Tag Archives: Tallman

The Community of Tallman, 1920s Timeframe

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Even in its heydey, the community of Tallman, Oregon was little more than a wide spot on the rail line between Albany and Lebanon. It started life as an intersection between a north-south rail line running from Eugene to Stayton (I think it was) and the east-west rail line between Albany and Lebanon. But even before the McClains moved to Tallman in 1917, the rail line north out of Tallman was already gone, having been relocated to Lebanon. This left a “T” intersection between the Eugene line and the Albany-Lebanon line.

Tallman train depot and platform about 1920. I believe the people on the platform are the Hammells (with grandson Pat Hutchins) and the McClains.

Tallman had no store. Just the train depot, two churches and a community hall.

Map of Tallman hand-drawn by Bernard McClain, showing the location of the depot, community hall, churches, the school, the McClain farm and the houses of other residents of the area. The names of some of those residents will be familiar if you have been following this blog for some time. The top of the map is roughly south. Albany is to the right, Lebanon is to the left.

As you can see from this map, the McClain farm was a significant part of the “central Tallman” area (by which I mean the area close to the train depot).

The McClain house on the farm in Tallman as it appeared about 1920.

The life of the community seems to have centered around the school and the community hall. Sad to say, I am not aware of any photos of the community hall. But there are photos of the school.

Photo of Tallman School taken about 1910 (about seven years before the McClains moved to Tallman). I have no information about the people in the automobile.
Tallman School about 1920. Not a lot of changes from 1910. Probably one of the more significant changes has nothing to do with the school building itself: overhead power lines

None of these buildings still stands today. The rail line south to Eugene was demolished in the 1960s or 1970s. (There appears to be a trestle across a creek in the middle of a field that still gives a hint that there used to be a rail line there.) Other than the name of Tallman Road, you would be hard pressed to find any sign that the community ever existed. If I’m not mistaken, one house (I believe it’s the Thayer house on the map above) and the McClain barn are the only buildings that remain from the Tallman community of the 1920s.