Carey, Charles Henry. "History of Oregon." Vol. 3. Chicago-Portland: Pioneer Historical Pub. Co., 1922. pp. 677-8. MILTON DELMAR ODELL There are comparatively few men fifty-seven years of age who may be termed pioneer residents of Hood River, but this well earned distinction belongs to Milton Delmar Odell, who was born in the section of Wasco county that is now within the borders of Hood River county, his natal year being 1863 and his birthplace being the ranch of his father adjoining the ranch and orchard which he has owned and occupied for many years. He is a son of William and Diana Odell, both members of pioneer families of Tennessee and natives of that state. His mother's people came to Oregon in 1844, but his father did not reach the state until 1861. After their marriage Mr. Odell sought a place to locate a home and selected the Hood River section of Wasco county, where he took up his abode. His son, Milton, was born on the ranch which his father preempted. In the schools of what was then the little village of Hood River, Milton D. Odell pursued his education. At that time there were no railroads into the district or even a wagon road and his attempts to secure an education were fraught with many difficulties. Later, when the trails were converted into roads, he finished his education at The Dalles, the county seat. He assisted his father on the ranch until he was eighteen years of age and he then obtained employment in a sawmill, where he worked for two years. In 1894 Mr. Odell was married to Miss Minnie McCoe, daughter of J. M. McCoe, who had located in the valley in 1886. After their marriage the young couple took up a forty-acre tract of land, upon which they now reside, and with characteristic energy Mr. Odell began the work of improving and developing the place. His orchard of eighteen acres produces the finest Newton apples and the crop is always a large one. Cattle and horses of high grade wander over the rich meadows, while waving fields of grain complete the picture of an ideal country home. From his windows Mr. Odell can look across his own acres and over the adjoining ranch upon which he was born, to the lively little town that has honored him by taking his name. He has lived in the neighborhood which was his birthplace throughout the fifty-seven years of his life. He has seen the wild animals driven out of the valley, their place taken by fine stock, and he can remember the site of the town of Odell as a deer lake, with nothing around it for miles but the uncut forests. Only a few settlers were in the valley when he was born. Many of these have moved elsewhere or been called by death and he has the distinction of being the Pioneer of Hood River valley. Mr. Odell has never held public office except that of clerk of the school district and with a twinkle in his eye remarks that one of the reasons is doubtless because he is a dyed-in-the-wool democrat, while almost everybody else around the neighborhood is a republican. In spite of the difference in politics, which has had nothing to do with his social or other relations, he is master of the Grange, an evidence of his high standing among his neighbors and the kindly regard entertained for him. Patriotic to the core, he was foremost in all of the war drives and was a slacker to no call upon his time or purse. Mr. and Mrs. Odell have a daughter. Eunice who is a graduate of the Gillespie College of Elocution at Portland and is now an instructor in that art. Happy, contented and prosperous, Mr. and Mrs. Odell are spending their lives on a ranch that was hewed out of the wilderness during the early period of their married life and where prosperity has come to them as the result of their well directed labors. ******************* Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in November 2006 by Jeffrey L. Elmer. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.