43-45

Emigrant Springs

BEAVER BOARD INFORMATION

_{Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area, 65068 Old Oregon Trail, Meacham, Oregon. photo by Chris Light}

In the first week of January, 1812, a party of trappers and traders, members of the Astor Overland Expedition, crossed the Blue Mountains in this area. Traveling afoot in bitter cold, often waist deep in snow, they were the first white men in this area. The route they traveled to and from St. Louis and Astoria developed into the emigrant route to the Oregon Country later known as the Oregon Trail.
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Wagon trains, Oregon bound, started their journey with the “greening” of the grass on the prairies, and crossed the “Blues” after completing some 2,200 miles of their journey, from late August to early October. Then as now this was the first forested area on the route.
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Although Meacham Meadows was the favored stopping place, some emigrants used the spring located west of the park area, and for which the park is named.

FACT BLOCK

LOCATION:
Meacham
Umatilla COUNTY
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GPS COORDINATES:
45.540917,-118.464729

OTIC topic:
Oregon Trail
(part of oregon trail)
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beaver board text CODED AS:
NO WHITE SUPREMACY ACKNOWLEDGMENT
-
false MULTICULTURAL information

published online:
october 10, 2012

empire city

BEAVER BOARD INFORMATION

_{Birdseye view of Coos Bay, Oregon, circa 1910 (INDOCC 1517).jpg}

Native Americans occupied the banks of this river and its bay long before Euro-American settlements appeared. Empire City, a bustling port of call that occupied this portion of Coos Bay’s waterfront, was once the site of an ancient Coos Indian village called Hanisitch. In 1826, fur trappers for the Hudson Bay Company were the first to meet the local natives. Emigrant settlers arrived here in 1853 to found Empire City. The community quickly established itself as an economic and commercial center. For over 40 years Empire City was the seat of Coos county government and southwest Oregon’s link to the outside world.
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During the 1850s, entrepreneurs from San Francisco, attracted by an accessible, modern harbor and the region’s wealth of natural resources, began shipping lumber, coal and agricultural products to domestic and foreign markets. Regularly scheduled steamer service soon carried passengers and freight. Since imported commodities such as machinery, food staples, and clothing flowed through Empire City to the farms, homes and industry of the region, it was also the site of the United States Collector of Customs for the Southern Oregon District.
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Empire City formally incorporated in 1885, but by the end of the 1880s the city was in decline. The lumber market plunged, mills closed, and in 1896 voters moved the county seat to Coquille.

Although little of historic Empire City remains today, the spirit of progress, adventure and opportunity characterized by the once-thriving port laid the foundation for the development of southwestern Oregon.

FACT BLOCK

LOCATION:
Empire
Coos COUNTY
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GPS COORDINATES:
43.392836,-124.27989

OTIC TOPIC:
Historic Towns
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beaver board text CODED AS:
NO WHITE SUPREMACY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
-
MULTICULTURAL

PUBLISHED ONLINE:
SEPTEMBER 2019

44B

The Hollering Place

BEAVER BOARD INFORMATION

Photo: www.oregontic.com

THE HOLLERING PLACE
A strategic site for communication, trade, and travel. Where this marker now stands, the villages of Qaimisiich on this side and El-ka-titc on the spit to the west, were close enough to call across the bay for a canoe ride – hence the translation of El-ka-titc, “Hollering Place.” Coos Bay has been a trade and transportation center for thousands of years.
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Camp Cast-a-wayIn 1852, the chartered schooner “Captain Lincoln” ran aground directly west of here on the ocean side of the North Spit. The soldiers and crew men, en route from San Francisco to Port Orford, were shipwrecked. They survived four months bivouacked at Camp Cast-a-way, by trading with the local Natives. After the castaways were rescued, they extolled the virtues of the resources of the Coos Bay area.
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Empire City Gold was discovered nearby in 1853. During the 1850s gold rush, Empire City became an important transportation link between sea and land travel. The docks bustled, boasting an anchorage deep enough for ocean-going ships, most bound to and from San Francisco. The Henry Luse Mill was built here in 1855 and lumber exports became the region’s most lucrative trading commodity, along with coal. the docks were also busy handling local farm produce, dairy products, and fish harvests.

Dredging of the upper bay later allowed large shipbuilding busineses and lumber mills to develop on the east waterfront of the peninsula at North Bend and Marshfield (today the City of Coos Bay). New railroad and highway development there also drew the population away from Empire City. After the county seat of government was moved inland to Coquille in 1896, the population in Empire City faded.
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EMPIRE CITY HOMES
Three of the oldest houses remaining in Coos County are within walking distance. The 1869 house of Maj. Morton and Anna Tower is only one block northeast of here. The 1873 house of Capt. James and Sarah Magee is just below this wayside. The 1872 house of Charles and Minnie Tower is behind you on the north side of Newmark. This house was later owned by Patrick and Ellen Flanagan from 1874-1920.

FACT BLOCK

LOCATION:
North Bend
Coos COUNTY
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GPS COORDINATES:
43.392681,-124.277653
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beaver board text CODED AS:
NO WHITE SUPREMACY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
-
MULTICULTURAL

PUBLISHED ONLINE:
JUNE 9, 2015

END OF THE OREGON TRAIL

BEAVER BOARD INFORMATION

Photo by John B.Horner End of the Oregon trail.jpg

OTIC Summary:
After 2,000 miles on the Oregon Trail and a journey lasting five long months, the emigrants finally came to the end of the Trail at Abernethy Green.
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Introductory plaque:
Clackamas heritage Partners offer an interactive educational experience of the history of the Oregon Trail, the Oregon Territory, historic Oregon City and Clackamas County with special emphasis on the 1840s through the 1880s, including the parallel Native American history.

We continue developing programs that create a more integrated and exciting heritage experience for our community and tourists. The collection, preservation and interpretation of the history and culture of historic Clackamas County remain integral to the organization’s mission. This unique interpretive perspective will tell both the local Native American and pioneer stories that led to the Oregon/Oregon City we have today. Tribal stories reflect the cultures and life-ways of the many tribes in the region, and how colonization of the area forced the removal of the tribes to the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation.

Contemporary stories include the tribe’s restoration of tribal sovereignty and continued connections with Oregon City. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde have developed and donated items toward their new exhibit to be featured in the iconic “Wagon” exhibits.
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The Visitor Center features free travel information, brochures, videos, with trained staff and volunteers ready to help with research, directions and itinerary plans. The Visitor Center and Country Store also includes changing exhibits on the Oregon Trail and Oregon history, pioneer games and children’s activities, local books and gifts.
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Located at the markers for the official End of the Oregon Trail, the Heritage Garden is maintained by the Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardeners program. The site includes a demonstration kitchen and garden with plants representative of varieties grown in the 1860s and an heirloom rose garden. Master Gardeners make presentations to groups of students and others who visit the area to learn about life in earlier times.
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Our mission is “to preserve the heritage, educate the public and interpret the history of the Oregon Trail, Clackamas County and Oregon City – the western terminus of the Oregon Trail.”

The local Native American perspective is fully integrated into all aspects of the Museum.
Historic Oregon City and our partners welcome you to the official End of the Oregon Trail.

FACT BLOCK

LOCATION:
Oregon City
Clackamas COUNTY
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GPS COORDINATES:
45.364682,-122.594789

OTIC TOPIC:
Oregon Trail
(part of oregon trail)
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SPONSORED BY:
Lennox Foundation
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beaver board text CODED AS:
THIS MARKER ACKNOWLEDGES the clear language stating that colonization and its systems removed Indigenous Americans from the Grande Ronde reservation.
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MULTICULTURAL

PUBLISHED ONLINE:
OCTOBER 11, 2012