Cripple Creek, Clackamas County. This stream flows into the Clackamas River from the east in township 5 south, range 6 east. W. C. Elliott, civil engineer of Portland, is authority for the statement that a surveyor in his employ cut his foot with an ax at this point in 1897.
Cripple Criterion, Wasco County. It is understood that a number of homesteaders suggested several names to the Post Office Department when the application was made for a post office at this point. The first preference was for "Three Notches" and the second was for "Criterion." The Post Office Department objected to the first name because it was composed of two words and adopted the second name. The writer has been unable to ascertain why this name was suggested. The word means a standard by which to judge of the character or excellence of an object or thing.
Croisan Ridge, Marion County. Croisan Ridge and Croisan Gulch lie not far from the east bank of the Willamette River just southwest of Salem. These features are named for a prominent Marion County pioneer family. The first member of this family to live in Oregon was born in Bavaria in 1817 of Huguenot parents. He emigrated to the United States in 1839 and came to Oregon over the Applegate route in 1846. After various pioneer experiences, including a trip to California, he settled on a donation land claim southwest of Salem in March, 1850. See editorial page, Oregon Journal, December 18 and 19, 1925.
The original application for the land claim shows the name spelled in various ways, including Croisant, Croisint and Crossint. The given names of this pioneer settler were John Henry. While the Land Office records seem to indicate that the spelling Croisint was the corerct one, present members of the family state that the name was really Croisant. The second generation in Oregon found the name so frequently mispronounced that the final "t"
