Ranald MacDonald

Ranald MacDonald. , Adventurer, Seaman, and Miner , A native of the Pacific Northwest and admired for his bravery, intelligence, and friendly cooperation, Ranald MacDonald is honored by the Japanese as their first teacher of the English language and culture. His final resting place is near this site., Early Years , Ranald was born February 3, 1824 at Fort George, a fur-trading post near the mouth of the Columbia River and present day Astoria, Oregon. He was the son of Archibald McDonald of the Hudson's Bay Company and Princess Raven of the Chinook tribe. Ranald's mother died shortly after his birth, and he was cared for by his mother's sister at a Chinook dwelling until his father married Jane Klyne., Educated by his father at Fort Okanogan, Kamloops, and Langley, Ranald also attended Ball Academy at Fort Vancouver and Red River Academy in Winnipeg. At age 15, his father sent him to St. Thomas, Ontario to work in a bank and learn the profession. But Ranald longed for adventure and left banking and a civilized life to sail the "seven seas" and work on whaling ships., First English Teacher in Japan , Ranald signed onto the whaling vessel, the Plymouth, in 1845. After three years, the ship entered the Sea of Japan. Ranald had a curiosity about the Japanese people and their society which was closed to the rest of the world at that time. Enlisting the support of the ship captain, Ranald was set adrift in a small boat off the coast of Hokkaido and was rescued by Ainu fisherman from Rishiri Island. Imprisoned and held captive by the Japanese for seven months, he made friends with his Japanese guards, was cared for and well treated by his captors, and taught English to 14 Japanese. Three of those former students served as interpreters during trade negotiations with Commodore Perry in the 1850's., Mining, Mineral Exploration, and Later Years , Ranald's adventures took him from Australia where he learned how to mine gold, to various regions in Canada where he participated in mining and mineral exploration., In his later years, Ranald joined family members at Fort Colville, and built a cabin near the Columbia River. When his health began to fail, his niece, Jennie Nelson Lynch, brought him to her home near the confluence of Toroda Creek and the Kettle River, and cared for him in the last days of his life., The historical mural at this site was painted by artist Charlene Payton Holt in 2000 and was restored by the artist in 2014., This site was sponsored by the Ferry County Historical Society, the State of Washington, and the Friends of MacDonald , Sponsor: Ferry County Historical Society 15-2 Kean Street P.O. Box 287 Republic, WA 99166, Website: ferrycountyhs.org, This sign was created by Nathan Agent for his Eagle Scout project in the spring of 2015. Funding for this project was donated by the Ferry County Commissioners