I had it in my mind that John Day must have been some type of adventurer or explorer or naturalist, since he had a town, a river, and a National Monument named after him. Here is the story of John Day.

John Day came to Oregon in 1812 as part of an overland expedition to the new Pacific Fur Company post in Astoria. The once large party split up into many small groups before reaching the Oregon Territory. While camped where the mouth of the Man-nah River meets the Columbia River, John Day and Ramsay Crooks were robbed of all their belongings, including their clothing. Luckily they were rescued by a party of trappers also headed to Astoria. John Day became well known at the trading post secondary to his misadventure. Whenever others would pass the spot of the incident, they would point out where he had been robbed. Thus the Man-nah river slowly became known as the John Day River. John Day never came to the National Monument areas that now bear his name. It was Thomas Condon who named this area the John Day Fossil Beds because of he river's role as a landmark and its importance in eroding and exposing the fossil bearing rock layers.