Oregon pioneer history

Provisional Government of OregonSalmon Seal.

Oregon pioneer history(1806–1890) is the period in thehistoryofOregon CountryandOregon Territory,in the present day state ofOregonandNorthwestern United States.

It was the era whenpioneersandmountain men,primarily ofEuropeandescent, traveled west acrossNorth Americato explore and settle the lands west of theRocky Mountainsand north ofCalifornia.Some also arrived via thePacific Ocean,traveling by ship either aroundCape Hornor by changing ships atPanama.The period begins after the explorations of the lowerColumbia RiverbyRobert GrayandGeorge Vancouverin 1792, along with the 1804–1806Lewis and Clark ExpeditiontoOregon Country,and runs until circa 1890 when railroads and urban centers created a more settled state.

Territory

Oregon map fromIndian Land Cessions in the United States

At the beginning of the pioneer period the Oregon Country was the homeland of numerous tribes ofNative Americans.Portions of the area were claimed by theUnited States,Great Britain,Spain,andRussia.From 1818 to the mid-19th century, several treaties were signed that would set the current political boundaries. In 1818, the United States and Great Britain signed theTreaty of 1818that led to what has been termed a "joint occupation" of the Oregon Country.Also in 1818 the U.S. resolved its claims with Spain regarding the westernLouisiana Purchaselands, limiting Spanish claims to colonialAlta Californiasouth of the 42nd degree of latitude. This was followed by theRusso-American Treatyin 1825 that removed all remainingRussian-American Companyclaims south of 54' 40 "(previously resolved with the British, regarding claims with Great Britain only). The remainingterritorial conflictbetween British and U.S. claims continued until 1846 when theOregon Treatysettled the boundary issue with the 49th degree of latitude set as the international boundary between the United States and Britain's North American possessions.However, due to some ambiguity in the treaty, future conflict did arise and ended with the bloodlessPig Warover theSan Juan Islands.

The portion that became part of the United States in 1846 remained unorganized until Congress created theOregon Territoryin August 1848.In 1853, the northern boundary of the current state of Oregon was defined, with roughly half of the original Oregon Territory becoming theWashington Territory.The boundaries were finalized for Oregon upon entering the Union as the 33rd state on February 14, 1859. The remaining northeastern portion of the territory became part of the Washington Territory.In 1863,Idaho Territorywas created from the eastern section of the Washington Territory, with other former eastern portions of the Oregon Territory becoming parts ofMontana TerritoryandWyoming Territory.Washington became a state in 1889, followed by Idaho in 1890.

Government

Further information:Champoeg Meetings,Provisional Government of Oregon,andOregon Territory

Various Native American tribes inhabited the region at the beginning of the pioneer settlement period. Each tribe had their own forms of government, but no modern nation existed. The first formal government in the region came in the form of theHudson's Bay Company,who were granted the authority by their charter to in effect rule over the region's British subjects. Thus the HBC was the de facto government for much of the region until U.S. settlers eventually outnumbered the British in the region.

Beginning in 1841 with the death ofEwing Young,settlers in theWillamette Valleyheld a series of meetings atChampoeg, Oregon.Eventually, in 1843 the majority of participants voted to create a government to rule over the pioneers until the boundary question would be settled. This temporary government had a supreme judge, alegislature,and at first anexecutive committeefollowed later by a governor.This government remained in control of portions of the region until 1849 when the United States' territorial government arrived.

Beginning in 1849, theOregon Territorial Legislaturebegan meeting and passing laws, with the Provisional Government's laws remaining in effect unless a new law was passed (except a law allowing for minting of money that was set aside by the first territorial governor).In 1857, the people of the territory passed a resolution to hold a convention to draft a constitution in order to achieve statehood. TheOregon Constitutional Conventionwas held in Salem during the summer of 1857, and created Oregon's firstconstitution.Oregon submitted the constitution to Congress, and on February 14, 1859, Oregon became a state.

Economy

Fur trade

TheLewis and Clark Expeditionhelped expand interest in the Pacific Northwest.Although seaborne traders had been engaged in thefur tradealong the coastline for many years, Lewis and Clark's news and descriptions of the region spurred others in the United States to seek fortunes in the fur trade business inOregon Country.The first Americans to return were members ofJohn Jacob Astor'sPacific Fur Companyas part of anexpeditionthat establishedFort Astoriaat the mouth of theColumbia Riverin 1811.However, some of the first British traders overland include members of theNorth West Companythat crossed the Rocky Mountains in 1808 and traveled down what they named theFraser Riverin modernBritish Columbia.The fur trade envisioned by the American Pacific Fur Company and put into practice by the North West Company, and later Hudson's Bay Company, was a triangular trade that sent furs to China, Chinese goods such as tea to England, and manufactured goods to the Pacific Northwest for trade with the Native Americans.

In 1813, during theWar of 1812,the Pacific Fur Company representatives at Fort Astoria sold the fort and all other company assets in Oregon to the British-owned North West Company. This happened under threat from a British warship and without the confirmation of John Jacob Astor. Fort Astoria was renamed Fort George. When Astor tried to regain the post, the British insisted their takeover was a business deal, not an act of war. Astor lost his investment.Some years after the war, U.S. diplomats interpreted theTreaty of Ghent,which ended the war, as including the return of the fur trade post.Although returned to American ownership, the site of Fort Astoria was not reoccupied for many years. The North West Company built a new Fort George adjacent to the old one. In 1821 the North West Company and theHudson's Bay Companywere merged by an act of Parliament with the name of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) retained for the combined entity.The HBC then named Dr.John McLoughlinasChief Factorfor the region the HBC called theColumbia Districtwhich encompassed much of the drainage of the Columbia River.

In 1822, McLoughlin had a new post built near where the confluence of theWillamette Riverand the Columbia.On the north shore of the Columbia a new headquarters,Fort Vancouver,became the centerpiece of a multi-post system where furs and supplies were funneled in and out of Fort Vancouver.Brigades of fur trappers would spend months in the wilderness trapping animals, then return with the pelts to fur posts such asFort George,Fort Umpqua,Fort Walla Walla,Fort Nisqually,Fort Okanogan,andFort Boise.Later the HBC would start thePuget Sound Agricultural Companyto supply food staples to the venture.By the 1830s the Hudson's Bay Company was worried about American expansion into the region and, in an attempt to forestall it, made a policy that fur trapping brigades operating south of the Columbia River, especially in the drainages of the Snake River and Willamette River, would work to create so-called "fur deserts", where beaver stocks were rapidly and deliberately depleted. This policy, although successful in making beaver rare in the Willamette Valley, did not prevent American settlement.

The next player in the fur trade was AmericanNathaniel Jarvis Wyethwho had made a fortune in the ice business in New England.In 1832 he led a new expedition to establish a fur trading empire through his newPacific Trading Company.After returning from Oregon Country, Wyeth set out again in 1834 to set up the trading posts.His expedition establishedFort Hall(on theSnake River) andFort William(onWapatoo Island), but the venture was a failure due to the dominance of the HBC in the region and theAmerican Fur Company's control of the trade in the Rocky Mountains.In 1836 Wyeth sold his two posts to the HBC.

Beginning in the early 1840s the fur trade began to decline as fashion tastes shifted away from beaver pelt hats and the numbers of beavers declined due toover harvesting.Then beginning in the mid-1830s missionaries and settlers began to arrive in the regionAlso the majority of the Native Americans in many areas were killed off by diseases introduced by Euro-Americans, including up to 70 percent in theWillamette Valleyand Lower Columbia valley by 1830.Mass migration began in 1842 when a wagon train of around 100 wagons came overland along theOregon Trail.In 1846 McLoughlin retired from leading the HBC in the region.Then in 1849 theUnited States Armyarrived after the creation of theOregon Territoryand set up adjacent to Fort Vancouver.In June 1860 the Hudson's Bay Company closed the fort and withdrew toFort Victoria,essentially ending the systematic fur trade in the region.

Transportation

Early travel to the region was mainly by ship, with overland transportation developing later. By the 1830s a steady stream of travelers entered Oregon from the south through California and from the east over theRocky Mountains.Many of these people were involved with the fur trade and would use the well worn trails of the Native Americans. Travel overland was mainly by horse, mule, and foot until the later 1830s when wagons slowly worked their way into the region. TheOregon Trailbegan seeingmass migration involving wagon trains in 1843.Boats were used extensively to haul cargo in the region, including steamboats, with theSS Beaveras the first steamboat in Oregon.

As more settlers arrived in the area, further transportation infrastructure was developed. Roads such as theBarlow Road,Canyon Road,and theApplegate Trailwere created and small bridges built.Ferriesalso began to appear in the 1840s at many river crossings in the region.As the population grew, steamboats began regular service on the rivers, and later railroads were developed. TheOregon Steam Navigation Companyand other smaller carriers developed transportation networks. The first railroad came in 1858 with the Cascade Railroad Company operating a line in theColumbia River Gorge,followed by theOregon and California Railroadand eventually connections to the transcontinental rail lines in 1883.

In 1873, atWillamette Fallsa lock and canal were completed to allow vessels to pass the waterfall and continue upriver on theWillamette River.Construction on a lock to bypass a set of cascades on theColumbia Riverbegan in 1878, but were not completed until 1896.Other canals were also built, including theTualatin Canalat Oswego Lake. In 1887, theMorrison Bridgewas completed as the first bridge over the Willamette River in Portland.

Other activities

In January 1837, thirteen pioneer settlers formed theWillamette Cattle Companyto travel to Mexican-ownedCaliforniaand purchase cattle. The settlers were urged on byUnited States NavyofficerWilliam A. Slacum,who was on a mission from the United States President. Slacum provided some financing and the transportation to California aboard the vesselLoriot.The settlers were led by AmericanEwing Young,with others such asJason Leeof theMethodist MissionandJohn McLoughlinof the Hudson's Bay Company providing additional investment.

Young led a small group to California, sailing from theWillamette RivertoSan Francisco Bay.There the group procured about 630 head of cattle, which they drove north to theWillamette Valley.In Oregon, the cattle were divided between the investors, making Young one of the richest settlers in Oregon and helping to break the dependence of the settlers on the cattle of the HBC.

Although the Willamette Cattle Company brought some cattle to Oregon Country, the demand exceeded the supply. Beginning in 1840, another group of pioneers began building a ship to sail south to California where they would trade the ship for more livestock. Thisoperationended in 1843 when the group returned to the Willamette Valley settlements with a variety of livestock. They left California with 1,250 head of cattle, 600 horses and mules, and 3,000 sheep.

See also

• History of the Northwestern United States
• History of the Pacific Northwest
• American Old West