Oregon has been home to many indigenous nations for thousands of years. The first European traders, explorers, and settlers began exploring what is now Oregon's Pacific coast in the early to mid-16th century. As early as 1564, the Spanish began sending vessels northeast from the Philippines, riding the Kuroshio Current in a sweeping circular route across the northern part of the Pacific. In 1592, Juan de Fuca undertook detailed mapping and studies of ocean currents in the Pacific Northwest, including the Oregon coast as well as the strait now bearing his name. The Lewis and Clark Expedition traversed Oregon in the early 1800s, and the first permanent European settlements in Oregon were established by fur trappers and traders. In 1843, an autonomous government was formed in the Oregon Country, and the Oregon Territory was created in 1848. Oregon became the 33rd state of the U.S. on February 14, 1859.
Today, with 4.2 million people over 98,000 square miles (250,000 km2), Oregon is the ninth largest and 27th most populous U.S. state. The capital, Salem, is the third-most populous city in Oregon, with 175,535 residents. Portland, with 652,503, ranks as the 26th among U.S. cities. The Portland metropolitan area, which includes neighboring counties in Washington, is the 25th largest metro area in the nation, with a population of 2,512,859. Oregon is also one of the most geographically diverse states in the U.S., marked by volcanoes, abundant bodies of water, dense evergreen and mixed forests, as well as high deserts and semi-arid shrublands. At 11,249 feet (3,429 m), Mount Hood is the state's highest point. Oregon's only national park, Crater Lake National Park, comprises the caldera surrounding Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the U.S. The state is also home to the single largest organism in the world, Armillaria ostoyae, a fungus that runs beneath 2,200 acres (8.9 km2) of the Malheur National Forest. (Full article...)
Chief Joseph (1840–September 21, 1904) was the chief of the Wallowa band of Nez PerceIndians during GeneralOliver O. Howard's attempt to forcibly remove his band and the other "non-treaty" Indians to a reservation. For his principled resistance to the removal, he became renowned as a humanitarian and peacemaker. In 1873, Joseph negotiated with the federal government to ensure his people could stay on their land, but in 1877, the government reversed its policy, and General Oliver Howard threatened to attack if the Wallowa band did not relocate to the Idaho Reservation. Chief Joseph reluctantly agreed. Joseph and other chiefs began leading his people north toward Canada. Over 3 months, the band traveled 1,700 miles across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. On October 5, 1877, in the mountains of the Montana Territory, less than 40 miles south of Canada, Chief Joseph surrendered to General Howard. He earned the praise of General Sherman, and became known in the press as "the Red Napoleon". Although Joseph had negotiated a safe return home for his people, they were instead taken to eastern Kansas and then to a reservation in the Indian Territory where many of them died from diseases. In 1885, Joseph and his followers were allowed to return to the Pacific Northwest, though many, including Chief Joseph, were taken to the Colville Indian Reservation. Joseph continued to lead his band of Wallowa until his death in 1904.
February 5, 1846, the first edition of the Oregon Spectator is published, becoming the first American newspaper to be published west of the Rocky Mountains.
February 8, 1851, the city of Portland is incorporated.
February 14, 1859, Oregon becomes the 33rd state of the Union.
... that James A. Merriman was the only Black graduate from Rush Medical College in 1902 and the first African-American physician to practice medicine in Portland?
... that future state senator William T. Vinton was sent to jail for contempt of court when he refused to sign a city paving contract, but was later vindicated by an Oregon Supreme Court decision?
... that a president of the Oregon Senate crawled along a ledge of the State Capitol to access an unsecured window of the absent governor's office to place bills on his desk?
I also want to applaud you for helping the people of Oregon fight a misguided minority that would legalize marijuana. That would be the worst possible message to send to our young people.
The Wallowa Mountains in summer as seen from the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area Headquarters/Wallowa Mountains Visitor Center in Enterprise. From left to right the peaks are: East Peak, Aneroid Mountain, Bonneville Mountain, Chief Joseph Mountain, Sacajawea Peak, Twin Peaks and Ruby Peak.
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