Gibbon is a station on the Union Pacific railroad that was named for Major General John Gibbon, who was in command of the Department of the Columbia based in Vancouver, Washington, in 1885–86.[4][5] At the time the railroad was being constructed, a station at or near Gibbon was named Mikecha, made up from the names of three civil engineers named Mink, Kennedy, and Chalk.[4] At the beginning of the 20th century, the name of the station was changed to Bingham Springs, because it served the Bingham Springs resort, which is 8 miles (13 km) east up the Umatilla River.[4] The name of the post office, however, remained Gibbon.[4] Gibbon post office ran from 1892 through 1966.[4] At some point, the name of the railroad station was changed back to Gibbon.[4] Today, Gibbon has an Adams mailing address.
As of 1940, Gibbon had a school that served both Native American and other children.[3]
Historic images of GibbonArchived March 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine from the Picturing the Cayuse, Walla Walla, and Umatilla Tribes collection of the University of Oregon digital archives
