Missionary Narcissa Prentiss Whitman is probably Old Oregon’s most famous and tragic woman. Her reputation ranges from heroic to intolerant. In 1836, she moved west …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The 1847 murders of frontier missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman near the confluence of the Columbia and Walla Walla Rivers brought the Oregon Territory under …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The first major and ongoing conflict between Native groups and white resettlers in Oregon was a direct consequence of the murders by Cayuse tribesmen of …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Marcus Whitman left his mark on Oregon Country as an early missionary to Cayuse people on the Columbia Plateau and as an advocate for American …

Oregon Encyclopedia

On November 29, 1847, Protestant missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and twelve others were killed by members of the Waiilatpu band of the Cayuse Indian …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The fur trade was the earliest and longest-enduring economic enterprise that colonizers, imperialists, and nationalists pursued in North America. It significantly shaped North American history, …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Joseph L. Meek, a mountain man, storyteller, and public personality, played a significant role in bringing Oregon into the United States in 1846–1848. A politician …

Oregon Encyclopedia

François Norbert Blanchet arrived in Oregon in November 1838 as vicar general to the diverse Indian tribes of the Pacific Northwest, the French Canadians, the …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Native Hawaiians were among the earliest outsiders in present-day Oregon. The future state’s first resource to be exploited by outsiders was animal pelts, highly valued …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Cornelius "Neal" Gilliam was a prominent settler in Oregon in the 1840s and the namesake of Gilliam County. He was born on April 13, 1798, …

Oregon Encyclopedia