John Gurley Flook (1839–1926) was an American farmer, politician, and businessman. Flook is best remembered as a member of the

Oregon State Legislature The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper house, upper and lower chamber: the Oregon State Senate, Sena ...

who sponsored the bill establishing Oregon Agricultural College in Corvallis,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

— today's

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

Biography

Early years

John Gurley Flook was born August 12, 1839, in Clermont County,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. Flook's father, John Flook, Sr., was an immigrant born in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

, then a sovereign country which joined the

German empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

only in 1871.''Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon: Containing Biographical Sketches of Many Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present.''
Chicago: Chapman Publishing Co., 1904; pp. 491–493. His mother, the former Sarah Durough, was the daughter of an Ohio pioneer with family lineage dating back to the

Virginia colony The Colony of Virginia was a British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colony lasted for t ...

. Flook's parents moved to the

Midwestern The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

state of

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

in 1842, where they established themselves as farmers near the town of Farmington. The family moved west to Chico,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, in 1857, coming west in three covered wagons, one of which was driven by the second-eldest son, John. The family moved north to

Douglas County, Oregon Douglas County is one of the List of counties in Oregon, 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 111,201. The county seat is Roseburg, Oregon, Roseburg. Oregon Geographic ...

, in 1860 to take up farming and the raising of livestock there. John, Jr. finally left home in 1864, enlisting in Company A of the

1st Oregon Cavalry The First Regiment Oregon volunteer Cavalry was a volunteer regiment in United States service Union army that was formed in response to the American Civil War. With men recruited in Oregon and some recruited in surrounding states, the regiment ...

, mustered in Roseburg. He served time at various bases in the region, mustering out of the service in July 1866 as a first corporal.

Political career

In 1868, while still a resident of Douglas County, Flook was elected to the

as a Republican. He would only serve for a single two-year term in that office, but during that time he managed to make his mark as the author of the so-called "Flook bill,"Margaret LaPlante, Jefferson Public Radio, July 20, 2007. which established a state-owned land-grant agricultural college at Corvallis, now known as

. Flook's legislation did not create a university in Corvallis from thin air. As early as 1851 the legislature of the Oregon Territory passed a bill establishing a territorial university in the town of Marysville, a small enclave in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, the ...

renamed Corvallis in December 1853."Chronological History: 1850–1859,"
OSU Libraries — University Archives, Oregon State University, archives.library.oregonstate.edu/. It was not until 1856 that the Corvallis Academy — the first post-secondary school in the area — was established, however. This school was incorporated and rechristened as Corvallis College in 1858. The school went bankrupt and was purchased by representatives of the

Southern Methodist Church The Southern Methodist Church is a Methodist denomination of Protestant Christianity. The church maintains headquarters in Orangeburg, South Carolina. The church was formed in 1940 by conservative members of the former Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

, which relaunched Corvallis College under church auspices in 1860.

Congressional A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

legislation was signed into law in 1862 providing for the granting of 90,000 acres of federal land to the state of Oregon for the establishment of a state agricultural college. Flook learned that the time to take advantage of this land grant was soon to expire and introduced legislation providing for the establishment of such a school in Corvallis. In August 1868, aided by the effort of W. W. Moreland of the Corvallis College faculty, new articles of incorporation were filed and Corvallis College was formally "designated and adopted" as the recipient of the federal land grant."Chronological History: 1860–1869,"
OSU Libraries — University Archives, Oregon State University, archives.library.oregonstate.edu/. The Agricultural College of Oregon became known as Oregon State College in 1937,
OSU Libraries — University Archives, Oregon State University, archives.library.oregonstate.edu/. and subsequently Oregon State University in 1961.
OSU Libraries — University Archives, Oregon State University, archives.library.oregonstate.edu/.

Later years

After his stint in the military, Flook returned home to the family farm in Douglas County. He left farming in 1873 to establish a

flour mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

in Roseburg as J.G. Flook Company, gradually modernizing his facility and expanding capacity to 75 barrels per day. About 15 people were employed in his milling operation. Flook then sold his flour mill and used the funds to launch a

planing mill A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and Wood drying, seasoned Wood, wooden boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the Thickness planer, planer and matcher, the Moulding plan ...

in Roseburg, also known as the J.G. Flook Company. During his life Flook married twice, siring two daughters prior to his first wife's death. Flook's second marriage took place in April 1893.Mark Phinney
"WPA Historical Records, Benton Co., Oregon: Interviews – R,"
June 5, 1939, RootsWeb, www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/. The couple had no children. Flook was a member of the First Christian Church of Roseburg, serving on that institution's board of trustees and as superintendent of its

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

. Flook was also instrumental in the construction of a new high school for Roseburg, serving as head of a committee which obtained a building site and plans and which solicited bids for construction.

Death and legacy

John G. Flook died January 24, 1926, at his home in Corvallis. He was buried in a cemetery located in his former home town of Roseburg."John G. Flook,"
Oregon Pioneer Biographies, citing ''The Oregonian,'' January 31, 1926, pg. 28. He was 86 years old at the time of his death.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flook, John Gurley 1839 births 1926 deaths Oregon pioneers People from Clermont County, Ohio Politicians from Roseburg, Oregon Politicians from Corvallis, Oregon People of Oregon in the American Civil War Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Education in Benton County, Oregon Oregon State University people 19th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly