History of Oregon United States of America

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Local History Notes:

OREGON territory, the most western portion of the domain of the United States, as restricted by the recent act of Congress creating the Territory of Washington, is bounded on the N. by Washington Territory, (from which it is separated by the Columbia river and the 46th parallel of N. lat. ;) E. by the Rocky mountains, which divide it from Missouri or North-west Territory; S. by Utah Territory and the State of California; and W. by the Pacific ocean. It lies between 42° and 46° 20' N. lat., and between 109° 30' and 124° 30' W. lon., being about 750 miles in extreme length, and 278 miles in width, including an area of about 188,000 square miles, or 120,320,000 acres.

Population: The population of Oregon, including the present Territory of Washington, was in 1850, 13,294, of whom 8142 were white males; 4946, females; 119 colored males, and 87 females; besides various tribes of Indians not enumerated. Notwithstanding the formation of Washington Territory from Oregon, so great has been the influx of emigration, that the figures given above very inadequately represent the population of the territory, which, if recent statements may be relied on, has nearly trebled since that time, Of the population, 3175 were born in the territory; 8817 in other states of the Union; 297 in England; 196 in Ireland: 115 in Scotland and Wales; 293 in British America; 155 in Germany; 45 in France; 148 in other countries; and 143 whose places of birth were unknown; 4 were insane, and 4, idiots.

Counties: Oregon is divided into 10 counties, viz. Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Lane, Linn, Marion, Polk, Umpqua, Washington, and Yamhill. Capital, Salem.

Towns: The principal towns are Portland, (population, 821,) Oregon City, Milton, (population, 692,) Salem, and Marysville.

Face of the Country, Mountains, and Minerals: Oregon is usually divided into three portions, viz. the Lower country, or portion next the ocean; the Middle country, or that part which lies between the Cascade range and the Blue mountains; and the Upper country, or that portion which lies between the Blue and Rocky mountains. On approaching Oregon from the sea, it presents the same bold, ironbound coast as California, but with this difference, that the coast range, instead of running parallel with the Pacific, is composed of a series of highlands, nearly at right angles with the shore, though whose valleys the streams of the Callapuya or Callapooya mountains (the western limit of the Willamette valley) descend to the ocean. The first section is about from 75 to 120 miles in breadth, and includes the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue River valleys the first running parallel with the sea, and the others at right angles to it. The last are S. of the Willamette valley. The large valleys vary in length from 40 to 150 miles, and from 5 to 85 miles in width. One remarkable feature of the Willamette valley is the buttes, high, conical insulated hills, of about 1000, feet in height. The Middle section covers a breadth of 160 miles, and is mostly an elevated plateau. The Upper country occupies the western slope of the Rocky mountains, and is mostly a sterile and dreary region, covered with lava, through which the rivers cut their channels to a great depth; in many places their rocky beds are inaccessible to man or beast. Oregon may be emphatically called a mountainous country. Beginning at the E., we have the lofty summits of the Rocky mountains--reaching (in Fremont's Peak) an elevation of 13,570 feet--separating the Mississippi valley from the Pacific region, and sending off spurs in a westerly direction. About halfway between the Rocky mountains and the Pacific are the Blue mountains, running nearly N. and S., but still sending off ridges in different directions. These mountains sometimes rise to the snow region, but are generally from 3000 to 4000 feet in height. The Cascade range, having the loftiest known peaks of any mountains in the United States, extend from 60º N. lat. (nearly parallel with the Pacific) to the southern part of Old California, at distances (in Oregon) varying from about 80 to 140 miles. Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, Mount Pitt, or Mc Laughlin are the principal peaks in Oregon, of which the former, 14,000 feet in elevation above the sea level, is the highest. Finally comes the coast range, called in Oregon the Callapooya mountains: these, as has been stated, send off spurs at right angles with the ocean. The Three Buttes and Three Tetons, about the bases of the Rocky mountains, are conical elevations of considerable magnitude. The Salmon mountains cross the middle of the eastern portion of Oregon in an E. and W. direction. The mineral resources of Oregon have scarcely begun to be developed; but we have reports of rich "gold diggings" at Jacksonville and Rogue River valley, (where lumps are said to have been taken out worth from $300 to $400 each,) and at Port Orford.

Rivers, Bays, and Lakes: There is no very considerable bay in Oregon. The Columbia, the greatest river on the Pacific slope of the continent, forms half the northern boundary, from the point where it strikes the 46th parallel to its mouth in the Pacific ocean. Its great branch, the Snake or Lewis river, and its tributaries, the Salmon, Henry, Malheur, and Owyhee, drain the great valley between the Rocky and Blue mountains. The Lewis rises in the S.E., and pursuing a N.W. course about 800 miles, passes into Washington Territory, where it joins the Columbia soon after. The Wallawalla, Umatilla, John Day's, and Fall, E. of the Cascade mountains, and the Willamette, W., are the other principal affluents of the Columbia from this territory. The Umpqua and Rogue's river, (entirely in Oregon,) and the Klamath, which passes into California, empty directly into the Pacific from the S.W. of this territory. There are several small lakes between the Cascade and Blue mountains, and near the base of the Rocky mountains. The principal of the former are Klamath, Abert, Pitt's, Salt, and Sylanilles; and of the latter, Godere and Jackson's. The Columbia is navigable to the Cascade range, about 130 miles from the sea, for large vessels,. and above the Cascades for boats. The Willamette is navigable to Portland, and sometimes even to the Falls, for ocean craft. Above the Falls, small steamboats may run for nearly 100 miles. The Umpqua is navigable 25 miles for steamers, and vessels drawing 12 feet may enter its mouth. The Klamath is also navigable for a short distance. There are few capes or harbors on the coast of Oregon, which is remarkably free from great sinuosities. The most important capes are Cape Blanco, or Orford, Cape Foul-weather, and Point Adams. The harbors are the Columbia river, much obstructed by sand. bars and shoals, but admitting vessels of 16 feet draught, and the Umpqua river, which may be ascended by vessels drawing 8 feet water for a short distance.

Objects, of Interest to Tourists: What we have already said of the mountains is perhaps sufficient, without this heading; but Oregon has other objects of interest independent of her sublime mountain scenery--first among which are the Dalles of the Columbia river, a narrowing of the channel to 100 yards between basaltic rocks, for the distance of half a mile, through which the river rushes with great violence, descending 50 feet in two miles. In freshets the water rises 60 feet, and at such times it is safe to pass in boats, but many serious accidents have occurred from attempts to pass them at low water. Forty miles below the Dalles, where the river breaks through the Cascade range, the channel again narrows to 150 yards, where the water descends 40 feet in two miles. The falls of the Willamette, on the river of the same name, are about 25 miles from its mouth, and the same number of feet in height. Here is a favorite salmon fishery, where that fish is stopped on its course up the Willamette in the spawning season. The American fall, in the Lewis river, near its head waters, is of considerable elevation. From one point in the Willamette valley, near the Rickreall river, seven peaks of the Cascade range can be seen at one view, covered with everlasting snow. According to Rev. G. Hines, "Mount St. Helen's, in the month of October, 1842, was discovered to be covered with a dense cloud of smoke, which continued to enlarge and move off, in dense masses, to the eastward, and filling the heavens in that direction, presented an appearance like that occasioned by a tremendous conflagration, viewed at a vast distance. When the first volumes of smoke had passed away, it could be distinctly seen from various parts of the country, that an eruption had taken place on the north side of St. Helen's, a little below the summit; and from the smoke that continued to issue from the chasm or crater, it was pronounced to be a volcano in active operation. When the explosion took place, the wind was N.W., and on the same day, and extending from 30 to 50 miles to the S. E., there fell showers of ashes or dust, which covered the ground in some places so as to admit of its being collected in quantities. This last phenomenon has been of frequent occurrence, and has led many to suppose that volcanic eruptions are not uncommon in this country."

Climate: In common with the western shore of all continents, Oregon has a milder climate than the eastern side of North America. The Coast region is the mildest, and the Upper country the most rigorous in temperature. In the first, the winters generally are short, though some snow falls nearly every winter. S. and S.W. winds prevail at this season, mitigating the severity of the climate. From April to November but little rain falls. At Fort Vancouver, from June to September, the mean temperature was 67° maximum 98° minimum 51°. Of 106 days, 76 were fair, 19 cloudy, and 11 rainy. The winter of 1852-3 was very severe, and much snow fell, the stock dying by thousands, as they are unhoused, and no fodder is ever prepared. In the Middle region, the summers are much drier and the winters colder than E. of the Cascade mountains, the extremes varying from 18° to 108°. Daily range, 40°. No dews fall here. The Upper country is variable, having often in each day all the changes of the seasons, and is therefore unfitted for agricultural operations. Indian corn is liable to be caught by early frosts. The winter winds are from the S. and E., occasionally veering to S.W. The time of the setting in of these is very irregular, varying from October 1st to January 1st. They always bring with them copious rains, which last two or three, and even four or five months, from November to April, and constitute the rainy season. These storms are more violent on the coast, and more rain falls than in the Willamette valley. A period of fine weather often occurs in February, sometimes in March, but is generally followed by three or four weeks of cold, chilly rains from the S.W. During the latter part of winter there are light falls of snow. Though the winters are chilly, the thermometer seldom sinks to the freezing point. The mercury has sometimes fallen to 5° below zero in the Willamette valley, and to 15° at the Dalles, beyond the Cascade mountains. From what has been said it will be seen that there is great irregularity in the winters of Oregon, but mildness is the general characteristic. In the Middle region the rains are lighter and less constant, and continue for a shorter period. The country between the Blue and Rocky mountains is very dry, with a great difference between the temperature of day and night.

Soil and Productions: It will be inferred from what has been said of the face of the country, that much of Oregon is unfit for tillage; in the Upper country or eastern portion it is almost wholly so, as far as known, both from the aridity of the soil and the irregularity of the climate. The central portion, though not generally cultivable, affords in many places excellent pasturage; but even the pastoral portion is but a small part of the whole. The great resource of the Oregonian farmers is the country W. of the Cascade range, especially in the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue's River valleys. The former is rarely surpassed in fertility. Wheat is here the staple; the cool evenings and the drought in the latter part of summer being unfavorable to Indian corn. Besides wheat, oats, barley, turnips, and most of the fruits and vegetables of the Middle States flourish. The indigenous fruits are the crabapple, a large red plum, strawberries, raspberries, and other berries. The bottoms of the Columbia are a very rich alluvion, but incapable of cultivation, from their liability to be overflowed; they may, however, form good pasture-lands for stock. Those portions which are beyond the reach of overflow (as the district about Fort Vancouver)are exceedingly productive. On the triangle formed by the Columbia on the N. and the Pacific on the W. is a tract of land of great fertility, extending back 25 miles to the mountains. This is not suited to wheat, but very fruitful in potatoes, oats, peas, turnips, and other vegetables, and is excellent for pasturage. According to the census of 1850, Oregon had under cultivation 132,857 acres of land, producing 211,943 bushels of wheat; 106 of rye; 2918 of Indian corn; 65,146 of oats; 6566 of peas and beans; 91,326 of potatoes; 29,680 pounds of wool; 211,464 of butter; 36,980 of cheese; orchard products valued at $1271; market do., $90,241; live stock, $1,876,189, and slaughtered animals, $164,530.

Forest Trees: Oregon is particularly celebrated for its forests of gigantic pine. A, species of fir, called Lambert's pine, grows in the lower region to an enormous size, sometimes attaining a height of nearly 300 feet, and a girth of 40 feet, often from 24 to 36 feet. This is the great timber of the country, and is largely exported to the Sandwich Islands and to California. The other timber is the hemlock, cedar, oak, ash, maple, laurel, pine, willow, balm of Gilead, dogwood, cottonwood, and alder. The oak, next to the fir, is the most valuable wood, and is found mostly in the Willamette and Umpqua valleys. In the Middle region timber is scarce, and consists mostly of soft wood; pine and fir grow on the Blue mountains.

Animals: The wild animals are deer,, black and grizzly bears, elks, foxes, wolves, antelopes, beavers, muskrats, and martens. The beavers are fast diminishing. In spring and fall, geese, ducks, and other waterfowl are abundant. Large quantities of salmon are caught in the Columbia river and its tributaries, and are of excellent quality. Among the other fish are sturgeon, cod, carp, sole, flounders, ray, perch, herring, and smelt, with crabs, clams, oysters, and mussels in abundance.

Manufactures: In this department of industry it is hardly to be supposed that this new region has made much progress, though she has every facility for pursuing them when the time comes for doing so.

Internal Improvements are limited, as yet, to common and plank road making.

Commerce: We have but few facts on this subject. Five steamers ply from Portland to different points on the Columbia, besides a regular line of steamers to San Francisco: tonnage, 1063 43/95. Oregon exports to California, lumber, stock hogs, beef, butter, eggs, chickens, pork, flour, &c. Large quantities of cattle are driven S. to the mines of California. Trade is carried on with Rio Janeiro, Europe, and the Sandwich Islands,

Education: The census report for 1850 gives to Oregon 32 academies. Oregon Institute, belonging to the Methodists, 6 miles from Salem, is a flourishing establishment, with about 100 students. The Presbyterians have an academy on Tualatin plains, and there are two female institutes at Oregon City.

Government: The government is similar to that of all other territories: See NEW MEXICO.

History: Oregon seems to have been first trodden by European feet about 1775, when a Spanish navigator visited Juan de Fuca straits. Cook coasted along its shores in 1778. The Columbia river is believed to have been first made known to the civilized world in 1791, by Captain Gray, of the ship Columbia, of Boston, United States, who saw the mouth of the river, but did not enter it till May of the next year, when he gave it the name of his ship. From this time up to 1804, the coast of Oregon was occasionally visited by British and American fur-traders. In that year, President Jefferson sent out an exploring party under Lewis and Clarke, who passed the winter of 1805-6 at the mouth of the Columbia. After this period, overland expeditions by fur-traders became common, and these, with the British Hudson Bay Company, held joint possession of the country, (but not without jealous rivalries and bloody contests,) till the treaty of 1846, which gave all below 49° N. lat. to the United States. Emigration from the United States, for the purpose of settlement, commenced in 1839. Its growth for the time is probably retarded by the gold mines of California attracting nearly all travellers and settlers, but their ultimate prosperity will most likely be mutual, the mining population of the one furnishing a market for the agricultural products of the other. There is no doubt that in future times Oregon will play an important part in the commerce of the Pacific ocean, and particularly that of the Polynesian groups.

Biographies:

Henry Winslow Corbett, senator, was born in Westboro, Mass., Feb. 18, 1827; son of Elijah and Melinda (Forbush) Corbett; grandson of Elijah Corbett, and a descendant of early settlers in Massachusetts from England. His parents located in Washington county, N.Y. where the son received an academic education at Cambridge academy and became a merchant's clerk, in Cambridge, N.Y., 1840-43, removing to New York city in 1844, where he engaged as a clerk in business until 1850. He then shipped around Cape Horn a stock of goods to Portland, Ore., and there became a prominent merchant and banker. He was a delegate to the Republican national convention of 1860, and in 1866 was elected to the United States senate, taking his seat March 4, 1867, and serving the full term which expired March 3, 1873. In business he was eminently successful. He was an early advocate of building the Northern Pacific railroad, and promoted the various railroad and transportation interests of the state. One tenth of his income he devoted to charity. He was a founder of the Children's home; of the Boys' and Girls' aid society, of the Art association, and was a large contributor to the Portland library association, and various other worthy objects of Portland, Ore. At the expiration of Senator Mitchell's term in 1897 a deadlock in the Oregon legislature had prevented the election of a U.S. senator and Governor Lord appointed Mr. Corbett to fill the vacancy until the legislature should again convene and elect a senator. The senate committee on privileges and elections decided adversely to Mr. Corbett's claim, and on Feb. 27, 1898, the senate, by a vote of fifty to nineteen, confirmed the action of the committee and Mr. Corbett was not allowed to take his seat, thus leaving Oregon represented by one senator until September, 1899. An extra session was then called. At a caucus of a majority of the Republican members, Mr. Corbett was declared the nominee of the party. After balloting for five days without an election, Mr. Corbett withdrew his name in the interests of harmony in the party. He was elected to offices in Portland, which city is indebted to him for substantial structures and improvements. He died there, March 31, 1903.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

George Law Curry, governor of Oregon, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., June 2, 1820; son of Lieut. George Curry, commander of the "Washington Blues" in the battle of Bladensburg in 1812. The son was apprenticed to his uncle, a jeweller in Boston, and worked with him, 1831-40. He was president of the Mechanic's apprentice library in 1838. In conjunction with Joseph M. Field he published the in St. Louis, Mo., 1843-46; published the Oregon Spectator, Oregon city, 1846-48; and founded the Oregon Free Press in 1848. He was secretary of the territory of Oregon, 1853, and was appointed governor by President Pierce in 1854, holding the office until 1859, when Oregon was admitted as a state. His administration was distinguished by a rapid growth of population and a succession of Indian wars, in which 2500 U.S. troops took part, and which ended in a conquered peace for which the legislatures of both Washington and Oregon territories gave him a vote of thanks. In 1860 he was defeated as U.S. senator by one vote. He was an early advocate of the Northern Pacific railroad project, and worked for it in 1866. He then retired to his farm on the Willamette river and was appointed state land commissioner. He died in Portland, Ore., July 28, 1878.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

LaFayette Grover, governor of Oregon, was born in Bethel, Maine, Nov. 29, 1823; son of Dr. John and Fanny (Lary) Grover, and a brother of Gen. Cuvier Grover. He was prepared for college at Gould's academy and attended Bowdoin college, 1844-46. He studied law under Asa I. Fish of Philadelphia, Pa., and was admitted to the bar in March, 1850. In the fall of 1850 he started for the Pacific coast by the way of Cape Horn, arriving at San Francisco in July, 1851, and at Salem, Oregon, in August of the same year. He established himself in the practice of law at Salem, and was made clerk of the U.S. district court in September, 1851. He resigned the following spring and formed a law partnership with the Hon. Benjamin F. Harding. He was elected prosecuting attorney of the 2d judicial district in 1852, and in 1853 was made a member of the territorial legislature. During the summer of 1853, he organized and led a company of volunteers recruited for the purpose of protecting the settlers against the hostile Indians. In September he became deputy U.S. district attorney. He was again elected to the legislature in 1855 and in 1856, and served as speaker, 1856-57. In 1857 he was elected a member of the convention to frame a state constitution, and was elected as a Democrat the first representative from the state in congress, He took his seat in the 35th congress in February, 1859, and served till the close of the term, March 3, 1859, when he returned to his law practice, forming a partnership with the Hon. Joseph S. Smith. He was married in 1865, to Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Carter of Portland, Ore. He presided over the Democratic state convention in 1866, and was chairman of the Democratic state central committees, 1866-70. In the latter year he was elected governor of Oregon and held the office by re-election until 1877, when he entered the U.S. senate, having been elected by the legislature to succeed the Hon. James K. Kelly. He was succeeded March 4, 1883, by Joseph N. Dolph. For many years he was extensively interested in the manufacture of woolen and flour.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Zenas Ferry Moody, governor of Oregon, was born in Granby, Mass., May 27, 1832; son of Maj. Thomas C. and Hannah M. (Ferry) Moody, and grandson of Gideon Moody, a Revolutionary soldier. He removed to Oregon in 1851, as a member of the first U.S. surveying party which established the initial point of the Willamette meridian. In 1853 he settled in Brownsville. Ore., and was married to Mary Stephenson. He was inspector of U.S. survey in California in 1856, and subsequently resided in Illinois, but returned to The Dalles, Ore., in 1862. He established himself at Umatilla, and in 1866 he built the steamer Mary Moody, and afterward aided in organizing the Montana Transportation company. He engaged in mercantile pursuits at Boise City, 1867-69; returned to The Dalles, and had charge of the Wells-Fargo Co.'s business. He was state senator in 1872; a representative in the state legislature and speaker in 1880, and was elected Republican governor of the state in 1882, defeating Joseph H. Smith, the Democratic candidate. He served as governor, 1882-87, but during his administration failed to correct the swampland policy by which it was claimed by the Democratic party the state lost a considerable sum, and he was defeated for re-election in 1886 by Sylvester Pennoyer, Democrat.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

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