Kalama in Cowlitz County, Washington — The American West (Northwest)

Ezra Meeker First Home Site

Photographed by Chuck Hornbuckle, July 29, 2017

1. Ezra Meeker First Home Site Marker

Inscription. Ezra Meeker
first home site
1853
250 ft. south
125 ft. east

Erected 1953.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1853.

Location. 46° 0.608′ N, 122° 50.71′ W. Marker is in Kalama, Washington, in Cowlitz County. It is on N 1st Street near Geranium Street. Erected on August 4, 1953 by the Cowlitz County Historical Society and citizens of Kalama. Two Bronze plaques are attached to a large concrete upright monument next to the Kalama City Hall. The other plaque is dated October 26, 1916, and placed by the Daughters and Sons of the American Revolution in the State of Washington. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 320 N First Street, Kalama WA 98625, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southwest Washington State.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast,

in the Pacific Northwest,

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

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Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Oregon Trail 1844 (within shouting distance of this marker); 1852 Monticello Convention (approx. 8 miles away); Dr. Charles Caples (approx. 8.4 miles away in Oregon); Caples House Museum 1870 (approx. 8½ miles away in Oregon); Caples House Museum (approx. 8½ miles away in Oregon); The Finn Hall (approx. 8.6 miles away); Oregon Trail (approx. 8.7 miles away); Woodland Community Veterans Memorial (approx. 8.9 miles away).

Another marker is no longer nearby. Deer Island (was approx. 5.2 miles away in Oregon but has been confirmed missing).

More about this marker. The monument and top plaque were part of the DAR/SAR project in 1916 to mark the Oregon Trail with 11 markers between Vancouver and Olympia. Thanks to Carol Dunn of the Mary Richardson Walker DAR Chapter for her research to solve the mystery of who placed the Ezra Meeker plaque, a puzzle that stumped even Ezra Meeker scholars. A 2016 centennial restoration of the Oregon Trail marker series was completed by DAR and DAR with subsequent re-dedication ceremonies.

Regarding Ezra Meeker First Home Site. References:

Drawing of Ezra Meeker's First Home in the west image. Click for full size.

Drawing by F.N. Wilson from book Ox-Team Days on the Oregon Trail by Ezra Meeker (Public Domain), 1927

2. Drawing of Ezra Meeker's First Home in the west

Meeker, Ezra, Howard R. Driggs, Washington State Library, and Washington State Library Classics in Washington History. 1927. Ox-Team Days on the Oregon Trail. Yonkers-on-Hudson, N.Y.: World Book Co. Artist is F. N. Wilson. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29543.

Kalama Bulletin, “Ezra Meeker Plaque Dedicated Here Saturday,” August 21, 1953; Ezra Meeker; Champion of the Oregon Trail by Webber, Bert & Margie (1992 Medford, OR), “Meeker first made a claim in January 1853… on the current site of Kalama, Washington. There, he built a log cabin and began his first farm. He did not build close to the water, which proved fortunate as there was a major flood on the Columbia soon after he claimed the land. Instead, he profited from the incident, selling logs the river left on his claim, together with trees he chopped down for lumber.” Drawing: WISAARD Property ID #15794; Ox-Team Days on the Oregon Trail by Ezra Meeker, p 75.

Also see . . . Ezra Meeker (Wikipedia).

Overview: Ezra Morgan Meeker (December 29, 1830 – December 3, 1928) was an American pioneer who traveled the Oregon Trail by ox-drawn wagon as a young man, migrating from Iowa to the Pacific Coast. Later in life he worked to memorialize the Trail, repeatedly retracing the trip of his youth. Once known as the "Hop King of the World", he was the first mayor of Puyallup, Washington.

(Submitted on December 11, 2023.)

Additional keywords. cabin

Photographed by Chuck Hornbuckle, July 29, 2017

3. Ezra Meeker First Home Site Marker

Photographed by Mick Hersey, September 23, 2016

4. Ezra Meeker First Home Site Marker

Photographed by Shirley A Stirling

5. Ezra Meeker First Home Site Marker

Colorguard at the plaque re-dedication ceremony. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Shirley A Stirling, August 15, 2013

6. Colorguard at the plaque re-dedication ceremony.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 19, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 5, 2023, by Shirley A Stirling of Lacey, Washington. This page has been viewed 667 times since then and 88 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on December 5, 2023, by Shirley A Stirling of Lacey, Washington. 6. submitted on December 6, 2023, by Shirley A Stirling of Lacey, Washington. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.