Oregon Historical Timeline, 1775-1860

The following article is by my friend Bill Dollarhide, taken from his book, Oregon Censuses & Substitute Name Lists, 1836-2008.

Prologue: The first jurisdiction of the Oregon Country was a joint occupation by the U.S. and Britain. Both parties were mainly interested in harvesting the animal furs in the region. The U.S. won the rights to claim the area after some mistakes were made by the British, who had sent French-Canadian fur trappers to the area instead of the regular English-Scots fur trappers. When the American fur trappers joined with the French-Canadians, the British were out voted, and the Oregon Country became part of the U.S.  Here are some of the key events in an historical timeline:

1775.  British Capt. James Cook, fresh from visiting and naming the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii), explored and charted the Northwest Coast. He was intent on finding a Northwest Passage  that would allow a ship to sail from the Pacific to Hudson Bay. En route to Alaska, he looked for the mouth of a very large river in the area reported by the Spanish, but never found it. Based on the Latitude/Longitude readings noted in his ship’s log, he had passed by the mouth of the Columbia River within a couple of miles.

1783. The United States Of America was recognized at the Treaty of Paris. From day one, the new government asserted a plan to inhabit the entire continent; with plans for explorations in the west, including the Pacific coast, by land or sea.

1784. The North West Fur Company was formed in Montreal. It became a rival of the Hudson’s Bay Company for dominance of the fur trade in British North America. Although both companies were British-owned, the North West Fur Company was manned mostly by French-Canadians, who fought furiously for fur trading rights, attacking Hudson’s Bay forts, burning their ships, etc., until the two companies were forced to end their differences by the British Crown.

1792. American Capt. Robert Gray entered and named the Columbia River after his ship, the same ship he used to become the first American to circumnavigate the globe. Gray and party were in the area at the same time as British Capt. George Vancouver’s party, who he met with and revealed the location of the Columbia River. Vancouver then sent Lt. William Broughton to confirm the existence of the Columbia River. Broughton not only confirmed it, he took his ship well into the river, landing at a point 100 miles from the mouth on the present Washington side, built a temporary shelter, and named it Point Vancouver.

1803. Captains William Clark and Meriwether Lewis led the Corps of Discovery, the first transcontinental expedition of the lands west of the Missouri River. Their trek to the Pacific was mostly via river routes, beginning at St. Louis on the Mississippi, up the Missouri River to its source in Montana, then by foot across the Mountains, picking up Idaho’s Clear River, to the Snake River of Idaho and Washington, and finally, the Columbia River all the way to its mouth at present Astoria, Oregon.

1805. Lewis and Clark explored the present Washington side of the Columbia River, including Point Vancouver, the site of the future Fort Vancouver. They built their own Fort Clatsop on the present Oregon side near the mouth of the Columbia River, where they spent the Winter of 1805-1806.

1806. John Jacob Astor had amassed a fortune in the trading of furs to European markets. He was America’s first multi-millionaire. Astor had established a strong business relationship with the North West Fur Company of Montreal, a British-owned company of French-Canadians in competition with the London based Hudson’s Bay Company. Immediately after the 1806 return of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark from their historic expedition to the Oregon Country, Astor began planning for a repeat of their journey. Lewis and Clark had recorded the numbers of deer, elk, bear, and beaver they encountered as part of their explorations. Astor’s motive was to gain profits from the untapped fur trapping locations he had learned about from Lewis and Clark’s journals.

1807-1810. British fur trader and mapmaker David Thompson, with the North West Fur Company, began looking for routes from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. He led a crew of French-Canadian fur trappers, established fur trading opportunities with any Indian Tribes he encountered, and charted detailed maps of the Columbia River. Back in Montreal, Thompson had been given instructions to join up with Astor’s American fur trappers if they should be found near the Columbia River.

1810. In New York City, John Jacob Astor formed the Pacific Fur Company to expand his trading empire to the Pacific coast.

1811. Fort Astoria.  American fur traders built Fort Astoria near the mouth of the Columbia River as part of the Pacific  Fur  Company.  Manned  by  two shiploads of men and supplies, it was the first American settlement on the Pacific Coast of North America. A Pacific Fur Company expedition called the Astorians traveled overland to the Oregon Country with the intent of arriving at Fort Astoria at the same time as Astor’s ships.  They followed the same path as Lewis and Clark to get there, arriving a few weeks after the ships. Astor had  convinced the North West Fur Company to participate in his expedition to the Oregon Country. David Thompson and his party of French-Canadian trappers made contact with the Astorians, and followed them down river to Fort Astoria. Thompson then set up a fur trading post for the North West Fur Company next door to Fort Astoria.

1813. After war was declared in 1812, British warships blockaded Fort Astoria. The Astorians decided it was better to get out before shots were fired, and the entire Fort Astoria operation was sold to the British-owned North West Fur Company, who renamed it Fort George. The Astorians returned overland to St. Louis, and in doing so, became the first to cross South Pass, the route through the Rocky Mountains that would be followed by thousands of Oregon Trail travelers.

1814. The Treaty of Ghent ended the War of 1812, and restored all boundaries between the U.S. and Britain to the lines before the war. Invoking the Treaty of Ghent, John Jacob Astor used the provisions for returning all occupied lands by the British back to the Americans, and got the American government to allow his Pacific Fur Company to take possession of Fort Astoria again. Although the fort changed hands in ownership, the North West Fur Company continued to use it for their operations for several more years.

1818.  Anglo-American Convention. The United States and Great Britain agreed to a joint occupation of the Oregon Country/Columbia District. Both parties accepted the area as extending from the Continental Divide to the Pacific Ocean, and from about Latitude 54° in present British Columbia, to the Boundary Mountains (now Siskiyou Mountains) at about Latitude 42° ). In 1827 a provision was added to the treaty that allowed either party to invoke a conclusion of ownership, by giving 12 months notice to the other. Notice was not given until 1845, when President James K. Polk sought resolution, leading to a new treaty in 1846. Also in the 1818 treaty, Britain and the U.S. agreed to the 49th parallel as the international boundary from the Lake of the Woods (now Minnesota) to the Continental Divide (in present Montana).

1821.  After years of intense competition, the Hudson’s Bay Company and the North West Fur Company merged, retaining the name Hudson’s Bay. The company now had a monopoly on fur trading activity in British North America, but was facing new competitors from the Americans and the Russians on the Pacific Coast of America. Still, the new Hudson’s Bay Company was intent on monopolizing the fur trade in the Oregon Country as well.

1825. Fort Vancouver. The British-owned Hudson’s Bay Company established Fort Vancouver as a center for their fur trading operations in the Columbia District, the British name for the Oregon Country. Most of the employees of the Hudson’s Bay Company in the Oregon Country were French-Canadians left over from their days with the North West Fur Company. In defiance of their orders, the Hudson’s Bay Company fur trappers and traders in the Oregon Country continued to cooperate with the American fur traders.

1841. The Western Emigration Society, a group of about 70 settlers bound for California and the Oregon Country set off on the Oregon Trail, beginning at Independence, Missouri. This was the first organized wagon train  to  head for California and Oregon.  It  is usually called the “Bartleson-Bidwell party” named for the two leaders. John Bartleson led about half of the group to Oregon’s Willamette Valley. John Bidwell took the other half to California’s Sacramento Valley. Many descendants of Oregon Pioneers claim that when the Bartleson-Bidwell party reached a fork in the road in present southwest Wyoming, there was a sign-post  ← California | Oregon →  and those who could read went to Oregon.

1841. A group of Willamette Valley settlers met to organize a provisional government under the protection of the United States.  However, the Americans were outnumbered by left-over French-Canadians formerly employed by the North West Fur Co/Hudson’s Bay Co, and no action was taken.

1842.  Dr. Elijah White, a Doctor, Missionary, and Indian Agent, took his own census of settlers in the Oregon Country. It included the numbers of men, women, and children and a summary of their crops for the 1841-1842 year. White intended to show that it was possible to farm the Oregon Country and to have something to show the U.S. Congress in support of an American government in the Oregon Country.

1843. Provisional Territory of Oregon. A group of 50 Americans and 52 French-Canadians met again in 1843. This time they took a vote to determine who should govern the Oregon Country. A vote of 52-50 favored the creation of an American territory (two Canadians switched their votes). From that meeting, a Provisional Territory of Oregon was established. In 1843, the Oregon Country was just three votes away from being part of British Canada. Over the next five years, the Provisional Territory of Oregon elected a governor, created counties, established a court system, and continued to operate with the consent of the local population. They also promoted the territory as a place where Americans were welcome, and actively petitioned the U.S. Congress to make the Provisional Oregon Territory part of the United States.

1843.  The largest wagon train to date left the Missouri River near Independence, and headed out on the Oregon Trail. There were over 120 wagons, a large herd of livestock, and nearly 1,000 pioneers. This wagon train became the model for the thousands of wagon train that would follow. For a list of the 1843 wagon train members, Click Here. 

1844-1846.  In the 1844 presidential election, James K. Polk, Democrat, defeated Henry Clay, Whig, to become President of the United States. The two burning political issues of the day were the annexation of Texas and the acquisition of the Oregon Country. James K. Polk, as the “Manifest Destiny” candidate, was elected with campaign slogans of Annex Texas! and Fifty-four forty or fight!  In 1845, Texas was annexed to the U.S. and war with Mexico began soon after. But in the Oregon Treaty of 1846, Polk settled for the 49th parallel as the northern boundary of the Oregon Country – Polk had no intention of fighting a war with Mexico and Great Britain at the same time. The treaty of 1846 brought the Oregon Country officially into the United States.

1848.  Oregon Territory. James K. Polk signed a bill that created Oregon Territory. It encompassed the area between the 42nd and 49th parallels, from the Pacific Ocean to the Continental Divide. The first capital was Oregon City. Virtually all of the political structures established by the Provisional Oregon Government were adopted by the official Territory of Oregon, including the counties in place at that time, most of the laws, and most of the court system was retained.  Polk became the President who brought  more territory  into the United States than any other. During his administration, Texas,  the Oregon Country, and the Mexican Annexation  were added to the U.S., for a total of 12 present states. And, for the first time, America became a nation “from sea to shining sea.”

1850. June. The first Federal Census was taken in Oregon Territory, which included the area of present Oregon, Washington, and Idaho; plus Montana and Wyoming areas west of the Continental Divide. The population was revealed as 12,093 people. The population was limited in the present Washington area to a few residents of Clarke and Lewis counties, all south of  Puget Sound and west of the Cascade Mountains. No population was recorded in the present Idaho, Montana, or Wyoming areas.

1850. Sept. 27th. Donation Land Claim Act.  Congress passed the first free land program, the forerunner of the 1862 Homestead Act. The Donation Land Claim Act was aimed entirely as an incentive to get settlers to move to Oregon Territory. From 1850 to 1862, land records for the areas that became Oregon and Washington provide detailed genealogical sources, revealing  names, birthdates, birthplaces, marriage information, citizenship,  and  more. Some of the unique considerations for obtaining a parcel of land: 1) A person had to be citizen of the U.S. (or show evidence that papers had been filed to become a citizen). Proofs of citizenship, such as pages from a Family Bible, First Papers, etc., were submitted to the land office. The submitted documents went into a file folder and were never returned to the applicant. 2) A single male could receive a land grant of 320 acres. A married man could receive 640 acres. Proofs of marriage had to be submitted to the land office. Actual marriage certificates and other documents still reside in the case files, and all of the files are available on microfilm (and online). See Ancestry’s database, Genealogical Material in Oregon Donation Land Claims.

1852-1854. Oregon Trail. The height of the Oregon Trail migrations was in 1852. In this year, it was estimated that about 67,000 people traveled the Oregon/California Trail to Oregon and California. In Dec 1854, the Oregon Statesman newspaper at Portland published a list of person who died on the trail in that year, as reported by the immigrants arriving in Oregon. The list of names, with their former residence, is at the USGenWeb site for Oregon.

1853. Washington Territory created. Taken entirely from Oregon Territory, Washington Territory encompassed the present state of Washington and extended east to the Rocky Mountains, incorporating areas that today are in northern Idaho and western Montana. As a result, the original Oregon Territory was split in half. Oregon Territory now had lands on the same line as its present northern border stretching to the Continental Divide, and included the southern half of present Idaho, and a portion of present western Montana and Wyoming. Dollarhide’s editorial note:  The 1853 petition to Congress for territorial status included the proposed name of Columbia, but during arguments, a Senator from Kentucky suggested that such a name would cause confusion with the District of Columbia, and proposed the name Washington instead. (Of course, there has never been any confusion between Washington state and Washington, DC. I would like to get Dr Who to take me back to the Senate floor on that day, and ask the Senator if he would mind changing the name of Kentucky to Lincoln).

1859. Oregon Statehood. Oregon joined the Union as the 33rd state, a Free State with the same boundaries as present. The population of the new state was about 45,000 people. The eastern remnants of Oregon Territory, 1853-1859, were added to Washington Territory.

1860. June. Federal Census. The State of Oregon population was at 52,465. The above map shows in black, the 18 counties of Oregon at the time of the 1860 Federal Census. The current 36 counties of Oregon are shown in white. * Map Notes:  Umpqua County was annexed to Douglas County in 1862. Map Source: Page 282, Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920.

Oregon’s Territorial, State, and Federal Censuses

All of the surviving original territorial and state censuses are located at the Oregon State Archives in Salem. They include these censuses taken by:

•  Dr. Elijah White: census of 1842.
•  Provisional Government of Oregon: 1845, 1845-1846, and 1847.
•  Oregon Territory: 1849, 1853, 1854, 1855, 1856, 1857, 1858, and 1859.
•  State of Oregon: 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, and 1905.
•  Federal Censuses for Oregon, available on National Archives microfilm: 1850-1880; and 1900-1940.

None of the territorial and state censuses are complete for the entire territory or state. A list of these censuses and the counties included in each can be found at the State Archives Census Records webpage.  See http://sos.oregon.gov/archives/Pages/records/aids-census_osa.aspx.

OR Censuses online: All of the censuses listed above have been indexed, the territorial censuses are included in a unique Oregon innovation: an online index to censuses, county records, city records, and state government records: The Oregon Historical Records Index  (OHRI) includes entries compiled by archives staff and numerous volunteers from original records held by the Oregon State Archives. The search screen is located at http://genealogy.state.or.us.   At the About Page, a very impressive list of Oregon original records included in the OHRI are identified under an alpha list of counties, cities, and other entities. To review the Oregon databases available at the FamilySearch.org website, see https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/location/56. To review the Oregon database available at the Ancestry.com website, see https://search.ancestry.com/Places/US/Oregon/Default.aspx.

Further Reading:

Oregon Censuses & Substitute Name Lists, 1836-2008 (Printed Book), softbound, 83 pages, Item FR0283.

Oregon Censuses & Substitute Name Lists, 1836-2008 (PDF e Book), 83 pages, Item FR0284.

Online Oregon Censuses & Substitutes: A Genealogists’ Insta-Guide ™  Laminated, 4 pages, 3-hole punched, Item FR0353.

Online Oregon Censuses & Substitutes: A Genealogists’ Insta-Guide ™  (PDF Version), 4 pages,  Item FR0354.