How Oregon happened
First Known Inhabitants: 13 thousand years ago - First native Americans had arrived in the Northwest from Mongolia by way of Siberia and Alaska Long ago the first native Americans had arrived in the Northwest from Mongolia. The Native American groups lived by fishing and hunting. Groups by the Columbia River lived in large multi-family long houses and other groups lived further up the Columbia tended to live in smaller groups. All people fished for salmon on the Willamette River but in spring and summer they all group up and feast on chinook harvest and trade with each other. Many Oregon names are from Indian tribal names, such as Multnomah, Willamette, Siuslaw and Clackamas.
Exploration: Fur trade-The coast of southern Oregon was probably seen on voyages of exploration by Bartolome Ferrelo of Spain in 1542 and 1543, England's Sir Francis Drake in 1579, and Sebastián Vizcaíno of Spain in 1602–03. After that they didn't voyage it over 175 years. When the Russians started a fur trade in the Aleutians in the mid-18th century, however, the Spanish became alarmed. Missionaries were sent from Mexico,navigators Juan Perez in 1774 and Bruno Heceta in 1775 sailed up the Pacific coast and claimed the Northwest for Spain.The English were also interested sending in Captain James Cook to the area in 1778 and George Vancouver in 1791–1794. Both explored and mapped the area. New England merchants in the newly independent United States sent out two ships in 1787 in one of the trips were; Robert Gray, captain of one of them, landed on the Oregon coast at 1788. When they started to come, they would trade trinkets and other items to the Indians to get fur; called the Fur Trade.
Settlement: Jason Lee was sent in 1834 by the Methodist Church in the United States to work among the Indians in Oregon. He made missions where Salem, Oregon City, and The Dalles now are, and requested the United States government to have jurisdiction over Oregon. A second missionary was started by Marcus Whitman in 1836 north of the Columbia near present Walla Walla. Both missionaries gave great reports of the Oregon country and draw settlers to the region. Mountain men (trappers and traders from the Rocky Mountain area) which (including Jedediah Smith) attempted to invade on the Hudson's Bay Company's fur trade. Then made a route called the Oregon Trail, through the mountains. In 1841 a small group of pioneers, led by Dr. Robert Newell, arrived in the Willamette Valley. They were the first people to go to Oregon by wagon over the Oregon Trail. A larger group came the next year, and in 1843 almost 900 arrived in what was called the Great Migration. Most of these early immigrants were farm families from Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers.
Colonial and/or Territorial history:
It was after the Lewis and Clark expedition (made by President Thomas Jefferson) that settlers from the eastern United States began coming to Oregon to stay. Until they were eventually routed and forced onto reservations. Many Native American tribesmen and women helped the settlers and experienced conflicts. The Oregon Trail saw the highest number of travelers in the 1850’s, after the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 gave settlers the option of coming to Oregon and claiming free land. 320 acres could be claimed by any single adult person, and 640 acres could be claimed by a married couple.Later, when Civil War broke out in the east, the Oregon region and some areas of California sent troops to help in the fighting. The First Oregon Calvary served the fighting and the North until the year 1865.Perhaps one of the biggest events in Oregon history was the arrival of the Pacific Railroad. Oregon state history shows the boom in business experienced by the towns of Portland and Ashland when the railroad arrived. It connected the northern Oregon Territory to California and the east.
Exploration: Fur trade-The coast of southern Oregon was probably seen on voyages of exploration by Bartolome Ferrelo of Spain in 1542 and 1543, England's Sir Francis Drake in 1579, and Sebastián Vizcaíno of Spain in 1602–03. After that they didn't voyage it over 175 years. When the Russians started a fur trade in the Aleutians in the mid-18th century, however, the Spanish became alarmed. Missionaries were sent from Mexico,navigators Juan Perez in 1774 and Bruno Heceta in 1775 sailed up the Pacific coast and claimed the Northwest for Spain.The English were also interested sending in Captain James Cook to the area in 1778 and George Vancouver in 1791–1794. Both explored and mapped the area. New England merchants in the newly independent United States sent out two ships in 1787 in one of the trips were; Robert Gray, captain of one of them, landed on the Oregon coast at 1788. When they started to come, they would trade trinkets and other items to the Indians to get fur; called the Fur Trade.
Settlement: Jason Lee was sent in 1834 by the Methodist Church in the United States to work among the Indians in Oregon. He made missions where Salem, Oregon City, and The Dalles now are, and requested the United States government to have jurisdiction over Oregon. A second missionary was started by Marcus Whitman in 1836 north of the Columbia near present Walla Walla. Both missionaries gave great reports of the Oregon country and draw settlers to the region. Mountain men (trappers and traders from the Rocky Mountain area) which (including Jedediah Smith) attempted to invade on the Hudson's Bay Company's fur trade. Then made a route called the Oregon Trail, through the mountains. In 1841 a small group of pioneers, led by Dr. Robert Newell, arrived in the Willamette Valley. They were the first people to go to Oregon by wagon over the Oregon Trail. A larger group came the next year, and in 1843 almost 900 arrived in what was called the Great Migration. Most of these early immigrants were farm families from Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers.
Colonial and/or Territorial history:
It was after the Lewis and Clark expedition (made by President Thomas Jefferson) that settlers from the eastern United States began coming to Oregon to stay. Until they were eventually routed and forced onto reservations. Many Native American tribesmen and women helped the settlers and experienced conflicts. The Oregon Trail saw the highest number of travelers in the 1850’s, after the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 gave settlers the option of coming to Oregon and claiming free land. 320 acres could be claimed by any single adult person, and 640 acres could be claimed by a married couple.Later, when Civil War broke out in the east, the Oregon region and some areas of California sent troops to help in the fighting. The First Oregon Calvary served the fighting and the North until the year 1865.Perhaps one of the biggest events in Oregon history was the arrival of the Pacific Railroad. Oregon state history shows the boom in business experienced by the towns of Portland and Ashland when the railroad arrived. It connected the northern Oregon Territory to California and the east.
