You can walk through a park a dozen times and never know the history...Macleay Park in Portland OR has a dark past that I'm sure not many know about...I didn't until I researched it.
Danford Balch was the original owner and settler of this area. Mr. Balch arrived in Oregon in 1847, and settled his donation land claim in 1850. He made a home out of the wilderness for himself, wife and nine children. Nearby the Stump family also took out a claim. For whatever reason the two families didn't get along at all, but you know what they say "love will find a way" Mortimer Stump fell in love with Anna Balch...Mortimer was warned to stay away from the lovely Anna, but he did not heed the warnings of her father. When Anna turned 16 her and Mortimer ran off and eloped in Vancouver, WA...two weeks later Mr. Balch took himself (and his shotgun) to the Stark Street Ferry and met the disembarking Stump family...where sadly Danford Balch emptied both barrels into young Mortimer Stump...Danford Balch was hanged at a public gallows with 500 spectators on October 17, 1859...pretty creepy. Now you know why the creek through the park is named Mortimer...after Mortimer Stump.
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