Known as Father Wilbur, the energetic and determined Rev. James Harvey Wilbur was a leader in Oregon’s early Methodist community. He established a number of …

Oregon Encyclopedia

James Nesmith was a prominent figure in the Oregon Territory and in Oregon after statehood. He was a member of the volunteer militia during the …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Jesse Applegate, an influential early Oregon settler, is most remembered for his leadership role in establishing the Applegate Trail. Born in Kentucky on July …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Tenor saxophonist Jim Pepper was an internationally recognized and influential jazz musician. He is best remembered for "Witchi-Tai-To," his elaboration of a Comanche peyote chant …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Johnnie Ray was completely different from anything that went before him. . . . I consider Johnnie Ray to be the father of rock and …

Oregon Encyclopedia

John Whiteaker, a self-educated farmer from Lane County, was elected in 1858 as Oregon’s first governor after statehood, part of a political career that spanned …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Joseph Henry Wythe, M.D., served as president of Willamette University from 1865 to 1868. He presided over the organization of the university’s medical department and …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Josephine Martin Plymale was both a woman of her time and a woman who defied the gender standards of nineteenth-century Jacksonville, Oregon. She was an …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Justus F. Krumbein was a prominent architect in Portland and the Willamette Valley from 1871 until his death in 1907. His work included designs for …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The name Kalapuya (kǎlə poo´ yu), also appearing in the modern geographic spellings Calapooia (for a river in Linn Country) and Calapooya (for a mountain …

Oregon Encyclopedia