PlacesPages: Oregon City, Oregon

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Oregon City, Oregon

I originally posted the Oregon City PLACES page on my website on February 4, 2007, and last updated it on May 16, 2010.

Oregon City is one of the most historic cities in Oregon. It served as an early territorial capitol and for many was the end of the Oregon Trail. This page includes links to historical photos from the Oregon State Library Photograph Collection, the Salem Public Library's Oregon Historic Photograph Collections, Thomas Robinson's Historic Photo Archive and Postcard Views of Southern Pacific's Shasta Route at shastaroute.railfan.net/.

The land on the east bank of the Willamette River at Willamette Falls now known as Oregon City was used as salmon fishing grounds and a trade hub by Native Americans of the Chinook and other tribes for thousands of years. Early pioneers recognized the value of the river for trade and transportation, as well as the beauty of the area. Willamette Falls was known as "the Niagara of the Northwest." The land was claimed in 1829 by Dr. John McLoughlin for the Hudson's Bay Company and was named Willamette Falls. In 1856, the remaining Native Americans would be moved to the Grande Ronde Indian Reservation.

Dr. McLoughlin was born in 1784. He had come to the Oregon Country in 1824 as the new Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company and built a new northwest headquarters for the firm at Fort Vancouver on the north side of the Columbia River, replacing Fort George at what is now Astoria. In addition to Chief Factor, McLoughlin also became Superintendent of the Columbia Department in 1824. He would hold both positions until his retirement in 1845. Dr. McLoughlin was knighted by Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace in 1841.

By the early 1840s, American settlers were arriving in the Oregon Country, land which was claimed by both the United States and Great Britain. The first large group of about 100, led by Dr. Elijah White, arrived in 1842. Nearly 1,000 followed the following spring. Dr. McLoughlin went against the official policy of the Hudson's Bay Company by giving aid to the Americans, providing them with food, clothes, seeds for farming and medical care.

Dr. McLoughlin renamed the settlement of Willamette Falls to Oregon City and had the town platted in 1842. The falling water of Willamette Falls began powering a lumber mill that year. With the "Great Migration" of 1843, American settlers began arriving in large numbers by covered wagon over the Oregon Trail. For more information about overland travel by covered wagon, see Packing Up and Heading West: The History of Covered Wagons.

Oregon's early citizens began meeting at Champoeg to form a provisional government. On May 2, 1843, they voted to organize their provisional government under the United States instead of Great Britain, and on July 5, 1843, the first provisional legislature for the Oregon Country was formed, meeting at Oregon City. Four territorial districts were established, and Oregon City was made the county seat of Clackamas County, which it has remained to this day. Oregon City was incorporated on December 24, 1844, becoming the first incorporated city west of the Mississippi River. Oregon City was designated capital of the Oregon Territory on March 31,1849, and would remain so until May 15, 1852, when, after gaining statehood, Salem was made the new state capitol. As the first place of government in the west, Oregon City had the first Federal Court and Land Office. The original plat for the city of San Francisco would be filed here in 1850.

Historical Photos:
Provisional Capitol Building, 1841-1848 (Oregon State Library)
Provisional Capital Building, 1849 (Salem Public Library)

In 1844, a flour mill began operation, powered by the falls. That same year, a Methodist church was dedicated in Oregon City, becoming the first Protestant church west of the Rocky Mountains.

Historical Photo:
First Methodist Church, 1842 (Clackamas County GenWeb)

Following criticism from Hudson's Bay Company officials for helping Americans, and the anticipated treaty to give Oregon to the United States leading the company to move the northwest headquarters north to Vancouver Island, Dr. McLoughlin resigned his position with the company, purchased the land at Oregon City for $20,000, and proceeded to build a home with his wife near the falls in 1846. The Oregon Treaty of 1946 formed the border between the western United States as it is today.

Also in 1846, Samuel K. Barlow and Philip Foster built the Barlow Road, a toll road that served as cut-off from the Oregon Trail through the Cascade Range south of Mount Hood and into Oregon City. The first fall, 152 covered wagons arrived in Oregon City by way of the Barlow Road. Several pioneering establishments occurred that same year, including the first newspaper west of the Missouri River, the Oregon Spectator, which was first published on February 5, 1846, the first Catholic Archdiocese in the west and the first Masonic lodge west of the Rocky Mountains.

Other significant events in Oregon City's history include:

1864 - The Oregon City Manufacturing Company woolen mill opens in Oregon City.
1867 - The first paper mill in the Pacific Northwest is built in Oregon City by W. W. Buck.
1888 - The first suspension bridge west of the Mississippi River is erected over the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn.
1889 - The first long-distance transmission of electricity in the United States begins from Oregon City to Portland.
1893 - The East Side Railway Company from Portland to Oregon City becomes the first electric interurban railway in the United States.

Historical Photo:
Oregon City, 1867 (Oregon State Library)

The rest of Oregon City's history can be found throughout the city.