The Coast Reservation of Oregon was established under Executive Order of President Franklin Pierce in November, 1855, as a homeland for the southern Oregon tribes. It was an immense, isolated wilderness, parts of which had burned earlier in the century. There were some prairies where farming was possible, but because...
The Champoeg townsite first developed due to its ideal settlement and trade location within the Willamette Valley, becoming the ‘legal birthplace of Oregon’ in 1843. However, by 1860 Champoeg’s significance had begun to decline, and in December of 1861 a devastating flood wiped out the townsite. Archaeological excavations took place...
The written history of Oregon spanning the late 18th and early 19th centuries lacks evidence of the contributions made by the Overseas Chinese communities who existed in Oregon during this period. The purpose of this examination is to study the Overseas Chinese communities which resided in the cities of The...
About 7,000 years ago two major tephra-falls blanketed the
Pacific Northwest in volcanic ash. These two tephra-falls, identified
as the Llao and climatic tephra-falls, were a part of the eruptive
events that led up to the collapse of Mount Mazama to form Crater Lake
in the southern Oregon Cascades.
The...
The Battle of Big Bend was the last significant battle of the Rogue River Indian
Wars. The battle occurred 27-28 May 1856 in the Oregon Territory. The location of
the battle was along the Rogue River at a place known as the Big Bend, approximately
eight miles up river from...
During the summer of 2016, Oregon State University conducted preliminary excavations of the hospital at Fort Yamhill, Oregon (35PO75). Fort Yamhill (1856-1866), has long been a focus of OSU’s field schools, offering glimpses into garrison life through the eyes of the officers and the enlisted men. However, up until recently,...