Port Orford News
Page 6 • April 21, 2010
Life with Brice: Capt. William Tichenor, founder of Port Orford
By Brice Wagner
area had
been inhabit-
ed by local
native
Americans
for thou-
sands of
years. The
small land-
ing party led
by Captain
Brice Wagner
JM
Kirkpatrick
tested the waters and withstood
several sieges by the local
native Americans for 14 days.
When several hundred Indians
showed, the nine white men
decided it was time to make a
run for their lives, and that is
what they did making their way
many miles north to the
Umpqua River and safety.
Tichenor later landed a larger
group of sixty seven men, and
from then on Port Orford was a
permanent white settlement.
Captain William Tichenor was
a family man, businessman, sea
PON staff writer
Part II
In this final visit to speak of
Captain Tichenor the founder of
Port Orford and the local area
settlement by the first white
people we can address his
accomplishments. Captain
Tichenor’s dream come true was
to establish a settlement some-
where on the Oregon coast, and
provide shipping or provisions
inland to the goldfields of interi-
or southern Oregon. Whether
Tichenor knew how much gold
was actually available on the
local beaches, and close inland
is a mystery. He thought there
was bigger money to be made in
shipping supplies inland to the
gold fields.
Captain Tichenor at thirty
eight years of age formed a
small group of men in Portland,
Oregon to land on a place that
he had previously chosen and
create a white settlement. The
The DMK Shell Station Espresso
Is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m..
Hwy 101, across from Rayʼs Market
Coffee, drinks and snacks
Expanding this summer.
Crossword:
Solution on page 9, Classifieds
PON photos by Brice Wagner
Capt. William Tichenor,
founder of Port Orford is
shown at right.
captain, owner of his own ves-
sels, was the town magistrate,
was twice elected to the territo-
rial legislature for Coos, Curry,
and Umpqua Counties, before
coming west, he passed the
Illinois bar and was an attorney,
a gold miner that struck it rich
and invested in his first vessel
the schooner “Jacob M.
Ryerson”in San Francisco and
hauled freight and passengers up
and down the Oregon coast to
California.* He later sold the
“Jacob M. Ryerson” and took
command of the brig “Emily
Farnam”. He made several trips
with this vessel, then time
passed and he took command of
the well known vessel, the 400
ton Seagull. He crossed the
Humboldt bar February 26th,
1852 and lost his steamer
Seagull in a heavy south west
gale, but managed to save all on
board, for which the passengers
awarded him a gold watch. He
next took command of the
steamer Quickstep on voyages
between Portland, Oregon and
San Francisco, California.
Captain Tichenor and his back-
ers never found a Route from
Port Orford to pack in supplies
to the inland goldfields. Later in
1854 the steamer San Diego
delivered the machinery for a
steam sawmill. Eighteen days
later after delivery the employ-
ees of the mill had it operating.
The little mill employed 25
men, and in ten hours sawed
5,000 board feet of lumber.
William Windsor was the key
millwright to keep the mill oper-
ating. The milling company
sawed cedar that brought
$125.00 per thousand delivered
to San Francisco, California. It
is stated that this little sawmill
contributed in making famous
“Port Orford cedar”.Tichenor
moved his family to Port Orford
on May 9, 1852, his wife and
three children, Ellen, Anna, and
Jacob B. Finally in 1868
Captain Tichenor abandoned the
sea and settled down at his
home in Port Orford. His wife
Elizabeth died in 1880, and he
later remarried. He was ener-
getic, and untiring, and on
account of his superior intelli-
gence, he became a great factor
in the development of the
resources of the coast. In clo-
sure it was said “No man could
sit and visit with Captain
Tichenor for an hour and not be
instructed”.*(exert from Pioneer
History of Coos and Curry by
Orville Dodge-published 1898
Coos-Curry Pioneer History
association-2nd edition 1969
Exerts from Fools Hill-
Captain Tichenor page 22 by
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Theatre 101, wrote of the show,
“As with all FoxWell productions,
comic timing is excellent. These
folks are the real deal and we are
very fortunate to have them per-
forming here in Port Orford.”
Doors open half an hour before
showtime. Wine is available, as
well as a full coffee bar, pastries,
and chocolates. Refreshments are
allowed in the intimate, comfort-
able theatre.
Tickets are $10, available at
Downtown Fun Zone, or call 541-
332-PLAY (7529). The theatre is
located at 1320 Oregon Street,
Highway 101, Port Orford.
For more information, visit
www.foxwellproductions.net or
www.theatre101portorford.com.
by Gary Romele
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Port Orford
News
Port Orford
Forest
Interpretive
Center
great great grandson John
Quick-- research also from Port
Orford a History by Patrick
Masterson permission from the
friends of Cape Blanco—
Research from The Golden
Frontier the recollections of
Herman Francis Reinhart—J.
Frank Dobie, general Editor
Captain William Tichenor lies
sleeping up Boot Hill road in
the Tichenor cemetery. His
grave stone is a very plain
marker; his wife Elizabeth on
the other hand has a tall monu-
ment marking her resting place.
Opinions and attitudes vary on
Captain Tichenor but one thing
for certain is “he is the founder
of Port Orford”.
Captain William Tichenor
founder of Port Orford
In this final visit to speak of
Captain Tichenor the founder of
Port Orford and the local area
settlement by the first white
people we can address his
accomplishments. Captain
Tichenor’s dream come true was
to establish a settlement some-
where on the Oregon coast, and
provide shipping or provisions
inland to the goldfields of interi-
or southern Oregon. Whether
Tichenor knew how much gold
was actually available on the
local beaches, and close inland
is a mystery. He thought there
was bigger money to be made in
shipping supplies inland to the
gold fields.
Captain Tichenor at thirty
eight years of age formed a
small group of men in Portland,
Oregon to land on a place that
he had previously chosen and
create a white settlement. The
area had been inhabited by local
native Americans for thousands
of years. The small landing
party led by Captain JM
Kirkpatrick tested the waters
and withstood several sieges by
the local native Americans for
14 days.
When several hundred
Indians showed, the nine white
men decided it was time to
make a run for their lives, and
that is what they did making
their way many miles north to
the Umpqua River and safety.
Tichenor later landed a larger
group of sixty seven men, and
from then on Port Orford was a
permanent white settlement.
Captain William Tichenor
was a family man, businessman,
sea captain, owner of his own
vessels, was the town magis-
trate, was twice elected to the
territorial legislature for Coos,
Curry, and Umpqua Counties,
before coming west, he passed
the Illinois bar and was an
attorney, a gold miner that
struck it rich and invested in his
first vessel the schooner “Jacob
M. Ryerson”in San Francisco
and hauled freight and passen-
gers up and down the Oregon
coast to California.* He later
sold the “Jacob M. Ryerson”
and took command of the brig
“Emily Farnam”. He made sev-
eral trips with this vessel, then
time passed and he took com-
mand of the well known vessel,
the 400 ton Seagull. He crossed
the Humboldt bar February
26th, 1852 and lost his steamer
Seagull in a heavy south west
gale, but managed to save all on
board, for which the passengers
awarded him a gold watch. He
next took command of the
steamer Quickstep on voyages
between Portland, Oregon and
San Francisco, California.
Captain Tichenor and his back-
ers never found a Route from
Port Orford to pack in supplies
to the inland goldfields. Later in
1854 the steamer San Diego
delivered the machinery for a
steam sawmill. Eighteen days
later after delivery the employ-
ees of the mill had it operating.
The little mill employed 25
men, and in ten hours sawed
5,000 board feet of lumber.
William Windsor was the key
millwright to keep the mill
operating. The milling company
sawed cedar that brought
$125.00 per thousand delivered
to San Francisco, California. It
is stated that this little sawmill
contributed in making famous
“Port Orford cedar”.Tichenor
moved his family to Port Orford
on May 9, 1852, his wife and
three children, Ellen, Anna, and
Jacob B. Finally in 1868
Captain Tichenor abandoned the
sea and settled down at his
home in Port Orford. His wife
Elizabeth died in 1880, and he
later remarried. He was ener-
getic, and untiring, and on
account of his superior intelli-
gence, he became a great factor
in the development of the
resources of the coast. In clo-
sure it was said “No man could
sit and visit with Captain
Tichenor for an hour and not be
instructed”.*(exert from Pioneer
History of Coos and Curry by
Orville Dodge-published 1898
Coos-Curry Pioneer History
association-2nd edition 1969.
Exerts from Fools Hill-
Captain Tichenor page 22 by
great great grandson John
Quick-- research also from Port
Orford a History by Patrick
Masterson permission from the
friends of Cape Blanco—
Research from The Golden
Frontier the recollections of
Herman Francis Reinhart—J.
Frank Dobie, general Editor
Captain William Tichenor lies
sleeping up Boot Hill road in the
Tichenor cemetery. His grave
stone is a very plain marker; his
wife Elizabeth on the other hand
has a tall monument marking her
resting place. Opinions and atti-
tudes vary on Captain Tichenor
but one thing for certain is “he is
the founder of Port Orford”.
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