La Grande was the first town permanently settled in northeastern Oregon. Daniel Chaplin laid out the original Old Town in the spring of 1862, and Ben Brown built the first house, a log cabin, alongside the Oregon Trail at the corner of B Avenue and Cedar Street. As the prime lands of western Oregon were settled and gold was discovered in eastern Oregon, a reverse migration moved west to east along the Oregon Trail, and the Old Town area grew quickly. James S. McClung wrote in his diary on September 22, 1862, that Legrande Citty had five houses, one store, and a blacksmith shop, with some people living in tents and wagon beds until they could build houses. Just two weeks later, Henry Herr wrote on October 9 that Grande Rounde Valley City was composed of 75 log cabins, that emigrants with them were taking up claims and beginning to build houses, and that there were three stores. The post office was established in May 1863 under the name La Grande. In 1884, La Grande changed dramatically when Chaplin donated 105 areas to the new railroad and the commercial center moved from Old Town to the tracks.