LaGrande, OR - The Oregon Trail is Paved with Death

Welcome to LaGrande, Oregon, waypoint on the Oregon Trail!  The town was founded in 1861 and was named Brownsville after its first permanent settler, Benjamin Brown.  Unfortunately they quickly discovered the name was already in use and changed it to LaGrande.  Before it was permanently settled by Europeans, the area was a inhabited by various Native American tribes during the summer to hunt, gather food, and graze horses.  People are still drawn to the area to enjoy a wide array of outdoor activities.  Wikipedia lists several notable residents, but we don't know who any of them are. Maybe we can learn who a few of these people are as we wander our way through LeGrande.Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov