Elbert Vaughan, who ran Vaughan Motor Works in Portland, spent a number of years in Hood River with his family. He built the Vaughan Drag Saw and Vaughan Flex-Tred tractor, and has the following patents:

Inventor of "Portable Drag-Saw Machine", patent 1,165,298, issued Dec 21, 1915.
Inventor, "Internal-Combustion Engine," patent 1,530,864, issued Mar. 24, 1925.

Jeffrey Bryant on 14th May 2018 @ 10:36am

Thanks for the patent references!

This shows some of the challenges in finding inventions and innovations that are in some strong sense 'local' -- the patents show Vaughan as a resident of Portland, so they don't show up in my searches as 'Gorge' inventions . . . investigating . . . if you can, tell us what years he was around Hood River, and if he manufactured or designed or conducted significant portions of his work in the Gorge.

b.rad on 14th May 2018 @ 12:59pm

The following biography (edited) provides more details about Elbert Vaughan
The History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Volume III,
The J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, IL., 1928, page 882
Includes portrait
ELBERT VAUGHAN
The progress of a community depends largely upon the enterprise, initiative, and ability of its citizens. Through his operations as a manufacturer Elbert Vaughan has stimulated the pulse of trade in Portland and influenced its industrial development, at the same time achieving that individual success which is the outcome of a life of rightly directed endeavor. A native of Oregon, he was born near what is now called Middleton, in Washington county, March 18, 1877, and represents one of the pioneer families of the state; being a son of Cyrus and Martha J. (Wood) Vaughan.

Elbert Vaughan, whose name introduces this review, was in 1878 taken by his parents to Newberg, Yamhill county, where he acquired his education. Subsequently he made his way to Hood River, Oregon (about 1901), where for a number of years he engaged in farming and fruit growing. During the period from 1901 until about 1908 he experimented with drag saw equipment, gradually working out a number of improvements and developing the present drag saw machine. When the opportunity presented itself he came to Portland and engaged in business, his first machines being built in job shops. In the fall of 1913 he opened his own shop at East Seventh and Main streets, where under the name of the Vaughan Motor Works he began the manufacture of drag saws, employing only three or four men and at this time designing all of the articles of manufacture. Later the firm transferred its activities to the east end of Hawthorne bridge, securing larger quarters and increasing the shop equipment. In 1917, additional space being necessary, the plant was moved to East Ninth and Main streets, where a shop and foundry were erected which, with the additions which have been built from time to time, now cover the entire block. In 1922 the business was incorporated as the Vaughan Motor Works, Inc., with the following officers:
Elbert Vaughan, president, treasurer and general manager; Samuel Weiss, vice president; and E. S. Anderson, secretary. At this time extra equipment was installed, including an electric steel furnace for the making of cast steel. The company at that time was manufacturing drag saws and ice machines, and doing a regular line of jobbing, employing from sixty to eighty men. In 1923 and 1924 Mr. Vaughan designed a small garden tractor which, with the assistance of his associates, he perfected into the present garden tractor that is known under the trade-mark as the FLEX-TRED and is being exported as well as used locally. The company is still engaged in the manufacture of draw saws and ice machines and doing general jobbing, including gear and sprocket cutting, in addition to the building of the garden tractors, employing from sixty to one hundred workmen as the season warrants. The Vaughan Motor Works, Inc., is the largest manufacturer of light weight drag saws in the world. The development of this industry to its present extensive proportions has been due to the business acumen and executive force of Mr. Vaughan. Strong and purposeful, he has directed his efforts along steadily broadening lines of greater usefulness, and what he has accomplished represents the fit utilization of his innate powers and talents.
It was at Hood River, Oregon, that Mr. Vaughan was married to. Augusta C. Jochimsen, who was born at Marne, Iowa, April 28, 1880, and whose parents, Mr. and Mrs. P. H. Jochimsen, located at Hood River in 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Vaughan have a family of five children: Mildred G., Wilbur C., Chester R., Elma Anita and Victor E. Vaughan.

Jeffrey Bryant on 14th May 2018 @ 5:02pm

Carl Jantzen, of Jantzen swimwear, should also be recognized for his Hood River ties.
Invented, "Rail-Joint," U.S. Patent No. 864,895, patented Sept. 3, 1907.
Invented, "Bathing-Suit,", U.S. Patent No. 1,390,135, patented Sept. 6, 1921.

See:
The History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Volume III,
The J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, IL., 1928, page 843

Jeffrey Bryant on 14th May 2018 @ 5:05pm

Thanks for the connection from the 'Rail-joint' patent to the 'Bathing Suit' guy! That creates a link to our 'sewn goods' industry here in the Gorge.

My wife tells me there is a significant file on Jantzen at the History Museum.

Still working on how to cite Vaughan, it's looking to me like we could benefit from a number of separate talks to highlight the leading lights of invention in the Gorge. . . and where they roamed . . .

b.rad on 14th May 2018 @ 9:05pm

Elbert Vaughan's parents, Cyrus and Martha (Wood) Vaughan, as well as other family members, lived and died in Hood River. Cyrus is my 2nd great-grandfather.
See:
History of Hood River County, Oregon 1852 - 1982, page 379, for information on the Cyrus Vaughan family.

Jeffrey Bryant on 15th May 2018 @ 4:27am