Oregon State

"How do we plan for a better Oregon in 2050? What will the state be like in that year for five million Oregonians, particularly for the least privileged and powerful residents? These are the questions that drive Oregon 2050, an interdisciplinary project at Portland State University that aims to help the state become more environmentally sustainable, socially equitable, and fiscally resilient. In this compelling volume, leading experts in land use and urban planning, in cooperation with other scholars and community partners, envision various possible futures and begin the work of developing statewide plans to guide Oregon through the decades ahead. Building on the state's policy innovation and planning legacy, contributors to Toward Oregon 2050 address current challenges such as housing scarcity, income inequality, the rural-urban divide, and climate change. They offer recommendations on a range of issues, from culture to incarceration, transportation to voting rights, all with the goal of imagining what a fair and equitable Oregon might look like. Some of the imagined futures-with worsening effects of climate change, environmental harms, and social inequities-are not bright for many Oregonians. Other futures include enhanced resiliency to forest fires and flooding, more Oregonians in high-paying jobs and in secure housing, and more children walking and biking to school. But those positive futures are not guaranteed, and getting there won't be easy. They'll require all stakeholders-state and local government, members of all political parties, private businesses, non-profit organizations, and individual residents-to play a role in ensuring a better future for the next generation of Oregonians. Intended for all Oregonians who care about their state's future, Toward Oregon 2050 will also appeal to scholars and planners who have long looked to Oregon for inspiration and lessons learned. The book invites readers to envision the future of Oregon and to contribute their part toward a better future for the state"-- Provided by publisher

ix, 452 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

"In this updated edition of his classic Field Guide to Oregon Rivers, Tim Palmer gives us an unprecedented reference, introducing the state's waterways and offering outdoor enthusiasts and resource professionals an interpretive approach to an extraordinary network of streams. He begins with natural history-geology, climate, hydrology, plants, and wildlife-then profiles 111 rivers with notes about nature, fish, and conservation, followed by essential tips on where to see each river, to hike along the shores, to fish, and to explore by canoe, kayak, and raft. Illustrations identify riparian plants and animals while more than 150 photographs showcase a magnificent rivers estate. This volume is an essential outdoor companion for Oregonians and visitors alike."-- Provided by publisher

319 pages : color illustrations, color maps ; 21 cm

A Peculiar Paradise: A History of Blacks in Oregon, 1788–1940, remains the most comprehensive chronology of Black life in Oregon more than forty years after its original publication in 1980. Elizabeth McLagan’s work reveals how in spite of those barriers, Black individuals and families made Oregon their home and helped create the state’s modern Black communities. A longtime resource for those seeking information on the legal and social barriers faced by people of African descent in Oregon, the book is available again through this co-publication with Oregon Black Pioneers, Oregon’s statewide African American historical society. The revised second edition includes additional details for students and scholars, an expanded reading list, a new selection of historic images, and a new foreword by Gwen Carr and afterword by Elizabeth McLagan. Oregon Black Pioneers is Oregon’s only historical society dedicated to preserving and presenting the experiences of African Americans statewide. Since 1993, Oregon Black Pioneers has illuminated the seldom-told history of people of African descent in Oregon through exhibitions, public programs, publications, and historical research. Learn more at oregonblackpioneers.org.

xiv, 193 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 23 cm

"Since the first edition of Oregon Painters was published in 1999, it has served as an invaluable reference to the early history of Northwest art, with well-worn and closely guarded copies found in libraries and art collections throughout Oregon and nationally. The original volume was an encyclopedia and index of Oregon painters, with historical data about the evolution of painting styles, educational institutions, and exhibition venues in the Northwest. Oregon Painters: Landscape to Modernism, 1859-1959 expands the focus on the history of painting in Oregon by adding essays on Impressionism and Modernism while using more and better visual examples to illustrate the strength of the state's early painters. In addition, the original indexed content has been edited and condensed. Essays address Indigenous art, the Lewis and Clark Exposition, the Impressionist and Modernist movements, New Deal Art, and the Federal Art Projects in Oregon. The biographical section is now fully illustrated with color images of the majority of the 630 painters' works. A list with an additional 4000 names is also included. Little has been written about the early history of Northwest art and this volume serves as a valuable resource for discovering artists who remain largely unknown but whose works continue to gain in reputation and value. With faithful full-color reproductions from institutional and private collections, it will be treasured by art students, scholars, teachers, gallery owners, museumgoers, collectors, and art lovers everywhere"-- Provided by publisher

372 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 25 x 30 cm

"Since the first edition of Oregon Painters was published in 1999, it has served as an invaluable reference to the early history of Northwest art, with well-worn and closely guarded copies found in libraries and art collections throughout Oregon and nationally. The original volume was an encyclopedia and index of Oregon painters, with historical data about the evolution of painting styles, educational institutions, and exhibition venues in the Northwest. Oregon Painters: Landscape to Modernism, 1859-1959 expands the focus on the history of painting in Oregon by adding essays on Impressionism and Modernism while using more and better visual examples to illustrate the strength of the state's early painters. In addition, the original indexed content has been edited and condensed. Essays address Indigenous art, the Lewis and Clark Exposition, the Impressionist and Modernist movements, New Deal Art, and the Federal Art Projects in Oregon. The biographical section is now fully illustrated with color images of the majority of the 630 painters' works. A list with an additional 4000 names is also included. Little has been written about the early history of Northwest art and this volume serves as a valuable resource for discovering artists who remain largely unknown but whose works continue to gain in reputation and value. With faithful full-color reproductions from institutional and private collections, it will be treasured by art students, scholars, teachers, gallery owners, museumgoers, collectors, and art lovers everywhere"-- Provided by publisher

372 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 25 x 30 cm

At the end of the twentieth century, the state government of Oregon was routinely entangled in intense partisan conflict, with opposing sides waging bitter battles in elections, the legislature, and the courts. Many of the most important state laws—such as Measure 5, which capped property taxes—were decided through the initiative process rather than by lawmakers in Salem. As the twenty-first century began, this political dynamic began to shift. Partisan conflict in the capitol grew less rancorous, legislative gridlock eased, and ballot initiatives lost their central role in defining Oregon politics. Less visible changes reshaped issues from agricultural policy to tribal government. This shifting dynamic coincided with significant transformations in Oregon’s economy and cultural life. The state’s economy sustained severe blows twice in the early 2000s, but by 2014, Oregon boasted one of the fastest-growing economies in the nation. Along with economic expansion, Oregon’s population grew in both size and diversity. Despite these powerful forces of change, other aspects of Oregon political life remained entrenched, including the deep urban-rural divide and the state’s problematic fiscal system. With contributions from twenty-seven leading experts and political insiders, Governing Oregon: Continuity and Change offers insight into the people, political practices, governing institutions, and public policies of Oregon. It will be of tremendous value to political scientists, public servants, and engaged citizens alike.

xii, 372 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

“Rivers are the essence of Oregon,” writes award-winning author and photographer Tim Palmer. In over 140 brilliant photos and evocative, informative text, Rivers of Oregon captures the life, the beauty, and the magic of Oregon’s remarkable array of waterways. The book’s engaging essays address the nature and ecology of flowing waters, the joy of travel on these lifelines of the planet, and the historic saga of Oregonians’ commitment to preserve, protect, and restore the best of their state for future generations. Rivers of Oregon captures the beauty and the intrinsic qualities of the state’s irresistible riverscapes like no other book has done. From the underwater view and from the refuge of riparian forests, from the seat of a canoe or raft and from distant mountain summits, readers will gain new perspectives on the extraordinary features that provide us with water, with life, and with scenes whose loss would leave us deeply impoverished. Join this celebrated photographer, author, conservationist, and river guide on a journey of discovery that will change the way you think about flowing water and the alluring paths it makes across our land.

162 pages : color illustrations ; 24 cm

"Keeping Oregon Green is a new history of the signature accomplishments of Oregon's environmental era: the revitalization of the polluted Willamette River, the Beach Bill that preserved public access to the entire coastline, the Bottle Bill that set the national standard for reducing roadside litter, and the nation's first comprehensive land use zoning law. To these case studies is added the largely forgotten tale of what would have been Oregon's second national park, intended to preserve the Oregon Dunes as one of the country's first National Seashores. Through the detailed study of the historical, political, and cultural contexts of these environmental conflicts, Derek Larson uncovers new dimensions in familiar stories linked to the concepts of 'livability' and environmental stewardship. Connecting events in Oregon to the national environmental awakening of the 1960s and 1970s, the innovative policies that carried Oregon to a position of national leadership are shown to be products of place and culture as much as politics. While political leaders such as Tom McCall and Bob Straub played critical roles in framing new laws, the advocacy of ordinary citizens--farmers, students, ranchers, business leaders, and factory workers--drove a movement that crossed partisan, geographic, and class lines to make Oregon the nation's environmental showcase of the 1970s. Drawing on extensive archival research and source materials, ranging from poetry to congressional hearings, Larson's compelling study is firmly rooted in the cultural, economic, and political history of the Pacific Northwest. Essential reading for students of environmental history and Oregon politics, Keeping Oregon Green argues that the state's environmental legacy is not just the product of visionary leadership, but rather a complex confluence of events, trends, and personalities that could only have happened when and where it did"-- Provided by publisher

ix, 307 pages ; 23 cm

"Despite the force of Oregon's founding mythology, the Willamette Valley was not an empty Eden awaiting settlement by hardy American pioneers. Rather, it was, as Melinda Jette explores in At the Hearth of the Crossed Races, one of the earliest sites of extensive intercultural contact in the Pacific Northwest. Jette's study focuses on the 'hearth' of this contact: French Prairie, so named for the French-Indian families who resettled the homeland of the Ahantchuyuk Kalapuyans. Although these families sought a middle course in their relations with their various neighbors, their presence ultimately contributed to the Anglo-American colonization of the region. By establishing farming and husbandry operations in the valley, the French-Indian settlers enhanced the Willamette Valley's appeal as a destination of choice for the Anglo-Americans who later emigrated to the Pacific Northwest via the Oregon Trail. Upon these emigrants' arrival, the social space for the people of the 'crossed races' diminished considerably, as the Anglo-Americans instituted a system of settler colonialism based on racial exclusion. Like their Native kin, the French-Indian families pursued various strategies to navigate the changing times and Jette's study of French Prairie takes on the relationships among all three: the French-Indian families, the Indigenous peoples, and the Anglo-American settlers. With At the Hearth of the Crossed Races, Jette delivers a social history that deepens our understanding of the Oregon Country in the nineteenth century. This history of French Prairie provides a window into the multi-racial history of the Pacific Northwest and offers an alternative vision of early Oregon in the lives of the biracial French-Indian families whose community challenged notions of white supremacy, racial separation, and social exclusion"-- Provided by publisher

xix, 337 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Because Oregon sits on the leading edge of a moving crustal plate, a striking diversity of geologic events have molded its topography. Over a century of study, a deeper understanding of the region’s tectonic overprint has emerged. In this timely update to the 2000 edition, Elizabeth and William Orr incorporate that new knowledge, addressing current environmental problems and detailing tectonic hazards. “Caught between converging crustal plates,” the Orrs write, “the Pacific Northwest faces a future of massive earthquakes and tsunamis.” A comprehensive treatment of the state’s geologic history, Oregon Geology moves through Oregon’s regions to closely examine the unique geologic features of each, from the Blue Mountains to the Willamette Valley, from the high lava Plains to the Coast Range. The book includes biographical sketches of notable geologists. It is lavishly illustrated and includes an extensive bibliography.

304 pages : illustrations, maps ; 28 cm

With the addition of 200,000 more acres designated by Congress as Oregon wilderness in 2009, use this as a planning guide to explore new areas and old favorites from The Three Sisters and Mount Hood to Eagle Cap and Steens Mountain. This is a complete guide to Oregon's backcountry. This complete guide to Oregon's backcountry includes the new wilderness areas designated by Congress in March 2009 as well as old favorites from Mt. Hood and the Three Sisters to Steens Mountain and the Wallowas. The atlas features 70 pages of detailed, shaded-relief maps, 40 pages of color photographs, 146 recommended backpacking trips, 500 featured hikes, and tips for mountain climbers, whitewater rafters, kayakers, Nordic skiers, and snowshoers.

384 pages : illustrations (some color), maps, plates ; 23 cm

With this attractive and easy-to-use guide in hand you’ll discover the Oregon you never knew existed. Nine maps and thirteen black-and-white illustrations help you become acquainted with this unknown Oregon.

x, 261 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

This revised and expanded edition of Oregon Fossils includes a record of all known fossils in Oregon going back 400 million years, along with collecting localities by county, age, rock formation, and published source. The book also provides a geologic overview of the state, from ocean beaches to the high desert, from the Blue Mountains to the Siskiyous. Unique among fossil field guides, Oregon Fossils includes both specimen identification and interesting notes about their discovery, naming, and conservation. The narrative is sprinkled with biographical sketches of paleontologists who have contributed to the state’s fossil record, and the text is richly illustrated with photographs, line drawings, charts, and maps. A complete bibliography lists full citations to fossil material. The only single volume that provides Oregon’s fossil record and history, Oregon Fossils is a well-written, well-organized guide. It is an excellent reference for classroom and library use, for researchers, and for private collectors and hobbyists.

xiv, 300 pages : illustrations, maps ; 26 cm

The Dictionary of Oregon History is a comprehensive reference book written by Howard McKinley Corning. The book provides a detailed account of the history of the state of Oregon, covering a wide range of topics such as geography, politics, culture, and economy. It contains over 1,500 entries that are arranged alphabetically, making it easy for readers to find the information they need.The entries in the Dictionary of Oregon History are concise and informative, providing readers with a wealth of knowledge about the state's past. The book covers everything from the earliest Native American settlements in the region to the present day, including important events such as the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Oregon Trail, and the state's admission to the Union in 1859.In addition to historical events, the Dictionary of Oregon History also covers important figures who have shaped the state's history, including politicians, artists, writers, and activists. The book also includes entries on important landmarks, such as Mount Hood and Crater Lake, as well as important industries such as logging, fishing, and agriculture.Overall, the Dictionary of Oregon History is an essential reference book for anyone interested in the history of the state.

281 pages ; 26 cm

At the End of the Car Line, published in 1942 by Binfords & Mort in Portland, Oregon, is a collection of editorial sketches, essays, and verses originally written by Ben Hur Lampman for The Oregonian, where he was a longtime columnist and associate editor. Lampman, a celebrated Oregon writer and the state’s poet laureate from 1951 until his death in 1954, was known for his lyrical yet accessible style, capturing the everyday life and natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. This book reflects his versatility as a writer—blending prose and poetry to explore themes close to his heart.

1 preliminary leaf, 191, [1] pages : frontispiece (illustration) ; 21 cm

The Federal Writers’ Project’s Odd place names and their origin explores the linguistic footprint and enduring civic identity forged during the pioneer settlement of the diverse Oregon landscape. The narrative illustrates how the challenging environmental realities of this vast topography—spanning from the rugged, rain-swept coastal estuaries to the arid expanses of the eastern high desert—required early communities to intimately familiarize themselves with their surroundings, a process fundamentally reflected in how they named their environment. By detailing the gradual linguistic evolution from indigenous place names to the idiosyncratic, practical designations of overland pioneers, the text highlights the complex cultural intersections and shared daily adaptations required to map and organize the frontier. Ultimately, the account demonstrates that thoughtfully documenting these local toponyms provides a profound, community-driven record of how early settlers cooperatively anchored themselves to a demanding geography and cultivated a shared, enduring regional heritage.

1 online resource (5 pages)

H.L. Davis' earthy and humorous look at a young man learning self-reliance in the Oregon wilderness after family complications and problems from a jailhouse delivery push him out on his own among horse traders, jail breakers, fortune hunters, suspected murderers, and wide-eyed innocents. His tale of regional history is the story of our American culture. Set in Oregon in the early years of the twentieth century, H. L. Davis’s Honey in the Horn chronicles the struggles faced by homesteaders as they attempted to settle down and eke out subsistence from a still-wild land. With sly humor and keenly observed detail, Davis pays homage to the indomitable character of Oregon’s restless people and dramatic landscapes without romanticizing or burnishing the myths. Clay Calvert, an orphan, works as a hand on a sheep ranch until he stumbles into trouble and is forced to flee. Journeying throughout the state, from the lush coastal forests, to the Columbia Gorge, to the golden wheat fields east of the Cascades, he encounters a cast of characters as rich and diverse as the land, including a native Tunne boy and a beautiful girl named Luce. Originally published in 1935, Honey in the Horn reveals as much about the prevailing attitudes and beliefs during H. L. Davis’s lifetime as it does about the earlier era in which it is set. It transcends the limitations of its time through the sheer power and beauty of Davis’s prose. Full of humor and humanity, Davis’s first novel displays a vast knowledge of Pacific Northwest history, lore, and landscape. The only Oregon book that has ever won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction, this classic coming-of-age novel has been called the “Huckleberry Finn of the West.” With a new introduction by Richard W. Etulain, this important work from one of Oregon’s premier authors is once again available for a new generation.

380 pages ; 22 cm

pages 278-287

Published in 1920 by pioneer historian John E. Rees, Oregon—Its Meaning, Origin and Application is a brief etymological tract dedicated to deciphering the heavily contested linguistic roots of the state's name. Expanding upon the speculative methodologies he applied to neighboring Idaho, Rees argues that "Oregon" derives from specific Native American phonetic roots, attempting to definitively anchor the title in regional Indigenous dialects rather than European cartographic errors. By weaving together regional folklore, early exploration accounts, and localized vocabulary, the monograph attempts to construct a seamless narrative of authentic native pedigree for the broader Oregon Territory. A keen insight drawn from the work is how early regional scholars felt compelled to anchor new geopolitical entities to an imagined, romanticized Indigenous past; by fiercely claiming a "pure" Native origin for the state's name, historians like Rees actively commodified Indigenous heritage to lend an air of ancient, natural legitimacy to a recently manufactured colonial government.

1 volume (unpaged) ; 24 cm

Authored by Katharine Berry Judson, Early Days in Old Oregon (1916) offers a romanticized, highly accessible history of the Pacific Northwest explicitly tailored for school children and general readers. The narrative traces the standard pioneer trajectory—from the Lewis and Clark expedition and early fur traders through the grueling overland migrations and the establishment of settler institutions—while vividly describing the region's geography and drawing heavily upon Indigenous myths. Typical of early twentieth-century educational literature, the book celebrates white westward expansion as a heroic civilizing mission. A keen insight drawn from the work is how educational histories actively codified frontier mythology for the next generation; by blending romanticized Native American folklore with sanitized accounts of pioneer perseverance, Judson's text illustrates how early state curricula intentionally crafted an innocent, adventurous origin story that effectively shielded young citizens from the brutal realities of territorial conquest and Indigenous displacement.

([12], 263 pages, 13 unnumbered leaves of plates) : illustrations, maps, photographs

Authored by early pioneer and future territorial governor George E. Cole, Early Oregon: Jottings of Personal Recollections of a Pioneer of 1850 provides a firsthand memoir of the grueling overland migration and the nascent civic formation of the Pacific Northwest. The book chronicles Cole's arduous journey across the plains and his subsequent immersion into the turbulent economic, social, and political landscape of the early Oregon Territory. Through unvarnished personal anecdotes and biographical sketches of prominent fellow settlers, the text offers a valuable primary source lens detailing the region's rapid transition from a rugged frontier to an organized society. A keen insight drawn from the work is how the shared trauma and logistical hurdles of overland migration forged enduring, tight-knit political networks; by relying on personal alliances cemented during the grueling 1850 crossing, early pioneers successfully translated their trail-forged bonds directly into the foundational legislative and economic power structures of the new territory.

95 pages : frontispiece (portrait) ; 20 cm

Oregon has produced more genuine literature during the short period of her history, extending back only fifty years, than all the thirteen American colonies wrote in a century and half. Notwithstanding this fact, she is the oldest state in the Union that has not collated the best things written by her sons and daughters. This task has been delayed merely for want of time and inclination. No one did it, so I undertook it

253, [2] pages, 36 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations, portraits ; 21 cm

Harvey W. Scott's historical account details the 1843 establishment of Oregon's Provisional Government, chronicling how American pioneers in the Willamette Valley organically created their own civil authority prior to formal United States jurisdiction. A keen insight drawn from the text is that this localized governance was not born of political rebellion against the British Hudson's Bay Company, but rather out of the pragmatic necessity to manage land disputes, probate laws, and frontier security in a stateless vacuum. The narrative meticulously outlines the legislative and administrative milestones of this temporary state, highlighting the early settlers' inherent capacity for democratic organization. Ultimately, Scott demonstrates how this impromptu legal framework effectively secured American civilian control over the disputed Pacific Northwest, seamlessly paving the way for eventual territorial status without descending into frontier anarchy.

25 pages

Describes the famous Battle of Pierre's Hole of that year between the Blackfeet and the trappers and their Indian allies (including the Flatheads). The second section covers Wyeth's observations camping with a Flathead camp during April and May 1833

xix, 262 pages, 3 unnumbered leaves of plates (2 folded) : maps ; 25 cm

Published in 1893 by the Reverend Harvey K. Hines, this expansive volume provides a comprehensive chronicle of Oregon's development from early European maritime exploration through its pioneer settlement and eventual statehood. The narrative emphasizes the pivotal role of Protestant missionaries and early overland pioneers in securing the region for the United States, while extensively documenting the political and economic evolution of the territory. A keen insight drawn from the text is how Hines’s own background as a Methodist clergyman deeply colors the historical narrative, actively framing the American colonization of the Pacific Northwest not merely as a secular triumph of Manifest Destiny, but as a divinely ordained Protestant mission to civilize the frontier. Furthermore, the work functions as a classic Gilded Age "subscription history," preserving hundreds of highly flattering biographical sketches of the prominent citizens and merchants who funded the book's publication while actively promoting the region to outside investors.

1300 pages frontispiece, plates, portrait 30 cm

Hezekiah Butterworth’s The log school-house on the Columbia: a tale of the pioneers of the great Northwest explores the foundational civic development and collaborative community building that characterized early homesteading along the vast Columbia River basin. The narrative illustrates how the challenging environmental realities of this immense riverine landscape—defined by its rushing waterways, dense timberlands, and the profound geographic isolation of the frontier—required immense resilience and cooperative effort from early pioneer families. By detailing the collective labor required to construct the region's early educational institutions, the text highlights the steady transition from disparate land claims to cohesive, mutually supportive settlements deeply invested in the intellectual and civic future of the next generation. Ultimately, the account demonstrates that patiently cultivating shared educational spaces and thoughtfully engaging in the everyday, neighborly collaborations necessary for survival were essential steps in forging a deeply rooted, enduring cultural foundation in the early Pacific Northwest.

250 pages, 12 unnumbered leaves of plates illustrations 21 cm

The more remote in Oregon affairs has been given in my History of the Northwest Coast, which is indeed a part of the History of Oregon, as elsewhere explained. The later volumes deal with events which occurred within the memory of men now living; they are wrought out from yet more original sources, a large proportion of the facts herein presented never having before appeared in print.

2 volumes : illustrations (maps) folded map ; 24 cm

Published in 1884 as a two-volume installment of his monumental thirty-nine-volume series on western North America, Hubert Howe Bancroft’s History of the Northwest Coast provides an exhaustive chronicle of the region from initial maritime exploration through the 1846 Oregon Treaty. The sweeping narrative details the intense imperial competition among Spain, Russia, Great Britain, and the United States, meticulously tracking the evolution of the lucrative fur trade from early coastal shipping to the vast overland monopolies of the North West and Hudson's Bay Companies. By aggressively collecting and synthesizing thousands of primary manuscripts, pioneer diaries, and oral histories, the publication effectively centralized the region's scattered historical memory into a single authoritative archive. A keen insight drawn from the text is that while it famously bears Bancroft's sole authorship, the volume was actually researched and written by a stable of uncredited assistants—most notably the pioneering historian Frances Fuller Victor—revealing how the foundational historiography of the Pacific Northwest was constructed through a highly industrialized, corporate approach to scholarship.

2 volumes : illustrations, maps.

First person account of Western travel. Between 1865 and 1881 the author travelled extensively along the northwest coast describing localities, natural history, native customs and missionary activities. Her comments on the Chinese community in San Francisco are particularly interesting

‘The evening is closing in; the sun has set, leaving a hot, red glow, where his copper disk has just sunk beyond the Pacific horizon; and the eye wanders out from the infant waves, at foot just tinged with red, and reflecting the light as they move up in turn to catch it, to the blue and still darker blue water beyond, out to the sharp indigo line where sky and water meet.' And so Wallis Nash concludes his brief passage on his brief expedition to hack off rock oysters, along the coast toward the Yaquina Head lighthouse. For anyone interested in the early history of Oregon, Wallis Nash's Two Years in Oregon is a mine of information. In an easy and highly readable narrative, Nash provides extensive detail on society, farming, hunting, fishing and community life. He wrote the book in 1882 after his first two years of residence whilst the initial impressions were still sharp in his mind.

[2], 311 pages, 8 unnumbered leaves of plates + 9 pages press notes : frontispiece, illustrations (plates) ; 20 cm

Nash, a prominent London attorney, came to Oregon in 1877 to investigate possibilities for railroad building and land development. When he returned to England, he wrote this book, here reprinted with a foreword and notes. Wallis Nash, a native of England, was a Benton County lawyer and entrepreneur. He was on the initial Board of Regents for Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University).

xviii pages, 2 leaves, 285 pages including frontispiece, illustrations, plates, double map 20 cm

Written by former Provisional Supreme Judge J. Quinn Thornton, this historical account chronicles the 1843 establishment of Oregon's Provisional Government at Champoeg and its subsequent legislative evolution. The narrative details the transition of the Willamette Valley from a loosely governed frontier outpost into an organized American political entity, emphasizing the drafting of its organic laws and the urgent lobbying for official U.S. territorial recognition. A keen insight drawn from the text is how Thornton’s intense personal vanity and staunchly anti-British prejudices transform this administrative history into a highly subjective, partisan autobiography. By actively framing himself as the indispensable architect of the 1848 Territorial Act and the primary crusader responsible for explicitly banning slavery in the region, Thornton weaponizes the historical record to settle old political vendettas and artificially inflate his own legacy in Pacific Northwest statecraft.

54 p.

This work grew out of a series of articles published in the Astoria Marine Gazette, 1865-1866, ref. Pref. "Mr. Gray, a missionary, reached Oregon in 1838. His history has been mercilessly criticized by Hubert Howe Bancroft [no.25] who declares that it would take a work equally as large to correct the mistakes in it" Published in 1870, William Henry Gray’s A History of Oregon, 1792-1849 provides a highly subjective, firsthand account of the territory's early pioneer era, the establishment of Protestant missions, and the contentious formation of the 1843 Provisional Government. Drawing upon his own experiences as a member of the 1836 Whitman missionary party, Gray chronicles the region's development while aggressively championing the American Protestant settlers as the sole heroic founders of the state. A keen insight drawn from the text is how its notorious lack of objectivity transforms the book from a reliable historical record into a fascinating psychological artifact of frontier sectarian paranoia. By conspiratorially blaming the British Hudson’s Bay Company and Catholic missionaries for instigating the tragic 1847 Whitman Massacre, Gray's narrative vividly exposes the intense, deeply ingrained religious and nationalist hostilities that fundamentally shaped early American colonization efforts in the Pacific Northwest.

pages 624. frontispiece 8vo

Published in 1869 by the United States Coast Survey under the direction of George Davidson, this exhaustive maritime manual provided the first rigorous, scientific hydrographic documentation of the American Pacific seaboard. The guide meticulously details the treacherous coastal geography, hazardous river bars, and nascent lighthouse infrastructure of Oregon and Washington, offering critical navigational instructions for surviving the notoriously deadly Columbia River entrance. A keen insight drawn from the text is how Davidson's exhaustive scientific cartography functioned as essential state-building infrastructure; by mathematically mapping and demystifying the hazardous "Graveyard of the Pacific," the survey directly catalyzed the Pacific Northwest's economic integration into the broader global maritime trade network.

262 pages plates 27 cm

Published in 1844 amidst escalating border tensions, Adam Thom’s The Claims to the Oregon Territory Considered serves as a rigorous legal rebuttal to American assertions of sovereignty over the Pacific Northwest. Written by a British judicial officer employed by the Hudson's Bay Company, the pamphlet meticulously dissects the historical categories of discovery, settlement, and contiguity to argue that Great Britain possessed a paramount legal title to the entire region. A keen insight drawn from the text is how Thom strategically restricts his analysis to "materials furnished by the Americans themselves"—specifically targeting the historical memoirs of U.S. diplomats like Robert Greenhow—thereby turning American logic against itself to portray British imperialism not as an aggressive conquest, but as the only valid application of international treaty law.

pages 69-71. map

The story of one adventurer from Massachusetts who made the overland journey to the Rocky Mountains in 1832. A cousin of Nathaniel J. Wyeth, he joined his expedition and relates the tragedies and travails that plagued the expedition and its members as they passed through barren lands and encountered Native Americans.

87 pages ; 19 cm

Containing an account of the Indian title, the nature of a right of sovereignty, The first Discoveries, Climate and Seasons, Face of the Country and Mountains, Natural Divisions, Physical Appearance and Soil of Each, Forests and Vegtable prouductions, rivers, bays.

80 pages frontispiece (folded map) 22 cm

Jonathan Carver, who was born in Massachusetts, served in the colonial militia during the French and Indian War rising to the rank of Captain and mastering the techniques of surveying and map making. He left the army in 1763 with the intention of exploring the new territories acquired by the British as a result of the war. In 1766 Robert Rogers appointed Carver to lead a semi-official expedition to find a route via lakes and rivers to the Pacific Ocean and the East Indies. Carver left Fort Michilimackinac at Mackinack Island in the spring of 1766, travelling along the northern coast of Lake Michigan, before cutting across to what is now the Door County peninsula in Wisconsin and continuing along the western edge of the bay until reaching what is now Green Bay, Wisconsin. From here he traveled up the Fox River to the Winnebago Indian village at the north end of Lake Winnebago. He continued up the Fox River until he arrived at the "Grand Portage" (a well used portage between the Fox River and the Wisconsin River). Carver then crossed to the Wisconsin River and traveled down to the Mississippi emerging at the great trade encampment at Prairie du Chien. He then turned north into what is now Minnesota. By the late summer he had reached the Saint Anthony Falls (Minneapolis). He spent some time near the falls but turned south, down the Mississippi to find a more suitable place to spend the winter, setting camp in a tribal village in what is now eastern Iowa. The next spring he continued exploring and mapping the Mississippi River through what is now Minnesota and Wisconsin before eventually returning in 1768 to the British fort at Mackinack. In pursuit of a claim for compensation from the British Government for the work he had put into the expedition, Carver travelled to London and it was here that the present work was published. "Carver's book was an immediate success when first published in 1778, and a second London edition followed the next year; over thirty editions and versions have been published since in several languages. A very important book in the history of the exploration of the American West as Carver was the first English-speaking explorer to venture west of the upper Mississippi River. He anticipated the idea of a continental divide as he was the first to mention a large mountain range to the west (presumably the Rocky Mountains) that blocks the westward passage. Further, the name 'Oregon' appears in print here for the first time, both in the text, and on one of the maps. Carver penetrated farther into the West than any other English explorer before the Revolution and stimulated curiosity concerning routes to the Pacific, later satisfied by Mackenzie and Lewis and Clark."

xvi, vii, [2], 10-282, [2] p. ; 17 cm. (12mo)