 1907, and in December 1907 officials from the Oregon State Railroad Commission held hearings at La Grande, Nyssa, and Pendleton to hear evidence in regard to all the complaints lodged against the OSL (Statesman Journal 1 Nov. 1907:8; The Oregon Daily Journal 17 Dec. 1907:5).
Friction between residents and the OSL continued into the early 1910s. Another dispute, this time between the OSL and Nyssa pioneer Daniel R. Ehrgood, arose in late 1911 over the ownership of property adjacent to the depot. However, the printed record is mute as the outcome of the lawsuit (Malheur Enterprise 2 Dec. 1911:1:6). Another newspaper article from April 1912 made an oblique reference to the residents of Nyssa asking the OSL for a new depot building (Montpelier Examiner 5 Apr. 1912:4). This apparently futile plea for a better facility may have been in response to the large, architecturally sophisticated passenger stations that the OSL constructed in other cities along their mainline. The OSL depot at Nampa, Idaho was completed in 1903, and the depot at Caldwell, Idaho opened in 1906 (Montpelier Examiner 7 Aug. 1903:6; The Caldwell Tribune 16 Jun. 1906:1). In 1907, large, distinctive depot buildings were completed in Brigham City, Utah; Ontario, Oregon; Payette, Idaho; and Weiser, Idaho (The Box Elder News 9 May 1907:4; East Oregonian 19 Apr. 1907:4, 7 Sep. 1907:7; The Caldwell Tribune 13 Apr. 1907:9).
Even though the OSL never constructed the grand depot that the citizens of Nyssa desired, the railroad continued to make improvements to their facilities. In 1917, a new water station was constructed at a cost of $14,000 (almost $285,000 in 2021 dollars), and a new section house was built in 1923 (The Salt Lake Herald-Republican 13 Dec. 1917:9; The Gate City Journal, 29 Jun. 1923:3). In 1928, the Nyssa Commercial Club lobbied OSL officials for a new depot building, and the local booster group received favorable replies from the railroad company (The Gate City Journal 5 Oct. 1928:3, 26 Oct. 1928:5, 2 Nov. 1928:8). However, despite the development of detailed plans and cost estimates to move the existing depot and construct a new building, the promised building did not materialize (The Gate City Journal 14 Dec. 1928:1). Even though Nyssa was once again denied a new railroad passenger station, railroad officials made additional facility upgrades to support their operations. Over the winter of 1928-1929 a filtering plant was added to the water station at a cost of $25,000 (almost $381,000 in 2021 dollars), so apparently the OSL officials valued the maintenance of their locomotive boilers more than the desires of their patrons in Nyssa (The Gate City Journal 15 Mar. 1929:8).
By 1930, there were 821 people living in Nyssa, almost double the number that lived there in 1910 (Census 1910, 1930). Despite the widespread economic difficulties of the Great Depression, the population of Nyssa boomed during the 1930s, and the local newspaper estimated in 1935 that 1,000 people resided in the city (The Gate City Journal 30 May 1935:2). By 1940, the city’s population stood at 1,855 (Census 1940). This population boom appears to be directly related to an increase in agricultural production during the 1930s, which was made possible by the completion of the Owyhee Dam in July 1932 (Stene 1996). The dam impounded the flow of the Owyhee River so that the water could be used for irrigation purposes throughout the region. The first water from the Owyhee River irrigation project was delivered in 1935, and in 1936, the Amalgamated Sugar Company announced their interest in growing sugar beets in the vicinity of Nyssa (The Gate City Journal 13 Feb. 1936:1). In early 1937, the company purchased 195 acres of land immediately east of downtown Nyssa and west of the Snake River on which to build a factory (Nyssa Gate City Journal 28 Jan. 1937:1). Construction of the $2,500,000 factory was announced in September 1937, and the massive sugar refining complex was completed in August 1938 (Nyssa Gate City Journal 30 Sep. 1937:1, 25 Aug. 1938:10). A few months later, the new sugar refinery set a production record of a staggering 70 million pounds of sugar for the 1938-1939 growing season (Nyssa Gate City Journal 26 Jan. 1939:1).
Along with the economic and population boom came an increase in automobile traffic on the streets of Nyssa. The grade crossing where the OSL tracks intersected Main Street was the scene of several fatal accidents, including a particularly gruesome incident in May 1937, when five people were killed in an automobile trying to beat a westbound freight train (Nyssa Gate City Journal 13 May 1937:1). The May 1937 accident spurred calls for immediate action, and city officials asked the Oregon State Highway Department to separate train and automobile traffic at the dangerous intersection (Nyssa Gate City Journal 13 May 1937:2). Negotiations and planning for the “subway” continued over the next few years, but the first substantial progress on the project was not made until February 1939, when project engineers bored a hole to test soil conditions (Nyssa Gate City Journal 23 Feb. 1939:1). Planning and property acquisition negotiations dragged on throughout 1939 and 1940, and construction bids were not opened until late July 1940 (Nyssa Gate City Journal 11 Jul. 1940:1). The Main Street underpass under the OSL mainline cost $207,000, or about $3.45 million in 2021 dollars, and finally opened in June 1941 (Nyssa Gate City Journal 19 Jun. 1941:1).
In January 1935, the Commercial Club of Nyssa once again spearheaded an effort to get a new railroad passenger station for the city. However, instead of a completely new depot building that Nyssa hoped for, railroad officials promised to remodel the existing facility (The Gate City Journal 31 Jan. 1935:1, 28 Feb. 1935:1). Even with this promise made, the actual modernization work on the circa 1903 to 1907 depot appears to have not been completed until 1937 (Nyssa Gate City Journal 8 Apr. 1937:1, 27 May 1937:1). After the depot modernization was completed, Nyssa’s dauntless civic leaders continued to press railroad officials for a new passenger station but were once again rebuffed. By the late 1930s the OSL had become a subsidiary of the massive Union Pacific Railroad System (UPRR) through a series of corporate transactions far too complex to untangle here, and the UPRR repeatedly put off definitive plans for a new depot building as the grade crossing underpass plans were formulated during the late 1930s (Nyssa Gate City Journal 23 Feb. 1939:1; 5 Oct. 1939:1). Once plans were finalized and the construction contracts were let for the grade crossing underpass, the UPRR finally committed to constructing a new passenger station building for Nyssa.
In late October 1940, W.J. Hynes of the UPRR told the Nyssa Gate City Journal that the railroad would open construction bids on October 28th. The proposed brick clad building would be built to the south of the existing depot and would contain a passenger waiting room, ticket office, express department, and freight department, and reportedly would be the “most modern of its size on the U.P. system (Nyssa Gate City Journal 24 Oct. 1940:1).” Contractor H.E. Shraven of Salt Lake City, Utah was awarded the construction contract in late November 1940, and construction of the $24,000 building (about $447,000 in 2021 dollars) began in January 1941. The contractor’s job foreman was F.M. Wells of Salt Lake City, and the work was supervised by C.M. Jordan, construction inspector for the UPRR (Nyssa Gate City Journal, 9 Jan. 1941:1). The foundation of the building was completed by late January 1941, and the exterior brick masonry work began in mid-March after the custom shaped and colored bricks arrived from Omaha, Nebraska (Nyssa Gate City Journal, 30 Jan. 1941:1, 13 Mar. 1941:1). In June 1941, the Nyssa Gate City Journal proudly stated that the “new depot [is] looking all spic and span in yellow and gray bricks [is] losing a lot of its glamour so close to the big factory (Nyssa Gate City Journal 12 Jun. 1941:1). The depot was almost fully complete by late July 1941 and ready for occupancy by mid-August 1941, and the macadam passenger platform was completed in early September 1941 (Nyssa Gate City Journal 31 Jul. 1941:1, 4 Sep. 1941:1).
The 1941 Nyssa depot has a steel frame structure and originally measured 121 feet long by 26 feet wide, with the long axis of the building parallel to the UPRR mainline (Nyssa Gate City Journal, 9 Jan. 1941:1). The building was designed by UPRR engineering department personnel in a distinctive streamlined architectural style which mimicked the shape of their latest Diesel-electric named express trains, such as the City of Portland. A band of gray glazed brick about three feet high wraps around the Nyssa depot at the windowsill line. Yellow glazed brick is used above the windowsill line, and two horizontal bands of gray glazed brick are set into the upper portion of the curved façade at the north end of the building and at the west, south, and east facades toward the south end of the depot. The steel sash windows and doors are painted in a dark brown color. These colors recall the “Harbor Mist Gray,” “Armour Yellow,” and “Leaf Brown” paint color scheme that the UPRR adopted for use on their streamliners in June 1940 (Strack 2021).
Union Pacific Railroad M-10001, the City of Portland, painted in “Armour Yellow” and “Leaf Brown.”. (Public domain )
A 73 foot long by 26-foot-wide addition was constructed on the south end of the building in 1948 to accommodate a larger freight office and freight storage room. The depot enlargement was announced in late February 1948 (Nyssa Gate City Journal 26 Feb. 1948:1). Bids were called for in late July 1948, and in early August J.H. Wise and Son of Boise, Idaho were awarded the contract to build the addition to the depot (Nyssa Gate City Journal 22 Jul. 1948:1, 5 Aug. 1948:1). Construction on the addition began in mid-October (Nyssa Gate City Journal 14 Oct. 1948:1). The footprint of the enlarged depot is depicted on the August 1949 Sanborn fire insurance map, so the addition appears to have been completed by the time the map was published (Sanborn 1949).
The UPRR also used their unique “stream-styled” design aesthetic for the Las Vegas, Nevada passenger station building, which was completed in 1940. The UPRR also built at least two other smaller streamlined passenger stations at Oakley, Kansas and Wakeeney, Kansas (Kansas Historical Society 2021). The 1941 Nyssa depot is a rare survivor among this unusual group of buildings: the Las Vegas passenger station was razed in 1971, and the depot at Wakeeney was demolished in 1985. Other streamlined depots were constructed by other railroads elsewhere in the United States, but thus far the author has only been able to locate the four passenger station buildings mentioned above.
Readers interested in learning more about the unique depot at Nyssa are encouraged to locate a copy of the Fall 2010 issue of the Union Pacific Historical Society’s newsletter The Streamliner. This publication has an article about the 1941 Nyssa depot, complete with several historic photographs of the building exterior along with an interior view of the waiting room. The article also has a reproduction of the original UPRR design rendering of the building and a contemporary scale architectural drawing of the depot exterior. The scale drawing appears to be very accurate, which suggests that the Union Pacific Historical Society may possess or have access to the original drawings for the depot, but the author has been unable to confirm whether or not these documents still exist.
Finally, the author wishes to thank Jenny Simpson at the Nyssa Public Library for her invaluable assistance in locating historic photographs of the original depot and also for providing copies of reference books on the history of Nyssa and Malheur County. The City of Nyssa has an excellent page on Flickr which has several historic photographs of the original depot building taken not long after it was constructed circa 1903 to 1907. The link to the Nyssa Archive is here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nyssaalumni/albums.
WORKS CITED
NEWSPAPERS
The Box Elder News
1907 “_.” The Box Elder News, 9 May:4, Brigham City, Utah.
The Caldwell Tribune
1906 “The Depot Will Be Built.” The Caldwell Tribune, 16 June:1, Caldwell, Idaho.
1907 “Personal and Social.” The Caldwell Tribune, 13 April:9, Caldwell, Idaho.
Chicago Tribune
1935 “Speedy Train Cuts Times to Pacific Coast.” Chicago Tribune, 9 June:29, Chicago, Illinois.
Deseret News
1901 “Resources of the Town of Nyssa.” Deseret News, 6 April:7, Salt Lake City, Utah.
East Oregonian
1902 “County Seat Fight.” East Oregonian, 9 December:7, Pendleton, Oregon.
1903 “Ordered to Vacate.” East Oregonian, 11 December:1, Pendleton, Oregon.
1907 “New Depot Needed.” East Oregonian, 19 April:4, Pendleton, Oregon.
1907 “Short Line Improvements.” East Oregonian, 7 September:7, Pendleton, Oregon.
The Gate City Journal
1923 “New Section House.” The Gate City Journal, 29 June:3, Nyssa, Oregon.
1928 “New Depot.” The Gate City Journal, 5 October:3, Nyssa, Oregon.
1928 “Nyssa Is Assured A New Depot.” The Gate City Journal, 26 October:5, Nyssa, Oregon.
1928 “Nyssa Is Assured of New Depot.” The Gate City Journal, 2 November:8, Nyssa, Oregon.
1928 “A New Depot for Nyssa Is Assured.” The Gate City Journal, 14 December:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1929 “Building Operations Getting Under Way.” The Gate City Journal, 15 March:8, Nyssa, Oregon.
1935 “A.C. Norcott To Head Commercial Club For This Year.” The Gate City Journal, 31 January:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1935 “Nyssa Depot To Be Modernized.” The Gate City Journal, 28 February:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1936 “Keen Interest Shown in Beet Growing Here.” The Gate City Journal, 13 February:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1935 “Modern Train Draws Crowd.” The Gate City Journal, 30 May:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1935 “Facts About Nyssa.” The Gate City Journal, 30 May:2, Nyssa, Oregon.
The Holt County Sentinel
1904 “Holiday Visitors.” The Holt County Sentinel, 30 December:4, Oregon, Missouri.
The Hood River Glacier
1901 “Oregon State News.” The Hood River Glacier, 12 April:1, Hood River, Oregon.
Idaho State Journal
1963 “Oregon Short Line Railroad is Vital Cog in Idaho History.” Idaho State Journal, 22 July:20, Pocatello, Idaho.
Malheur Enterprise
1911 “Climax is Reached in Law Suit.” Malheur Enterprise, 2 December:1:6, Vale, Oregon.
Montpelier Examiner
1903 “Montpelier to Have One Like It.” Montpelier Examiner, 7 August:6, Montpelier, Idaho.
1912 “_.” Montpelier Examiner, 5 April:4, Montpelier, Idaho.
The Nyssa Gate City Journal
1937 “Sugar Company Will Build On Land Adjoining Nyssa.” The Nyssa Gate City Journal, 28 January:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1937 “Expect to Re-Model Depot This Summer.” The Nyssa Gate City Journal, 8 April:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1937 “Crossing Accident Monday At Nyssa Takes Five Lives.” The Nyssa Gate City Journal, 13 May:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1937 “Can Nyssa Get A Much Needed Underpass?” The Nyssa Gate City Journal, 13 May:2, Nyssa, Oregon.
1937 “Re-modeling of Depot To Start In ‘Short Time.’” The Nyssa Gate City Journal, 27 May:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1937 “Sugar Factory To Be Built In Nyssa.” The Nyssa Gate City Journal, 30 September:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1938 “New $2,500,000 sugar beet plant to herald making of sugar in state and ‘Rebirth’ of Eastern Oregon lands.” The Nyssa Gate City Journal, 25 August:10, Nyssa, Oregon.
1939 “Oregon’s New Sugar Refinery Establishes Production Record and Exceed Estimated Season Output.” The Nyssa Gate City Journal, 26 January:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1939 “Subway Test Made This Week.” The Nyssa Gate City Journal, 23 February:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1939 “Citation Issued To City On Underpass.” The Nyssa Gate City Journal, 5 October:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1940 “Underpass Bids To Be Opened On July 18.” The Nyssa Gate City Journal, 11 July:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1940 “Nyssa To Have New Depot.” Nyssa Gate City Journal, 24 October:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1940 “Contract On Nyssa Depot Let; Work To Start Soon.” Nyssa Gate City Journal, 28 November:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1941 “Work Started On $24,000 Depot.” Nyssa Gate City Journal, 9 January:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1941 “Depot Brick Work To Start Soon.” Nyssa Gate City Journal, 13 March:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1941 “’Round Town.” Nyssa Gate City Journal, 12 June:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1941 “Nyssa Underpass To Open For Restricted Traffic Saturday.” The Nyssa Gate City Journal, 19 June:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1941 “New Depot Nears Completion.” Nyssa Gate City Journal, 31 July:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1941 “Passenger Platform At Depot Is Completed.” Nyssa Gate City Journal, 4 September:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1948 “Union Pacific Will Construct Freight Depot.” Nyssa Gate City Journal, 26 February:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1948 “Union Pacific Is Seeking Bids On Depot Addition.” Nyssa Gate City Journal, 22 July:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1948 “Wise Is Awarded Contract To Build New Freight Depot.” Nyssa Gate City Journal, 5 August:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1948 “J. Wise Begins Construction On New U.P. Depot.” Nyssa Gate City Journal, 14 October:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
1954 “Local Methodist Church Observes 50th Anniversary; History Also Reveals Events of Community.” The Nyssa Gate City Journal, 27 May:13, Nyssa, Oregon.
1974 “First Depot at Arcadia.” The Nyssa Gate City Journal, 26 December:1, Nyssa, Oregon.
The Oregon Daily Journal
1907 “Nyssa Wants to be Put Upon the Line.” The Oregon Daily Journal, 20 July:8, Portland, Oregon.
1907 “Railway Commission is at Nyssa Today.” The Oregon Daily Journal, 17 December:5, Portland, Oregon.
Oregonian
1901 “Demand a Depot.” Oregonian, 7 April:10, Portland, Oregon.
1935 “Train Christened by Queen-elect; Marvel of Rails Sold Out Today.” Oregonian, 6 June:1, Portland, Oregon.
St. Helens Mist
1901 “Oregon State News.” St. Helens Mist, 12 April:1, St. Helens, Oregon.
The Salt Lake Herald-Republican
1917 “O.S.L. Spends 3 Millions on Improvements.” The Salt Lake Herald-Republican, 13 December:9, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Statesman Journal
1903 “Contest Over Property.” Statesman Journal, 11 December:1, Salem, Oregon.
1907 “Want Better Mail Service.” Statesman Journal, 21 July:5, Salem, Oregon.
1907 “The People of Nyssa Want Better Service.” Statesman Journal, 1 November:8, Salem, Oregon.
BOOKS, PERIODICALS, AND WEBSITES
Gannett, H.
1905 The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. Electronic resource, https://books.google.com/, accessed January 2021.
Mosgrove, J.
1980 The Malheur National Forest: An Ethnographic History. United States Forest Service, John Day, Oregon. Electronic resource, https://books.google.com/, accessed January 2021.
Kansas Historical Society
2021 Union Pacific Railroad Company depot, Oakley, Kansas. Electronic resource, https://www.kshs.org/index.php?url=km/items/view/439734, accessed January 2021.
2021 Union Pacific Railroad Company depot, Wakeeney, Kansas. Electronic resource, https://www.kshs.org/index.php?url=km/items/view/215601, accessed January 2021.
Sanborn Map Company (Sanborn)
1911 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Nyssa, Malheur County, Oregon, Sheet 2. Electronic resource, https://www.loc.gov/collections/sanborn-maps/?fa=location:oregon%7Clocation:malheur+county, accessed January 2021.
1949 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Nyssa, Malheur County, Oregon, Sheet 3. Electronic resource, https://www.loc.gov/collections/sanborn-maps/?fa=location:oregon%7Clocation:malheur+county, accessed January 2021.
Signor, J.
2010 The Union Pacific Depot at Nyssa. Fall:9-13. Union Pacific Historical Society, Cheyanne, Wyoming.
Stene, E.
1996 Owyhee Project. United States Bureau of Reclamation. Electronic resource, https://www.usbr.gov/projects/index.php?id=374, accessed January 2021.
Strack, D.
2021 “Union Pacific Passenger Car Paint and Lettering.” Electronic resource, https://utahrails.net/pass/pass-paint.php, accessed January 2021.
2021 “UP Streamliner Assignments & Consists.” Electronic resource, https://utahrails.net/pass/pass-paint.php, accessed January 2021.
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1930 U.S. Decennial Census, Census of Population and Housing. Electronic resource, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyssa,_Oregon, accessed January 2021.
1940 U.S. Decennial Census, Census of Population and Housing. Electronic resource, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyssa,_Oregon, accessed January 2021.
United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
2021 General Land Office Records. Electronic resource, https://glorecords.blm.gov/search, accessed January 2021.
2021 Land Status & Cadastral Survey Records, Willamette Meridian – Oregon and Washington States. Electronic resource, https://www.blm.gov/or/landrecords/survey, accessed January 2021.
Western History Publishing Company (WHPC)
1902 An Illustrated History of Baker, Grant, Malheur, and Harney Counties, with a Brief Outline of the Early History of the State of Oregon. Western History Publishing Company. Electronic resource, https://books.google.com/, accessed January 2021.