Oregon Territory

The Oregon Territory was a historic administrative region in the Pacific Northwest of North America, established by the United States on August 14, 1848, following the Oregon Treaty with Britain in 1846. This treaty resolved the Oregon boundary dispute by setting the U.S.-British border at the 49th parallel and granted the U.S. control over land that now comprises the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and parts of Montana and Wyoming. The Territory’s formation was a significant milestone in the westward expansion of the United States, driven by the Manifest Destiny ideology that advocated for the expansion of U.S. territory across the continent. The Oregon Territory was carved out of a larger area previously known as the Oregon Country, which had been jointly occupied by the United States and Britain. Its establishment was crucial for the legal and political organization of the region, providing a framework for governance, settlement, and the establishment of American laws and institutions in the vast western territories. The territorial government initially centered in Oregon City, was later moved to Salem, and played a pivotal role in the early development and settlement patterns of the Pacific Northwest, laying the groundwork for the eventual statehood of Oregon in 1859, followed by Washington in 1889.

Treaty of June 9, 1855

Articles of agreement and convention made and concluded at the treaty-ground, Camp Stevens, in the Wall-Walla Valley, this ninth day of June, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, by and between Isaac I. Stevens, governor and superintendent of Indian affairs for the Territory of Washington, and Joel Palmer, superintendent of Indian affairs for Oregon Territory, on the part of the United States, and the undersigned chiefs, head-men, and delegates of the Walla-Wallas, Cayuses, and Umatilla tribes and bands of Indians, occupying lands partly in Washington and partly in Oregon Territories, and who, for the purposes of this … Read more

Treaty of June 25, 1855

Articles of agreement and convention made and concluded at Wasco, near the Dalles of the Columbia River, in Oregon Territory, by Joel Palmer, superintendent of Indian affairs, on the part of the United States, and the following-named chiefs and head-men of the confederated tribes and bands of Indians, residing in Middle Oregon, they being duly authorized thereto by their respective bands, to wit: Symtustus, Locks-quis-sa, Shick-a-me, and Kuck-up, chiefs of the Taih or Upper De Chutes band of Walla – Wallas; Stocket-ly and Iso, chiefs of the Wyam or Lower De Chutes band of Walla – Wallas; Alexis and Talkish, … Read more

Biography of Hon. William Strong

HON. WILLIAM STRONG. – There is no name more thoroughly associated with Oregon and Washington judicature than that of William Strong. His marked characteristics are indelibly impressed upon the system of law of both states, especially that of the latter. To long and distinguished service as associate justice of the supreme court, and in the ex-officio character of judge of the district courts in both states while they were territorial governments, must be added his connection with their legislation, and also his brilliant career as a law practitioner, for over a generation, in all the courts of both states. He … Read more

Biography of Hon. George H. Williams

HON. GEORGE H. WILLIAMS. – Judge Williams alone among the citizens of our state, and of the Pacific coast, has had the distinction of occupying a place in the highest councils of the nation, – in the cabinet of a President. He was also regarded by President Grant as the man most fit and able to hold the position of chief justice of the United States. The bitter struggle following his nomination to this supreme position is well remembered for the sectional feeling displayed and the dissent of certain members of the senate which led the Judge to withdraw his … Read more

Treaty of November 15, 1865

Articles of agreement and convention entered into at the Warm Springs Agency, Oregon, by J. W. Perit Huntington, sup’t Indian affairs for Oregon, on behalf of the United States, and the undersigned, chiefs and head-men of the confederated tribes and bands of Middle Oregon, the same being amendatory of and supplemental to the treaty negotiated with the aforesaid tribes on the twenty-fifth day of June, eighteen hundred and fifty-five, and ratified by the Senate of the United States on the eighteenth day of April, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine. Article 1. It having become evident from experience that the provision of … Read more

Biography of Albert H. Tanner

ALBERT H. TANNER. – Albert H. Tanner was born in what was at one time a part of the Oregon Territory; but, when Congress cut the territory in two and made Oregon and Washington Territories, it left him in Washington Territory, with the mighty Columbia between him and his now much-loved Oregon. His birthplace was on what is commonly known as Cape Horn Mountain, some fifty or sixty miles below the Cascades. In a little log cabin, the favorite habitat of the early settler of this Western country, on the 9th of September, 1855, the subject of this sketch first … Read more