Hillsboro in Washington County, Oregon — The American West (Northwest)
Joseph L. Meek
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 24, 2017
1. Joseph L. Meek Marker
Inscription.
Joseph L. Meek. . This marks the land claim of Joseph L. Meek, famed and unlettered "mountain man," who arrived in 1840 after driving from Fort Hall to Walla Walla in the first wagon on that part of the Oregon Trail. He was a founder of the Provisional Government; served as the first sheriff, the first marshal, the first census taker. He carried word of the Whitman Massacre to Washington D.C., where President Polk, whose wife was his cousin, received him. Named marshal under the New Territorial Government, he accompanied Governor Lane to Oregon. His final Indian fighting was as a soldier in the Yakima War, 1855-56. He died here in 1875. A neighbor called him: "very popular and as brave as Julius Caesar".
This marks the land claim of Joseph L. Meek, famed and unlettered "mountain man," who arrived in 1840 after driving from Fort Hall to Walla Walla in the first wagon on that part of the Oregon Trail. He was a founder of the Provisional Government; served as the first sheriff, the first marshal, the first census taker. He carried word of the Whitman Massacre to Washington D.C., where President Polk, whose wife was his cousin, received him. Named marshal under the New Territorial Government, he accompanied Governor Lane to Oregon. His final Indian fighting was as a soldier in the Yakima War, 1855-56. He died here in 1875. A neighbor called him: "very popular and as brave as Julius Caesar".
Location. 45° 35.058′ N, 122° 58.87′ W. Marker is in Hillsboro, Oregon, in Washington County. Marker is on NorthWest Victory Lane near NorthWest School Road, on the right
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when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Hillsboro OR 97124, United States of America. Touch for directions.
More about this marker. This marker is located at a small turnout 'sandwiched' between NW Victory Lane and U.S. Highway 26.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 24, 2017
2. Joseph L. Meek Marker
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 24, 2017
3. Joseph L. Meek Marker
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer
4. Joseph L. Meek
Credits. This page was last revised on October 20, 2020. It was originally submitted on February 9, 2018, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 481 times since then and 52 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on February 9, 2018, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.