Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, February 04, 1911, Section Two, Image 23

Morning Oregonian., February 04, 1911, Section Two, Page 7, Image 23

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Newspaper Page TextK O V K v KFTRST T HT'N GS " I N y OREGON OREGON COUNTRY- UKUUUrtT 1U JMIIN-U .4- bates of trnLtanc"w,4,nterest From Time That CaPtain Gray Sailed Into Columbia River in ' f 1T 1782 giving United States Claim to Region, Are Recalled. ? i 5 a. To. " wi If? first Am'rKin to circumnavi gate th globe ma t aurain oray. n. left H-wilon In the Summer or IT:. Ho sailed the firm ffl Into th Columbia Riv er My II. 17".2. anj .n May 15. f that year, named the .'rr.tm after his ship. That i' t a what tivr I he I'rIIH Stales U title m th,. --Oregon Country" by discovery. Captal:. lo-wls and Clark came acros the plain In I"'i. and ment Into Wln Irr quarters at Kort Clatsop, about five mile south if the present t-ltjp of A torta. In Iwcemher of that year. The ship Tonquln. with mcmb-rs or Hie Pacific Fur Company, founded by J hii Jacob Aator. of New York. r i!t,H at what l now Astirla In April, jhll. an.l the spot nil christened "At- tor: aotn attcrmarcis. I He ornao section of the A.-t'ir party arrived at V-torl February 1. Thai place r - . - .r..i. r. r tttrifUh Authorities on December I-. imj, ana rri"i-u t,ie l"r!tI States in I"l - The first potatoes gromn in Oregon .-r at At..ria by tl.e Pacific Fur Com- puny In tII. The fust year-a crop as I1J potut'ws; lucond year, five lustx-W: third e.ir. 5" bushels. Fort Van-ouvcr, the Hudson's Pay - Company p""'. JS establish" by Dr. J Jh.n Mi t-oughllu In ti e Wln.er of 1:1- i j. Firt mh--.it ttmn In I-'h rir Fort Van--oiiver from one bushel f see I r.lrrd t. lo sent Irom Cana-la by Dr. M l.oui;hltn In The nrst sammill was built r-y Wil liam II. I'ratr. mho came from Canad i f.-r that purpose In l:7. The site of that milt Is six miles east of Van couver of to,la. The first person ! turn a furrow south of the Columbia Klvrr Ktl'-nne ler. That was on Swan Islund n That year ;ie built a caoln for Dr. John M- LxiEhllTi at Oregon City the 'trl btlllillllK there. it J. KriS-.y. ,i l!'.loii v holmuter, I.I.J out a lr.ii-1 of lan-l on the prnln il.t. between the Willamette afd Co lumbia rivers ir. I.!. and divided up a . onl,leraS portion of It In 4'-acre lots, ll was the tlrst -Oregon booster." The ftr flour mill m built In iKi 1. on Vi!l Plain, near Vancniver. Seclllnr fruit mus produced In Van--ouv.-r before !:' from seeds planted In tJi. The first school was lauulit by John Hill, an American, at Fort Vancouver, beginning in November. IvJ-. al the re ,t iei of Dr. M l-ouihlln. Wheat a raised by John P.all. an Amrrlian. In t!ie s-.ison of l:3 In l ir lon Countv. near CliampeB. The first sermon w preache-l by rtev Jin lo-e. a missionary of the .letVxiist Fpls.op.il Church, at Fort Vancouver. September IJI The first setilemeut on Saurle's prop erlv Wapitot Island was mil In the Fall of 1J by Captain Nathaniel J. Weth. The firt Anvrlrin settler In the Wll lmiette alley, west of the river, was Kw'.ng Voung. mho located In Chehalrro Valley In O, tober. ISUI. He dietl Feb ruart la. lll. He mas the first Ameri can to leave an estate. The first mission was that establish'-! bv Kev. J.tson lee. In tfctober. l--.l. iit ! miles north of the present city jf Salem. Wl'lamelte I'nlveralty Is the Hit craw th of that beelnnlng. The Whitman mission mas established six miles m.si of Walla Walla of to .l.iv In December. 1'.. by Dr. Marcus Whitman, and th loipmal mission by Rv. H. H. Spalding, the same season. hl'-nan College Is the oulgromth of Pr Whitmans foundation. The first gristmill south of the Co lumbia River wsa the Hudson Pay Company mill, built In 115, near Cham- weC. T.'e first clergvman of the Church. f Kngland. or Protestant irpiscopal Church, was Hev. Herbert Heaver, mho arrtvetl' at Vancouver In 13 to serve as chaplain of the Hudson's P.ay Com jw nv. The first Catholic church. a log st-ib ture. was built st St. Paul, a fem , nlles aouCi of t't.ainpo-g. In H3il, ty t:.e I'sttiollc settlers In that vblnlly. Catholic missions were established In Oregon in VH. by P.ev. F N. Planchet. assisted by Iter. Mmleste leriier. Mass was first celebraied at Fort Vancouver in November 55 of in .st ear. T.- first steam vessel to navigate Pacific ocean and Oregon waters mas Mr Hudson Pay Company's stea:ner K-aver. which lefi Cravesend. Kngland. A'igust IT. li-. and arrived at Fort "Vancouver April 10. U.K. She mas wrecked on Ilurrard's Inlet. K. C. June. 1. The first American white child born was Alice Clarissa Whitman. March II. IJT. al Whitman mission, six miles west of tf-.e present city of Walla U:il. She was drowned June 13. U1. Thr second American white child was Fllsa Spalding, born November 1,. 11 1, near Lapwat. She Is now Mrs Warren. TIi first tr-ree marriages were Itev. J n la-e to l ss Anna Maria Pittman. I vrus Stiepard to Miss Susan iDsnln. and Charles I. Koe to Miss Nancy McKay. The first frame house, so far as knomn. was al Wascopam mow The raMi, and was raised October 1 and r. i3. Tlie first use of a rartle for rutting grain was hv Kev. Jason !oe in the I srvest of liT on the mission farm, la miles north of Salem, viraln prior to t.'nl d.ite was rut with sickles and bound with hasel withes. The first church organisation of an kind In the Oregon Countrv was that of Cie Mission Church at W'al-f l-at-pu. Oie I. nation of the Whitman mission. tx miles west of the present city of Wal'a Walla, on August III. l-. The original records of that church sav thai It was "Preb terlan In form and 'ongrrgatlonal In practice." The first printing of any kind In the Pacific Northwest wan at l-spwal. w n Haho. on May 1 . 1J. on the old mission press which mas sent lo Oregon froau th- Sandwich Islands. White clover waa brought to Ore gon In la by Hev. J. U Parrlstt from N.w Yrk. Tie first formal Fourth of July cele bration mt of the Km kv Mountains was on Julr i. Mil. near Fort Nls-li-ii!y. I"uget Sounl. The first Am-rlian marriage north ,.f tiie Cf-il'imbla was at Fort Van- outer on June II. Kev. Daniel I.e- to M' larla T. Ware. Tne f'rst vessel built In the Willam ette Klver by Americans was the star of Oregon by captain Joseph lale. on an,ll m.l In 1MI-MI. Tiie" first brick house was built by ileoro-e liai on the ilne between Vam-i-:!l Bed Polk Counties, a few miles et of the Willamette Klver. In IM1-- T'le first brlrk store was buitt by ;-orge Abernethy at Orffon 'it In Mil The missionaries of the Methodist F.pl-copal Ciiurch built Ih first ITot P.tini house of worship at Oregon City, beglnnln? to raise the funds on Decem ber Z. Ii:. and finishing the church r-ailv for serTI.-e early In l4. Tiie provisional government of ire- ,n a Im-al government composed of early settlers la hold this conntry for !. I'nited State until Congress could be forced to realize that this region was worth It attention u organized on May 2. 1S4J. The flr.t flock of sheep from the F.jt were driven acro.sa the plains by Joshua and A. C. H. Shaw In IM4. Ja rob P. Lease drove sheep from Cali fornia to Oregon In 1 t --3. The firm lawyer In Oregon was Amos Uwrtrio lovejoy. a native of Massa chusetts, mho came In 1812. returned that Winter, and came back to stay In The first rahin on the original town site of Portland one mile square was built by Francia W. Pettygrove In 1814. Location, southeast corner of Front and Washington streets. A portion of the Pettygrove and Lovejoy site wa laid off In blocks and lots by Thomas A. Brown In 18I.V The name Portland was given In IMS. as the result of a lucky toss of a copper rent. Th. .late of the Incorporation or Ore- sM... Tt.o.nmhr ' I 144 is ine ut nf ihii Kooky V nnlnlnc The first coinage of money In Amer ican territory on the Pacific Coast was the Heaver" piece. $S.500 of mhlch mere colne.l at Oregon City early In February. IS45. ' The first city election of Portland mas held on April 7. 1M. Michael Simmons, a K. Shaw and Ceorge Busn built the first gristmill In the Puaet Sound region at Tumwatcr. early In lIT. The first pottery mas made In Yam hill County, near Newberg. In The nel potiery mas on the east side of the Willamette Klver opposite Os wego, and mas established by William Pfelffer. a C5rman. The first Inlted Slates postal ser vice In Oregon m-as authorised In the w ,.r mi.i;. to lake effect july i .,f ti.e tarter vear. Cornelius tlllliam the first soei lal postal agent. As- torla was the flrt postof rice, anu M Shlvely the first postmaster all In J s" I 7 The first school In Portland was taught by Dr. Kalph W llcox In IM.. The first ladv teacher mas Miss Julia Wilcox in lsis. The first schoolhousc erected with public money mas the Central School, built In 1:.7. This oc cupied the block where the Portland Hotel now stands. The first church In Portland mas the il'lnii Methodist, or ganised In IH by Itev. James H I, nose of worship ot W II- that ch.i.'r. h waa erected In !:.. and Its lo cation was on the south side of Taylor street. between Second and Third. That church luid the flr.-t Sunday school In Portland: It also I .d the first chur. h choir on the Pacific I "sst Dr. P.. II. tlnffln. leader organised In 1M with l voices. The First F.plavopal Church In Port land was Trinity, organised My la. I-.I The first rector mas Kev. Wil liam' Richmond. its first house of worship mas built on tne nom.-.e. . i .. i r k -tea. el 11 ml ' rn.-r nw rteeonti n , ... - ...-r.l.-H hv Itishon Scott I The First Congregational Church ot Portland mas organised June li. ISSI. by Kev. Iloraie l.yman. Its house of worship, northwest corner of Second and Jefferson streets, mas dedicated that day. There were 10 charter mem bers. The Church of the Immaculate i on ceptlon (Catliollci mas organised .. !, erection of house in of worship begun In the northern part of the city In September of that year. The building was dedicated February 12. 1:.:. Kev. James Croke. first pas tor. The building wa-i removed to th northeast corner of Third and Stark streets tn li. The First llaptlst Church of Port, land was orginlsed on May . is:.;., by Revs. W. F. lloyaktn. F.xra Fisher and Heicklah Johnson, with ten members. The First Presbyterian Church was organised August 1. 1H0. by Rev. Philip H. Caffr.-y. who was Its first pas tor. Its first permanent house of wor ship was on the northwest corner of Third and Washington streets, now oc cupied by the Spalding building. Peth-lsrael Synagogue was organ ised by Rev. Julius F.ckmann May . sjs. Its first house of worship was at Fifth and link streets and waa dedi cated August 15. 1 ss 1. In times past much discussion has arisen over the question as to who was the first person to take plcturts In Portland. Mat K. Smith announces himself In The Oregonlan of March 21. isil. as a "Dagucrrean Artist." In Dr. Raker's building. Front street. West Side. Just south of the corner of Alder. The first meeting of the cltUens of Portland to consider the question of organizing a fire company was on May . JI. al the Columbian Hotel, north west corner of Front and Washington streets. This mas known as Pioneer F.ngtne Company No. 1. On May 7. Ordinance No. 12 was passed author ising an election on May 2 for the purpose of raising a special tax to secure funds for procuring a fire en gine and other necessary apparatus for the extinguishment of fires. On Friday. May 30. 151. the steamer Lot Whltcomh. J. C. Alnsworth master, srrted a "pleasure partv" from Ore gon City. Mllwaukle. Portland and Fort Vancouver to I he Cascades, re turning the next tlsy. for $-' a couple. The first Pnlted Ststes surveys In Oregon were begun on June 1. ISM. by John H. Preston, the first Surveyor Oeneral. and the first stake on the Hsse Line waa driven about three miles wet of Portland as It was In ISil. The condition of morals In l"ortland ot, June 21. I H& I. was such that the "City Council resolved to build a Jail forthwith." The first Justice of the Peace of Portland mas Anthony 1. lavls. elected Juna a. ISM. In May. IsSI. It was an occasion of great rejoicing when the Cnlted States IKtstal agent announced that a con tract mould soon be let for a meekly mall service between Portland : and Oregon City. In February. I'M. the rates of pas sage on tiie steamer It Whltcomb from Milmaiikle. Portland and Fort Vancouver and return were f lo. The first Portland Library Asso la tlon waa organised In the latter part of 1Sna and tts rooms were tn the building o' Jr. D. S. (laker. met side of Front s -eel near Alder. The late C. A. Reed was the flst librarian. In June. Mil. Thomas J. Dryer was librarian. The first temperance so letv in Port land mss the Washlnslonlan Toial Ab stinence Society, organized In the Win ter of Itio-il. Rev. J II Wilbur was president, and C. A. Reed, mho died al the Ihldfrlloms' Home a few tnon'.hs ago. mas the secretary. on April I. lil. F R. Comfort, post master, gives a list of 1S letters re maining In the postofflce of "Portland. Washington Count v. O. T." In this list the only two now known to be alive are Rev. C. H. Maltoon. of Indeiiend ence. and Andrew J. Purge, now In Ihl vicinity of North Yaklmaw On April 7. 131. the first city elec tion of Portland mas held and result-d In the election of Hugh D. O J -yarn. Mayor, by four majority over J. S. Smith. A public meeting whs held at the Methodist Church In Portland on Jul US. Iil. for the "purpose of taking measures to aecure and arrange a bury ing place." The tract secured for that purf mss known as block 1, and at AND-THE the present time Is bounded by -Alder. Twelfth. Oak and Thirteenth streets. The first drug store In Portland was eetahllshcd by Hooper. Snell & Company. Krnnt and Washington streets, in March, 1S1. General merchandise stores car ried more or less drugs prior to that date. Wnahlngton County (In which Port land was located at that limfl was di vided Into school districts in the latter part of 1S51 by Rev. Horace Lyman, school commissioner. September 27. ISM. was an Important day In the annals of early Portland, as It marked the laying of the first plank of the Willamette Vulley "Plank Road Company, which was organized severaJ months prior to that date for the pur pose of bulldltiK a plank road from Port land to Iaifayette. This was the first movement In Oregon In the matter of Internal Improvements, and was appro priately celebrated by the people of Portland en masse. ! The first architect In Portland was A. B. llaltmk. who began Mm career here on July ;l. 1S5I. The first Cnlted States Custom-House on the I'aclflc coast mas located as As toria In 1849. and General John Adair mas the first collector. The first session of the Legislature .of Oregon Territory was held at Oregon City, beginning July 1. 149. The first dentist in Portland was Dr. K. H. (irlffln. He offered his services to a suffering puh'Sc on November 22. 1851. The first Fourth of July celebration south of the Columbia Klver was at Oregon City In 1X4H. The first celebration In Portland was In 1x50. The first thresher and separator on the PnclnV Coarft was brought to Ore gon via Cape Horn In 1 C.u by Thomas otchln nnd first used on Ills farm north of Hlllsboro. Washington County. The rutted Slates transport Mnssa- Hnisrtts. Captain Wood, was the first American steam vessel to enter the Co lumbia lliver. she arrived at Astoria May 9. 184:1. and had on board two com panics of I'nited States troops the first In the Oregon country com manded by Major Hathaway. The first steamer to ascend the Wil lamette River lo Portland was the Co lumbia, which arrived June S. 18io. Thomas II. Smith took the flrat census-of Oregon In 114. with the fol lowing result: I'nunlv Males. eTnsle. 111. I'lnckHiiiss - I- I'hsmpocg 4oo Isl.on SI I -.'ll .nil Si'S .Hi 7 1 . I't ;.:t n -, ;ii" Tualatin 2-".l Vamhlll --'I !" Toial . . Of the females at that time, fully one-half were Indian women wives of the trappers and hunters. Tk organization of the provisional 43ARLY EDITORS STRONG&HARACTERjH Thomas T. Dryer. Who Started Holbrook, John : S of men who edited an In the early days rd in the Illustration la article. Thomas J. rvllOTOHHAPHS MM The Oregonlat are reproduci accompanying this Dryer was founder and editor of The Weekly Oregonlan. The other men shown. Simeon Francis. Amory Hol brook. John F. Damon and Samuel A. Clarke, were editors of The Dally Ore gonlan. iln the order named, before the late H. W. Scott took up that work. Henry Milici also had fbarge of the editorial pnge. of the paper for a brief time after Mr. Francis resigned. i Mr. Dryer waa born In Canandaigua County. New York. January 10. 1808. His paternal grandfather waa a soldier of the Revolution, and his father sarved in the war of 1812. Hist mother waa a daughter of Isaac Lewrtj. who served tinder General George Washington In the Revolutionary War. The Dryer family removed to Ohto.ln-lSIS, settling near Cincinnati. Thomas stayed there until 182.1. when he retnrned to his na tive state and remained until 1841. Dur ing the next seven years he had a mall contract, shipped beef to New Orleans, and had an Interest In a steam laundry In Cincinnati, each In turn. In the latter part of the Summer of 1818 Mr. Dryer ment to California to mine for gold, but not finding that to his liking, he turned his attention to reporting, and became connected mlth the Courier. He was a Whig In his po litical faith, and a caustic and aggres sive m-rlter. beside being a born con troversalist and an attractive public speaker. The first editor of The Daily Ore gonlan. Mr. Francis, was born In Weth erstleld. Conn.. May 14. 17D6. He served an apprenticeship In a New Haven printing office, and In 1S24 published a paper In New London. Then he re moved to Huffalo. N. V.. and published a paper called The Emporium. His next removal was to Springfield. 111., and In connection with three brothers, began the publication of the Sangamo Jour nal, afterwards the Illinois State Jour nal! and remained with It until 1857. In 1841 he was appointed Indian agent for Oregon by President William Henry Harrison. He accepted the appointment, but was prevented from coming by the objections of his wife, as she was op posed to going Into the wilderness. Mr. and Mrs. Francis came to Oregon earlv In 1859. During his long resi dence In Springfield Mr. Francis was an Intimate friend of Lincoln's, and after the latter's elevation to the Presidential chair he appointed his old friend a pay masters the Cnlted States Army. That ended his editorial career on The Ore gonlan. He died t Portland, October 21. 1872. The next editor after Hanry Miller had served a. short time, mas Mr. Hol brook. whrsassumed editorial control In the Summer of 182. and was connect ed mlth the paper In that capacity un til May. 1S4. He mas born In Rowley. Mass.. August 15. 1820. of Kngllsh an cestry. He was educated at Kowdoln College. Maine, graduating In the class of l"41. He studied law mlth Rufus Choate. to whom he was related. He was appointed Cnlted States District Attorney for Oregon In 1849 by Presi dent Taylor, and arrived here In May. 1850. via the Isthmus. He prosecuted the Indians who murdered Dr. Marco Whitman and secured their conviction In the Summer of 1851. He died Sep tember 26. 1866. Mr. Damon was horn In Waltliam. Mass.. February 27. 1S27. He learned the trade of printing In Boston, and maa a very rapid compositor. He came to the Pacific Coast In the Summer of 1849 lo write up the gold mines of California for the Itoston Herald. After that serv. Ice was performed he became connected with some or the California papers, both as editor and correspondent. He camo lo Portland In 186! and found employ ment on The Oregonlan as a compositor. When Mr. Holbrook left the paper, he ma given' editorial charge for a few months. He entered the ministry In 1867. and established the first Congrega. tlonal Church In Seattle. January 1 . 1S70. He died In Seattle January II. 1904. Mr. Clarke was born on the Island or Cuba. March 8. 1827. of Kngllsh an cestry. His parents were natives of New Kngland. however, and returned government of Oregon, begun on May 2. 113. was perfected on July J. 1M3, and David Hill. Alanson Beers and Jo seph Gale were chosen an executive committee to serve for one year. Samuel Rutherford Thurston was the first delegate to Congress-from Oregon, having been elected June 6. 1849. In 184S a ship load of brick was sent from Oregon to one of the South Sea Islands by a Frenchman, who paid ?7 a thousand for them. On August 14. 1S4R. the bill passed Congress authorizing the creation of Oregon Territory. ' In 1M Francis W. Petty-grove sold the original townsit3 of Portland, one mile square, with the river as the east ern boundary, to D. H. Ixwnsdale for 15000. Oregon City was the territorial cap ital until February 7, 1S51. when Salem became the capital. In April. 1855. it was removed to Corvallis and on De cember 15, 1S5S, removed back to Sa lem. Portland's first brick building, west side of Front street, the third 25-foot space south of the corner of Stark, was completed by W. S. Ladd. June 24. 1853. . The first street planking In Portland was In the latter part of October. 1 854. I lie 1 1 1 L usLCUMUli ui .iiuuiii iiwuw uj white men. so far as known, was on , This ngure is pracnc".. - August 4. 1S54. Thomas .1. Dryer, of in January. 1880, a census taken by The Oregonlan. was one of the party. The first honey bees to arrive in Ore gon .were brought across the, plains in 1854 by Dr. Davenport. The first telegraph in Oregon was opened between Portland and Oregon City, and the first message between the places was on November 15, 1855. D. W. Craig was the operator at Oregon City, and J. W. Davis at Portland. The first message from outKlde the state was received at Portland from Cali fornia March 5. 1864. The first water works of Portland were beprun In 1856-57. ' The first woolen mill In Oreuon. or on the Pacific Coast, was established at S.clem In 1857. Joseph Watt, a pio neer of 1844. was the leading spirit in the movement. He dispatched the first cargo of wheat to Liverpool via Cape Horn In 186b. . . The first Republican convention in Oregon Territory was held in 1857. The first streetcars in Portland, with horses as the motive power, were op erated In 1871. The first electric line In Portland began regular operations on November 1. 1889. and ran from the foot of the present steel bridge across the Willam ette River at Third and Gllsan streets, to what Is now the corner of Commer cial and Stanton streets, a distance of two miles, where It connected with a steam motor line running to St. Johns. The first suburban line, running from Grand avenue and Kast -Main street, to Sunnyside. operated by steam motor, was opened In the Summer of 1888. The first electric line in Portland on the west side of the river, began op erations on January I. 1!'0. The line Marted on Morrison and Second streets, and ended at the Fal'lng School. The cable railway to Portland Heights began operations In February, 18H0. The first Morrison street bridge was opened for regular traffic on April l-i 1887. The Weekly Oregonian, Was Followed by Simeon Francis, Amory F. Damon and Samuel A. Clarke : - :''--'" , 0 V p,"P i Kfl' 1 , - r'. I A-1U'J -"""J 't t l( ' - 'JF ilC to Connecticut In 1851. where he re mained until 1844. After that he lived In New York. South Carolina and Ohio. He came to Oregon In 1850, via tne Isthmus, and arrived at Portland about October 1. It was Mr. Clarke who cir culated the petition of the citizens of Portland to the Territorial Legislature at the session of December-January. 1850-51. which resulted in the incor poration of Portland in January. 1851. Port .'fed. O: ?':nCv GEO. rA V.ES, e- . S.f sJ r -v A J A - iW mi : f I : " - I r ?! -v U'tos ... " - J" "S- V - J-V ' if - A V ,k : . Xt 1 I n - ' -bsL..l-i LVW . XJ I. r - - i ' 0Z rf" - '..-'.' ' 1 -wf -ryK -m " I J -w J ' r'-i - tj? 'Vv- . . V y J v.,. . . t,,X, i ii israiiilsiamsi'Wmirai i riiriw r.-l r ..irasri i, nil. ?,T :' - Tto'm&''.'.. -4 wrfrtMiH.ia&rea'&4& dhrtt AND TOWN OF 3000 WHEN DAILY WAS ESTABLISHED Dense Forests Covered Large Portion of Present Business District and Stores Were Grouped Along River in 1861. Few Families Lived on East Side. WHILE PORTLAND had advanced somewhat beyond the crudity of its earliest days when The Daily Oregonlan was first Issued, it was still little more than a primitive pioneer village. There was little in the town -Itself, -with the exception of its stra-. teglo location, not then fully realized, to Indicate that it would ever become a great city; certainly its citizens little dreamed of the splendid metropolis Portland would be at the end of a half century. There were approximately 3000 citi zens in Portland when the initial num ber of The Daily Oregonlan was printed n h mornlnir of February 4, 1861. .ii, f rr ,nt. clerk of the local school district showed 2917 residents, all of tnem white people, excepting 16 negroes and 27 .Chinese. The entire number of stu dents in the district at that time was 716. Two' years later the taking of another census, this time for the first city directory, was directed by S. J. McCormick. well known In pioneer days. This directory, which was pub lished In January, 1863. indicated a "population of 3337. ' In addition It was estimated that there was a floating; population of 700. as the mines of East ern Orcg-on and Idaho were just begin ning to attract widespread attention. Portland, the pioneer town of 1861, is of special Interest today, in connec tion with the seml-centennlal anni versary of The Dally Oregonlan. as indicating the conditions under which this newspaper made the Important change from a weekly publication. H. L. rittock. the proprietor, had been planning this change for several yea.s, despite handicaps that tended to dis courage such an enterprise the small population of the city and surrounding country, the difficulty of circulating lha miner because of slow and uncer tain malls, and, perhaps greatest of all. the delay In getting news except from the Immediate neighborhood. From the time that F. W. Pettygrove built the first store In Portland, at the southwest corner of Front and Washington streets, the village had grown up along the shore of the Wil lamette. Originally nearly the entire area occupied by the present city w-as covered with dense forest and under brush. The only exception on the West Side of the river was a partial open ing along the shore between tne present streets of Washington ant jei- ipOrder Named. . 14-FT i-- CTi f I'M T v - ' He assumed editorial control of The Oregonlan ahout October 1. 1864. and held that position until May, 1863. For many years thereafter he was a regu lar correspondent of file paper, and editor and proprietor of the Oregon Statesman and Willamette Farmer. In the last years of his public life he was law librarian of the aeneral Land Of fice. Washington, D. C. He died In Salem. August 20, 1909. ferson. It was here that the town built up. first occupying this clearing, and, as necessity demanded, hewing the forest away to make room for the homes of the growing population. By 1S6. considerable land had been cleared, but wooded land still bordered the town like a frlese. All of. the terri tory now occupied by North Portland was still covered with forest. Where the central Business district now stands the woods came down In places as far as Fifth street." Those houses that had not been built near the stores that centered along the river were mostly south of Washington street and scat tered as far west as Tenth. Many of these were "out in the woods," with only trails or rough roads leading to the business district. The .buildings of those times showed considerable enterprise for a town so far. Isolated. Supplies could be shipped In only by boat from San Francisco, and yet the more prosperous citizens brought in attractive furniture for their houses as well as building sup plies to make finer dwellings and stores than could be erected from ma terials prepared In Oregon. The most elaborate building In Portland was owned by W. S. Ladd. It was a two story brick at the southwest corner of Front and Stark streets, extending a half block on Front street. A portion of this structure, at first one story, was the first brick building In Port land, having been completed June 21, 1S53. J. Kohn & Co., Smith & Davis and A. - H. Francis, all well-known pioneer firms, occupied this building. Mr. Ladd's store also was on the ground floor and above It was the hank of Ladd & Tllton. the only in stitution of its kind In the city, al though one or two other firms tran sacted some banking business. Old timers tell of an amusing incident that occurred soon after Francis opened his men's furnishing goods house, the first store of Its kind In Portland. Francis lived above the store and was known to keep a considerable ' amount of money In his home. He also had a parrot that was very Intelligent as parrots go. One night two young men attempted to rob the Francis home, climbing a ladder lo the second- story window. "John, bring the gun! John, bring the gun!" shouted the bird when It saw the intruders. These cries aroused the household, and in their haste to escape one of the robbers fell and broke his leg. both thieves later being sent to prison. Next to the I -arid block, on the south, was the Postofflce. a small frame build ing. A. R. Shipley was postmaster and had lived at the rear of the office until 1S60. when he built a home on the f)lock south of Main street, between West Park and Tenth. Adjoining the Postofflce on the south, at the corner of Front and Washington streets, was the old Carter House. This was one of the two best hotels In town and was the scene of many social gatherings in the early days. The other hotel that ranked as first class was the Metropo lis, at the northeast corner of Stark and Front streets. It was a three-story wooden building and a structure in which the city' took no little pride. It would be possible to give in detail the location of the other business build ings In 1861. and to describe them, but comparatively few of the names are well known in Portland today. There were few brick buildings and no struc ture more than three stories In height. For the most part one and two-story frame buildings lined the streets along the river, while the present skyscraper area was occupied by scattered build ings and forest. The Oregonian at that time occupied an office at the north east corner of First 'and Morrison streets. I. H. Gove, still a resident of Portland, lived on the present site of The Oregonian building, at Sixth and Alder streets. Judge P. A. Marquara was living on the present site of the Marquam block: Alonzo Leland had his home on the block where the Postofflce now stands, and Captain Richard Hoyt's house stood on the northeast corner of Sixth and Morrison streets, where the Stearns building is today. In 1861 several houses were being erected near where the south park blocks are now laid out. Colonel Wil liam M. King, a well-known pioneer, with his son. James W. King, who Is fctill a Portland resident, had a few j cars before cleared the block bounded by Main, Salmon, West Park and Tenth streets, and built their home . there. Frank M. Warren, Sr.. was just building a residence at the northwest corner of Salmon and West Park streets, and Wil liam Connell was erecting a home at the southwest corner of West Park and Taylor streets. The finest houses In the town were those owned by H. AV. Corbett and Henry Falling on the Fifth street blocks where the homes of these families still stand, and the Ladd home on the full block at Sixth and Jefferson. John M. Breck was Mayor of Portland at this time, and the City Hall was on the west side of Front street, be tween Washington and Alder. The only police force was the City Marshal and his deputies, while protection against fire was provided by four volunteer en gine companies which drew the appa ratus by hand whenever an alarm was sounded. This was no easy task, es pecially In Winter, as a little grading was the only street improvement and the thoroughfares were often deep with mud. Five churches ministered to the spirt- FIRST PAPER GREETED BY IMMENSE BONFIRE Citizens of Portland United in Celebrating Advent of The Weekly Oregonian on December 4, 1850. THE following account of the found ing of The Weekly Oregonian is contained in a history of Portland published in 1S90 and edited by the late H. V. Scott: "Portland, had as yet ( 1849 no news paper. It-s rival, Milwaukie. was set ting up tiie Western Star, and at Ore .gon City the Spectator was growing al most venerable with the weight of years. Plainly such a condition could not long be endured. Colonel Chapman, with more or less definite purpose to relieve the situation,' went South to San Francisco, taking along in the bark on which he sailed a stick of fir timber 130 feet long, cut from the woods on the elevation now occupied by W. S. Ladd's residence. He intended It as a present to the people of the golden city to serve as a flagstaff. "Finding there one Thomas J. Dryer, a Journalist, with the plant of a news paper, he engaged his materials and services, agreeing with him that he should come to Portland and publish a Journal to be called The Oregonian. To tliiS work Dryer was also urged by . H. W. Corbett, at that time in Sa-n p'rancisco. "The office was shipped in October. 1850, on the bark Keoka. By reason of hard winds and storms the vessel did not reach the Columbia as early as expected. The edjtor-elect was, more PEOPLE ual wants of the community. The pioneer of these was the Methodist Episcopal which had been founded be fore 18S0 on the present site of the Taylor-Street Church, at Third and Taylor. The Congregational Church, now tlio 'First, was then at Second and Jeffer son. There was a Baptist Church at the southwest corner of; Fourth and Alder; Trinity Episcopal at Fifth and Pine, and a Catholic Church at the northeast corner of Third and Pine. The work of building these early churches was mostly volunteered by the citizens, irrespective of the denominations with which they were affiliated. . The East. Side in those flays was prin cipally unoccupied land, nit hough lour or five farms. were scattered over the area which is now-built up densely with houses. Along the east shore were scat tered oak trees and there was no means of communication across the river ex cept bv the Stark-street ferry, then op erated' by .Levi and A..J. , Knott and their father. Steam power, was in stalled on this ferry later and it was used for many ye:-.is. even- after the bridges afforded means of communica tion. The pioneer city was menaced, but not greatly damaged in ism. by a ;lood of the Willamette. The streets of the business section were under water and the river flowed eight feet deep over a larire nortion of the present area , of North Portland. James w. King t of an incident that happened one during- the flood while, .with am" lis ay tec youth, he was shooting ducks at. u r Lake. Hearing a distant crash, hoys ran 'to the river hank, where : toori saw a wharf drift by and h. on the end of Swan island. This the first stationary wharf to be i strut-ted in Portland. It was buiit Hall & Kingsley and was not t completed when it was torn loose 'd's he ey go as n hy ite by ' the swift current. Most of the ma terial was recovered from where It Mad stranded on the island and the wharf, was rebuilt. 1 This was the Portland in which Tlu Daily Oregonian was Initiated.. It wa: ; not a rich field for a daily newspaper hut the publication received a wnrrr . I welcome. The Weekly Oregonian haiil already won a place in popular favot I ahead of its early rivals, and the new J daily received the support of the moagei ' J population who appreciated -the enter-, i prise shown in giving all the news tha ; was available and usually giving it. ll t advance of rival papers. f The Portland In which The Daily Ore U gonian was launched had been soma U t yrars in the making, and during 11 J years and two months of that (periO'X The Weekly Oregonian had been lssvculr I The townsite was selected in November of 1S4.1, when A. L. Lovejoy anil William Overton, en route from VanoouvetJ to Oregon City had stopped off to study the topography of the country. Mr. Over ton had made a previous visit and ha brought Mr. Lovejo'y. it being their pur pose to lay out site for a town. Both of tiiem were much impressed with the location, especially as they saw that the river was deep along tha shore. Kiver traffic in those days was practically the sole means of communi cation. Overton and Lovejoy, however, did not lay out the town at that time. They continued their journey to Oregon City, but returned later. The exact date ot their return Is unknown, but it was in the Fall or Winter of 1S44. Overton was r.ot long identified with the town site project. Just what became, ot him Is not known, but there is a report thot he went to Texas, where he died. In Overton's stead, probably by purchase from Overton. F. W. Pettygrove joined In the townsite project. In the Winter and Spring of 1S14 a loghouse. the first building in Portland was built at the foot of Washington street. Lovejoy and Pettygrove had not legal title to the land beyond that of "'snuatters." It was not until 1850 that the donation land act was passed, and It was not until 1S30 that formal title to the new townsKb was acquired. An interesting story, familiar to must Oregonians, is connected with the nam ing ot the city. Lovejoy was from Boston, and wanted to name the new town aftet the Massachusetts metropo lis: Pettygrove, however, was Just as persistently in favor of Portland, ho I avlng come from Portland, Me. The decision was made at Oregon City, tlio flip of a coin christening the PortInn-1 that was destined far to surpass lti sizo and importance its New England name sake. - The first plan of the town was la'd out in 1845, the original survey including- 16 blocks. Not long afterwaivl. Lovejoy, whose business Interests were In Oregon City, sold his interest in the-, property to Benjamin Stark. Ptiy-' grove also sold out in 1S48. his Interest.' including a wharf at the foot of Wasn ington street, which was built in ISi'!, the purchaser being Daniel H. Lovvtis dale. 1 lie growth ot the town was slow, es pecially In 1S49 during the gold rush ti California, the population dwindling a. that time to almost nothing. Tho fit si substantial prepress was in ISM), the year The Weekly Oregonian was established, and t:is became more n'&iked In 1851. One big factor in the early development nas the building. In that year, of a plank roadway through t!ie canyon southwest of the city, con necting Portlani .v-;th Tualatin Plains. From then on prioress was stjady, al though not rapid uiuil many years later.' over, stranded financially at Astoria, and had to be relieved by a moderate advance from the pockets of ColnnePV Chapman. On this account the new pa per was preceded some weeks by the Western Star. "It was not until December 4 that the first Issue appeared. Cm the. night of Its publication all hands wero bl - and the town was illuminated by aaf immense bonfire in the streets. Vaii-1 ous orgies were solemnized in the of flee, one among them being the initia tion of the devil, who was blindfolded and made to perform certain circuits and at stated revolutions to abjure his former occupation by affirming that he would split no more rails. Colonel Chapman- provided a man to taki bundle of the new isue and start ea-Iy next morning on horseback, on the west side of the river, and distribute the paper as far up as Corvallis and return by the East Side. "In its first issue The Oregonian con- tained some terse and forcible English and complimented the people upon t lie rapid growth of their city, and the neat appearance of their residences, remark lug that Portland was a town which had sprung up in an incredibly sliort time. 'The buildings are mostly new, of good style and taste, with their white coats of paint, contrasted with the brown and dingy appearance of towns generally on the Pacific Coast, giving it a most homelike appear ance." "