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324 Spruce Street " Volkmar Hardware " Originally a hardware store and tin shop built in 1889, this building was later a saloon. It replaced an earlier hardware building in the same location. Presently the building is used for private storage only. Last Member of Pioneer Volkmar Family Succumbs Henry George Volkmar passed away May 7 [1967] at Mast Hospital following a long illness. Servies were held at the Myrtle Point Funeral Home Wednesday, May 10 with interment following at the family plot in the Myrtle Point Cemetery following cremation in Coos Bay. Rev. Wesley A. Shultz of the First Christian Church officiated. Mr. Volkmar was born June 10, 1875 on the 200 acre Volkmar family donation claim located four miles south of Myrtle Point on the south fork of the Coquille River. His parents, William C. and Wilhelmina Volkmar, were pioneers in the Coquille Valley where they immigrated from Maryland in 1859 via the Isthmus of Panama and San Francisco to Coos County with the historic "Baltimore Company." Of their eight children, Henry Volkmar was the youngest and last surviving member of this pioneer family and a lifetime resident of this community. He received his early education from his sister, Clotilda Volkmar, who was a pioneer school teacher in Coos and Curry County, and later finished his education in Myrtle Point. In 1884, the Volkmar family moved from their pioneer home to Myrtle Point where William C. Volkmar opened a tin shop. The tin shop became the first hardware store in Myrtle Point and in 1895, two sons, Albert and Henry, became co-owners with their father, with Henry later becoming the sole owner. Mr. Volkmar remained in the hardware business until his retirement in 1945, thus ending 50 years as a business man in Myrtle Point. In 1894 Mr. Volkmar enlisted in the Battalion Band, Company G, of the Oregon National Guard, and was honorably discharged three years later when the company disbanded. From 1894 until 1914 he was also a member of various community bands, popular in thos pioneer times, for playing at community functions. In 1904 he became a volunteer in the Myrtle Point Fire Department and served seven years in that capasity. At the death of his sister, Clotilda in 1908 and her husband husband Barton M. Greene in 1911, Mr. Volkmar assumed guardianship of their seven children ranging in age from 2 to 14 years, and reared and educated them through their youth. Survivors of this family include Raleigh D. Greene of Stockton, Calif.; Forrest B. Greene of Seattle, Wash.; Mrs. Ralph Milne of Coquille; Mrs. Lee Gilliam of Portland; Mrs. Arthur Woods of Eugene. Also surviving is Mrs. Edwin Keltner of Amity; Mrs. Oscar Huckins of Myrtle Point and Mrs. Carl Stwart of Powers who made their home with Mr. Volkmar during the later school years. Mrs. George Bradburn of Coos Bay and other nieces and nephews survive. A member of the Coos Curry Pioneer Histrical Association, Mr. Volkmar was a great enthusiest of pioneer history and enjoyed the nature and beauty of the Coquille Valley where his favorite pasttime was hiking among the hills and along the Coquille River where he had spent his early boyhood days. Source: Myrtle Point Herald, May 11, 1967, p. 1 It was in the year 1898 that Mr. Steward established a home of his own by his marriage, on the 14th of December, to Miss Estella Volkmar, who was born in Coos county on the 2d of September, 1870, a daughter of William and Wilhelmina ( Defenbaugh) Volkmar. Her parents were both natives of Germany, the father's birth occurring on the 19th of April, 1816 and the mother's on June 22, 1830. They crossed the Atlantic in early life, Mr. Volkmar coming to this country when nineteen years of age, arriving in Baltimore in 1834. There he worked for some time at the tinners' trade and later, in connection with his brothers, took large contracts for the covering of stations and bridges belonging to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company. He was also employed by Samuel Morse, the inventor, in installing the first telegraph line ever constructed between Baltimore and Washington, D. C., and was present when the first message was sent over the line: He was married in Baltimore and in 1859 sailed for California, via the isthmus of Panama, with San Francisco as his destination. He did not long remain in that city, however, but in 1860 came north to Oregon, being a member of the first colony to settle along the Coquille river in Coos county. The party came by boat as far as Port Orford, where they landed, and from which place they made their way up the beach with ox teams, continuing their journey until they reached the Coquille valley. There they procured scows upon which they loaded their effects, and thus they came up the river to their future homes. The journey was not without its perils for on one occasion a member of the party was drowned and on another one of the scows sank, causing a great loss of property. Finally, however, they reached their destination and Mr. Volkmar established his home on the south fork of the Coquille river. He had brought with him a millstone and a small engine, and later he purchased a fifty-two inch saw. He erected a sawmill and also a grist mill, which was operated successfully for some time, and in addition to the lumber which he manufactured for his own use and that of the colony he shipped considerable white cedar lumber to San Francisco, where it sold for twenty-two dollars and fifty cents per thousand. He continued to reside in that section of the county until 1884, when he came to Myrtle Point and here became identified with the tinning business, while later he added a hardware department. He thus continued until his death, which occurred in January, 1909, having survived his wife for seven years, her death occurring in 1902, when she was seventy-one years of age. In their family were eight children, of whom three are deceased. Those living are: J. M., of Oregon City; William F., a resident of North Yakima, Washington; Albert L., a hardware dealer of Myrtle Point; Mrs. Steward; and Henry G., also engaged in the hardware business in Myrtle Point. Those deceased are Carl H., and Tillie V. Greene, and one who passed away in infancy. Source: Centennial History of Oregon, 1811-1912, By Joseph Gaston, Published by The S.J. Clarke publishing company, 1912 (P. 785) [From section on Henry B. Steward] |
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