Nibley was a pioneer community 11 miles east of La Grande that briefly flourished at the turn of the century amid what are now fields. On July 25, 1900, Charles W. Nibley, George Stoddard, and M.L. Causey organized the Oregon Land Company and purchased 7,500 acres from A. B. Conley to grow sugar beets for the Oregon Sugar Beet Company. The townsite, named after Charles W. Nibley, was divided into 25 five-acre blocks, each containing four equal lots, while settlers farmed the surrounding countryside. The closeness of homes gave residents short distances to the school, church, post office, carpenter and blacksmith shops, and a small general store. In January and February 1901, a 24-foot by 44-foot meeting house was built. On March 17, 1901, the Nibley Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, and on June 6, 1901, William J. Rawson was called as bishop of the Nibley Ward. By 1902, as more families arrived, Nibley was a thriving Mormon settlement. Plans to bring irrigation to the area fell through, however, and the soil was not conducive to growing sugar beets. Residents began moving to other parts of the Grande Ronde Valley until all had left, and the Nibley Ward was discontinued on December 29, 1906. Despite the failure of the sugar beet venture, the Mormon pioneers remained independent farmers and community builders.