Harley James Overturf (also known as H. J. Overturf and Jim Overturf; April 6, 1882 – February 6, 1974) was an American politician and businessman from the state of Oregon. He was a Republican who served four years in the Oregon House of Representatives, where he represented a large rural district in eastern Oregon. Overturf Butte in Bend, Oregon, is named in his honor.
Early life
Overturf was born in Elk Creek, Nebraska, on April 6, 1882, the son of John L. and Alzina (Sheldon) Overturf. He attended school in Nebraska, where he graduated from Lincoln High School before attending a local preparatory school. He then taught school in Nebraska before heading west in 1903.
Overturf arrived in Central Oregon in 1903 with only sixty cents in cash and several hundred dollars in debt. After arriving in Oregon, he filed a timber claim and then quickly sold the property for a profit. He used the money to finance his college education at the University of Oregon. He graduated from the university in 1904, and then returned to Central Oregon, settling in the newly established community of Bend.
Central Oregon
In Bend, Overturf found a job with of the Pilot Butte Development Company. This was the company that had laid out the town of Bend. Within a year, he became the company’s on-site manager and assistant corporate secretary. Overturf remained in that position until 1910 when the company was liquidated. On 25 October of that year, Overturf married Ruth Reid. She had arrived in Bend in 1903 and was the town’s first public school teacher. In 1911, he joined two partners to found the Overturf-Davis-Miller Company, a construction supply business. Overturf became the company president. Bend was growing quickly, so his building supply business was very successful. Overturf left the business in 1913 when he became the local agent for the Western Loan and Building Company, a real estate and mortgage business with its headquarters in Salt Lake City.
During this period, Overturf was very active in government and community affairs. In 1907, he was appointed to the vacant city treasurer position in Bend. A month later, he was elected city treasure by a vote of 62 to 1. In 1909, he was elected to a two-year term on Bend city council. After leaving the city council in 1911, Overturf was re-elected to the city treasurer position by a vote of 179 to 115. In 1915, Overturf was appointed to fill a vacant Crook County commissioner position. Later that year, he was elected to a full term as commissioner by a vote of 830 to 730. In 1916, Overturf ran for re-election to the county commission, but lost by a vote of 1,946 to 1,802. However, in the same election, voters approved a ballot measure that created Deschutes County, separating the new county from Crook County. As a result, Overturf’s defeat avoided a problem that would have arisen because he resided in the newly formed Deschutes County; and therefore, was not qualified to serve as a Crook County commissioner.
Overturf was a founding member of the Bend Board of Trade, the Bend Merchant’s Protective Association, and the Bend Commercial Club. As member of the Bend Commercial Club, Overturf was one of the initial investors in Bend-Burns road construction project (now a section of U.S. Route 20). The project connected Bend with the city of Burns, to the east. Overturf was also appointed to the Oregon Industrial Accident Commission and served on Bend school board for ten years. In addition, he was a member of the local Masons, Elks, Odd Fellows, and Woodmen lodges. During World War I, he was active in several volunteer groups including the Red Cross and local bond drives. In 1918, Overturf attended officer training and was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Oregon home guard.
State representative
In 1920, Overturf decided to run for a District 21 seat in the Oregon House of Representatives as a Republican. District 21 had two seats so the top two vote getters in the primary advanced to the general election. In the primary, Overturf received 837 votes. This was the most votes received in the primary so he became one of the two Republican candidates carried forward to the general election. He was joined by Republican, Denton G. Burdick, who got 713 votes while the other Republican candidate was eliminated from the race. In the general election, Overturf and Burdick won the two District 21 seats; Overturf receiving 1,831 votes, Burdick getting 1,488 votes with the only Democrat in the race receiving 910 votes.