(Two of the four interpretive panels highlight local history and other points of interest)Panel 1:
A Bit of History
Named for its vista of the once-larger Goose Lake, ten miles to the south, the high desert town of Lakeview . . . — — Map (db m147365) HM
1922 - Building constructed by
Andy Underwood Contractor, as a
residence for Dalpheus & Lula Schminck
1936 - First museum display exhibited
in the basement. Eventually most
of the house was devoted to
museum display while they
continued in . . . — — Map (db m112555) HM
Marker on Left:
In 1846, Jesse Applegate and fourteen others from near Dallas, Oregon, established a trail south from the Willamette Valley and east to Fort Hall. This route offered emigrants an alternative to the perilous . . . — — Map (db m147032) HM
The 19th century brought significant changes to this region.
In 1843, Captain John C. Fremont explored and mapped this area.
By the 1870s, most of the region's Native American inhabitants were removed to distant reservations.
Homesteaders . . . — — Map (db m113773) HM
side 1
The reports of this expedition directed the migration of the western settlement toward the Oregon Country which hitherto had been merely a rendezvous for trappers.
On December 16th 1843 the expedition, while enroute . . . — — Map (db m113809) HM
This observation point has been provided to facilitate public enjoyment of the unusual and interesting combination of historical and geological features nearby. The development was planned and supervised by the Willamette National Forest and . . . — — Map (db m114229) HM
This is a portion of the McKenzie Salt Springs and Deschutes Wagon Road constructed during the period 1866-1872. The route across these lava fields was rough and torturous. However it was 1,000 feet lower in elevation than the older Scott Trail . . . — — Map (db m114227) HM
On the knoll behind this sign once stood a rustic cabin in which pioneer mailman John Templeton Craig died in December 1877.
Craig, who was 56, had been employed to carry the mail between McKenzie Bridge and Camp Polk, near Sisters.
While . . . — — Map (db m114234) HM
In 1862 Felix Scott led a crew of 50 men who blazed a trail across the Cascade Mountains following an old Indian trail which skirted lava flows.
Scott hoped to use the new route to take supplies to gold fields in Idaho.
His trail was . . . — — Map (db m114245) HM
Slowed by rugged trail conditions, weather, and weary teams, emigrants in 1846 entered the southern Willamette Valley in dire circumstances. Transit of the mountains between the Rogue River and the Willamette watershed took a terrible toll - . . . — — Map (db m112911) HM
Roads and rights-of-way were serious public considerations on the Oregon frontier. Market roads, territorial roads and county roads were the lifelines of commerce and communication. River Road - the road upon which you are standing - was once a . . . — — Map (db m112909) HM
In 1846, Jesse Applegate and fourteen others from near Dallas, Oregon, established a trail south from the Willamette Valley and east to Fort Hall. This route offered emigrants an alternative to the perilous "last leg" of the Oregon Trail down the . . . — — Map (db m112908) HM
Site of the home of A. W. and Amanda Patterson. He was a pioneer Lane County doctor and surveyor who plotted a greater part of Eugene. In 1853, Patterson was also a member of the Oregon legislature and was instrumental in establishing the University . . . — — Map (db m112888) HM
Early Settler of This Region For Whom The City of Eugene and Skinner Butte is Named. According to Tradition, Skinner Built the
Area’s First Cabin Near This Site, ca 1846. — — Map (db m116756) HM
This cabin is a replica of his first home. Built at Oakridge Oregon by Lawrence Hills, Bud Pickens and Jim White for Lane County Historical Society. — — Map (db m118807) HM
(The following two of four interpretive displays located in this park highlight Eugene Skinner):(First Display)
Eugene and Mary Skinner emigrated in 1845 to California, and then moved north to settle temporarily in Polk . . . — — Map (db m116805) HM
Site of the home of A.W. and Amanda Patterson. He was a pioneer Lane County doctor and surveyor who plotted a greater part of Eugene. In 1853, Patterson was also a member of the Oregon Legislature and was instrumental in establishing the University . . . — — Map (db m99248) HM
(The following two of four interpretive displays located in this park highlight the Applegate Trail):
(First Display)
In 1846, Jesse Applegate and fourteen others from near Dallas, Oregon, established a trail south from the Willamette . . . — — Map (db m116803) HM
Early in the twentieth century, Danish immigrants settled in and around Junction City. Like most immigrants they came to stay and live like other Americans, but that did not mean abandoning their ethnic heritage. As one letter writer explained to . . . — — Map (db m117073) HM
Born of a vision that was not to be fully realized, Junction City was platted in 1870 by Ben Holladay, the West Coast railroad promoter. Holladay was building the Oregon & California Railroad south from Portland, laying track on both the east and . . . — — Map (db m119466) HM
This marks the Old Stage Route and the Daniel Smith Donation Land Claim Homesite 1852 – 1908 Smithfield Dedicated in His Honor 1862 — — Map (db m117049) HM
After lengthy journeys across inhospitable deserts and mountains in the early 1800s, weary travelers arrived in the Willamette Basin. Lane County's first Euro-American settler, Elijah Bristow, arrived in June of 1846, making his 640-acre claim at . . . — — Map (db m112926) HM
At the turn of the century, the wild frontier was rapidly shifting to settled land and the Forest Reserves (predecessor to the Forest Service) quickly became an integral part of life in the region. "Forest Rangers" (a new breed of working men) . . . — — Map (db m112929) HM
Just across the reservoir, Lowell took root in the 1850s at Amos D. Hyland's homestead. First called Cannon, then later dubbed Lowell, the town grew up around Hyland's general store and large hop-processing yard. Hyland also operated a ferry that . . . — — Map (db m112930) HM
Elijah Bristow, a veteran of Andrew Jackson's army, erected his cabin here on Pleasant Hill in 1846, earliest year of settlement in Lane County. He and his wife Susannah then led in establishing the county's first church and first school. This . . . — — Map (db m99218) HM
In 1845 Elijah Bristow and his wife (Susannah Gabbart Bristow) left their home in Illinois and traveled overland to California. They came to Oregon in the spring of 1846, following the Hudson's Bay trappers' route to the northern Willamette Valley. . . . — — Map (db m99220) HM
In 1866, the area around Yaquina Bay was removed from the Coast Reservation and opened up to settlement. On July 4 that year Sam Case opened the area's first resort hotel, the Ocean House, and also named the new community Newport.
The Lincoln . . . — — Map (db m177035) HM
The city of Newport was named on July 4, 1866.
On that day the townspeople and many visitors gathered to celebrate the ninetieth anniversary of National Independence Day and to name this small fishing and lumbering community.
A tall pole was . . . — — Map (db m114246) HM
The South Beach of Yaquina Bay has changed each decade as regularly as the tides. The Yacona Indians set up summer camps here before the Coast Reservation was established in 1855. Lemuel Davis homesteaded a good chunk of the land when it was opened . . . — — Map (db m177023) HM
In 1890 J. W. Brassfield set up a post office to serve Seal Rock and Beaver Creek. Brassfield also ran a hotel there. It stood by the highway, which cut through a shell mound or midden. The town was named Seal Rock because many seals once made their . . . — — Map (db m177043) HM
(right column)
Local Stories to Share
The Alsea River and Alsea Bay take their name from the native word Alsi (meaning peace). The Native Americans who once lived here were removed by order of the US Government in the . . . — — Map (db m177061) HM
(Note: marker is comprised of four panels)(top left panel)
The rugged shore of the Central and Northern Oregon Coast is backed by the Coast Range Mountains, remnants of a chain of volcanic islands that collided with the North . . . — — Map (db m177132) HM
A Town with Ancient Beginnings and Many Names
Long before the first pioneer settlers arrived here in the 1840’s, this area was occupied by the ancient Mound Builders and then the Kalapuya Indians. The relative ease of finding food in . . . — — Map (db m114451) HM
During the late 19th century thousands of Americans left farms, families and friends to trek the Oregon Trail toward new lives in the West. The trail was nearly 2,000 miles across prairies, mountains and parched deserts. Contrary to popular belief, . . . — — Map (db m106941) HM
Before the discovery of gold along the banks of Jordan Creek on May 18, 1863, this arid region was the exclusive domain of American Indians, a few hardy explorers and Hudson's Bay Company fur traders. The prospect of gold quickly changed this . . . — — Map (db m106875) HM
Peter Skene Ogden, leading a party of Hudson’s Bay Company trappers, camped near here on October 10, 1828. On this Ogden’s fifth and final expedition into the "Snake Country," he started on September 22, from Fort Nez Perce (Walla Walla). From here, . . . — — Map (db m63024) HM
About 18 September 1860, 26 survivors of the Utter disaster arrived south of here. Only 10 remained when an army relief expedition arrived 5 weeks later.
On September 9 & 10, in Idaho, the Elijah P. Utter wagon train suffered a two-day . . . — — Map (db m106943) HM
(Inside the kiosk are seven panels which deal with Fort Boise and the Snake River Crossing.)
"Pathway to the "Garden of the World"
Excitement filled the air May 22, 1843 as nearly one thousand Americans left Missouri . . . — — Map (db m106947) HM
Overland emigration between 1840 and 1863 brought over 50,000 pioneers to Oregon. Seven miles west of Malheur Butte, weary Oregon Trail emigrants camped at the Malheur River crossing, taking advantage of local hot springs and the first good water . . . — — Map (db m107208) HM
(The Oregon Trail kiosk houses thirteen panels which deal with Native Americans, the Fur Trade, the Oregon Question, Oregon Fever, and trials of the Oregon Trail.)
Pathway to the "Garden of the World"
Excitement filled the . . . — — Map (db m107234) HM
Eager to save time on the Oregon Trail, emigrants often attempted shortcuts. Between 1845 and 1854, three wagon trains left this campsite seeking a cutoff to the Willamette Valley.
The Meek Cutoff of 1845
Frontiersman Stephen . . . — — Map (db m107076) HM
Imagine traveling on the Oregon Trail. You woke this morning beside the Snake River. Tonight’s camp will be on the Malheur River.
Sniff the fragrance as wagon wheels roll over the sagebrush and send its pungent aroma into the air. Inhale the . . . — — Map (db m107032) HM
From the 1830s to the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, the Oregon Trail was the way west for thousands of restless Americans from all walks of life.
Fired with a hope of finding a better life, more than 250,000 people . . . — — Map (db m107034) HM
John D. Henderson was the third child of twelve born to Perman D. and Sarah (Trapp) Henderson, both originally of Tennessee. John was born December 30, 1828, in what is now part of downtown Kansas City, then farmland, where his parents had . . . — — Map (db m107039) HM
In 1845 Meek led 200 families away from Oregon Trail seeking a shorter route west. Gold found enroute began Blue Bucket legend. Hardships drove train back to Oregon Trail at The Dalles. — — Map (db m207961) HM
(Three panels are mounted on a common support)
Under the Wagon Cover
By the time the pioneers reached this point in their journey, many supplies had been exhausted or discarded to lighten their load. Many who had depended . . . — — Map (db m107038) HM
Origin of name, Vale of Cashmere
The first building on the site on the present City of Vale was built on the banks of the Malheur by Jonathan Keeney in 1864. He offered accommodations to the migrants and miners on their way to the Powder River . . . — — Map (db m107057) HM
(Inside this kiosk are seven panels which deal with the Malheur River and Meek's Cutoff.
"Pathway to the "Garden of the World"
Excitement filled the air May 22, 1843 as nearly one thousand Americans left Missouri . . . — — Map (db m107077) HM
Dr. Wilhelm Keil founded here a Christian co-operative colony patterned after his colony at Bethel, Missouri. Musicians of the settlement made it widely famous. After Dr. Keil's death in 1877 the communal enterprise was dissolved. — — Map (db m114279) HM
This black walnut was planted c. 1884 by the Zimmerman family who were prominent members of the Aurora Colony. Early Aurora settlers were talented and industrious. Their products gained a wide reputation for excellence during the early days of . . . — — Map (db m244246) HM
Founded in 1840 by Methodist missionaries,
Became territorial capital in 1852,
An incorporated city in 1857,
Permanent capital of Oregon in 1864.
W. D. Pugh designed this city hall. Under construction in 1893.Marion County Centennial . . . — — Map (db m63966) HM
The Circuit Rider (south side)Commemorating the labors and achievements of the Ministers of the Gospel, who as circuit riders became the friends, counselors and evangels to the pioneers on every American frontier Robert Booth . . . — — Map (db m157700) HM
This area, once named tchampuick, the 'place of yampah' was the traditional homeland of the Tualatin Kalapuya tribe. Fur trappers first arrived here by canoe in 1811, and they found lush open prairies bordering the Willamette River. In 1830, . . . — — Map (db m114307) HM
Willamette Post was established in December 1813 on a knoll just east of this location by employees of the North West Company, a Montreal based fur-trading company. During the ensuing years the two-room log cabin, also known as Fort Kalapuya, served . . . — — Map (db m114308) HM
Platted March 8, 1871 by H. L. Turner with the building of the railroad to California. Site of Turner Flouring Mills. First rural free delivery in Oregon made from the Turner Post Office, October 16, 1897, under George F. Robertson, Postmaster. — — Map (db m63938) HM
Born about 1786 - Died 1850
Symbolic of Faith, Loyalty and Leadership
Indian Guide for Wilson Price Hunt Party
Mother of First White Child
Born in the Oregon Territory - 1811 — — Map (db m114351) HM
Fourmile Canyon witnessed the westward passage of wagons across the Columbia Plateau during the late summer and early fall. By this time on their journey, the emigrants had alternately been exposed to blazing heat, bitter cold and blustery winds. In . . . — — Map (db m111943) HM
Testing stamina and patience, the wagons were hurried to maintain constant motion across seemingly barren terrain. Facing trampled and scarce resources, the emigrants were often forced to wander miles off the established trail in search of water, . . . — — Map (db m111944) HM
The Oregon Trail crossing of Willow Creek was an important site on the trail. There was water and forage for the pioneers and their livestock. This was often a location for a layover to rest and equipment repair before pushing on to The Dalles and a . . . — — Map (db m111942) HM
Stacks of cordwood and bushels of potatoes lined the docks of Corbett Landing in the 1880s.
This riverside steamboat landing and railroad whistle stop served early settlers as a shipping and receiving station for surplus produce and the . . . — — Map (db m113253) HM
Nathaniel J. Wyeth of Boston, Massachusetts began permanent American settlement of Oregon by building a fur trading and salmon packing post one-half mile east to rival the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver. He guided the missionaries Jason . . . — — Map (db m113950) HM
600 yards southwest on the east bank of the Multnomah Channel was the site of Fort William. Nathaniel J. Wyeh, Massachusetts trader and founder of Ft. Hall, established Ft. William near Warrior Point in 1834. In the spring of 1835 he moved the . . . — — Map (db m245463) HM
This short trail leads to the Willamette Stone, the surveyor's monument that is the point of origin for all public land surveys in Oregon and Washington. The landmark was established on June 4, 1851 by John B. Preston, Oregon's first Surveyor . . . — — Map (db m38400) HM
German immigrant Frank Dekum amassed a fortune during Portland’s explosive early history with his confectionery business. The massive Dekum Building, completed in 1892 at a cost exceeding $300,000, used exclusively Oregon materials in its . . . — — Map (db m1155) HM
1842 Pioneers settled the town of Cynthian
1852 Changed name to Dallas
1898 Fire destroyed the entire downtown, but was rebuilt the next year with brick and stone — — Map (db m114267) HM
James W. Nesmith, born in New Brunswick, Canada on July 23, 1820, was among the first emigrants to trek the Oregon Trail in 1843.
He filed a land claim near present day Monmouth in 1844, and the following year took part in the formation of . . . — — Map (db m113611) HM
(Seven panels dealing with topics related to the Applegate Trail are found at this kiosk:)
In 1846, Jesse Applegate and fourteen others from near Dallas, Oregon, established a trail south from the Willamette Valley and east to Fort . . . — — Map (db m114352) HM
The Oregon Trail crossed the hazardous Deschutes River at this point by floating the prairie schooners and swimming the livestock. An island at the river mouth was often utilized when the water was high and the ford dangerous. Pioneer women and . . . — — Map (db m34575) HM
(Seven panels dealing with the Deschutes River Crossing portion of the Oregon Trail are found at this kiosk)
Truly Heart-Breaking!
Oregon Trail emigrants reached the Columbia River after an arduous trek across the dry and . . . — — Map (db m111990) HM
Arthur Generous Beals built this building and several others in Tillamook around 1900. This marked the beginning of the present central business area of Tillamook, which had previously centered around the Hoquarton Slough. The Beals Building has . . . — — Map (db m113075) HM
Property was completed August first 1925 by F.M. Kelly of Portland.
Original tenants were E.W. Crain Sporting Goods and C.T. McKinley's Cigar / Soft Drink / Card Parlor.
Through the years Building has been occupied by Ryan's Printing and . . . — — Map (db m113071) HM
Dairy Industry -- Henry Wilson, for which the Wilson River is named, brought the first cows to Tillamook County and laid the foundation for the Tillamook dairy industry. As early as 1854, butter and cheese were being made in large enough . . . — — Map (db m113079) HM
The property upon which the Tillamook Hotel now stands was purchased from W.H Cooper in June 1891. A church building was erected on the land the following year. Myrtle Ethel Holden (youngest daughter of Warren Vaughn) purchased the land to build the . . . — — Map (db m113077) HM
The city of Wheeler with a commanding view of
The Nehalem Bay
has some of the most interesting pre-Oregon history beginning with Frances Drake repairing his ship in the summer of 1579 and the wreck of a 1700's Spanish galleon.
Some . . . — — Map (db m113628) HM
(Six panels dealing with the Deadman Pass portion of the Oregon Trail are found at this kiosk)
Wagon Ruts
More than 50,000 emigrants traveled west on the Oregon Trail between 1840 and 1850. The constant stream of wagons . . . — — Map (db m111563) HM
The Wagon and Team
Wagons for trail travel were of the simplest construction, they cost $85.00 each. They were light, strong, and carried on sturdy wheels. It was recommended that wheels be made of bois-d'arc, osage orangewood or white . . . — — Map (db m111926) HM
David R. Koontz was a born in Gallia County, Ohio on September 20, 1829, and was buried here about September 10, 1852. He was the seventh child and youngest son of Martin V. Koontz, bridge builder and carpenter, and Lydia Rickabaugh. The Koontz . . . — — Map (db m111938) HM
This morning after going one mile, we left the river, five mile over the ridge we crossed the river and encamped for the day in order to recruit our cattle as they were much fatigued by crossing the Blue Mountains. -- William J. . . . — — Map (db m111924) HM
(Six panels dealing with the Emigrant Springs portion of the Oregon Trail are found beneath this kiosk)
Lost Livestock
Water is scarce in the steep, forested slopes of the Blue Mountains and is often found only at . . . — — Map (db m111537) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m111534) HM
First known as Lee's Encampment,
from establishment of a troop
camp by Major H.A.G. Lee in 1844,
A.B. and Harvey Meacham operated
famous "Mountain House" here, which
gave the town its present name.
In later years a famous railroad
eating . . . — — Map (db m111530) HM
In Memoriam
Erected 1925 by the
Women's Community Club
of Meacham, Oregon
In honor of those who died
Blazing the Old Oregon Trail — — Map (db m111528) HM
Dedicated to the memory of
The Intrepid Pioneers
Who came with the
First Wagon Train
In 1843 over the
Old Oregon Trail
And Saved the "Oregon County"
To the United States.
Erected by Old Oregon Trail Ass'n.
July 4, . . . — — Map (db m111533) HM
Aura Morse Goodwin Raley was born in Kennebec County, Maine. At age 15 she move to Wisconsin, and in 1846 she married Moses Goodwin. In 1853 the couple joined a wagon train to Oregon, where they settled north of Vancouver, Washington. In 1864 the . . . — — Map (db m111644) HM
This location marks a travel corridor for Plateau Tribes moving seasonally from the Columbia River to the Blue Mountains. In 1811, members of the Astor Party under the leadership of Wilson Price Hunt camped here on their way west. They traded with . . . — — Map (db m111565) HM
(Six panels dealing with the Pendleton area portion of the Oregon Trail are found at this kiosk)
The Long Walk to Oregon
Contrary to popular belief Oregon Trail emigrants rarely took the reins while seated in their . . . — — Map (db m111578) HM
Weary emigrants traveling westward on the Oregon Trail favored a campsite on the near bank of the Umatilla River at this point. On leaving they climbed the same hill the highway now traverses. Then recrossed the Umatilla River at Echo 20 hot dusty . . . — — Map (db m111912) HM
(Six panels dealing with the Umatilla River Crossing portion of the Oregon Trail are found at this kiosk)
The Road Forks
Early Oregon Trail emigrants crossed the Blue Mountains and traveled north to re-provision at the . . . — — Map (db m111940) HM
In 1855, Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens and Oregon Territory Indian Superintendent Joel Palmer convened a treaty council in present-day Walla Walla, Washington with Yakama, Nez Perce, Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla bands and . . . — — Map (db m114100) HM
"Commenced the ascent of the Blue Mountains It is a lovely morning, and all hands seem to be delighted with the prospect, of being so near timber again, after weary months of travel, on the dry dusty sage plants, with nothing to receive the eye; . . . — — Map (db m111491) HM
Native peoples crossed the Blue Mountains long before the first explores and fur trappers.
In 1834, John Kirk Townsend found the Cayuse and Nez Perce, very friendly towards us, each of the chiefs taking us by the hand with great . . . — — Map (db m111490) HM
Lumber was vital to early settlers of the Grande Ronde Valley. In 1890, Smith and Stanley built a large mill in the small town of Perry, Oregon. Operating the first bandsaw in Union County, the large mill at Perry was producing about 20,000,000 . . . — — Map (db m111440) HM