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150-558: The East Bank fault is one of three large faults that runs underneath Portland, Oregon . It runs under the University of Portland . This tectonics article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Portland, Oregon Portland ( / ˈ p ɔːr t l ə n d / PORT -lənd ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon , located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated in
300-520: A major regional heat wave . The record had been broken for three consecutive days with daytime highs of 108 °F (42 °C) on June 26 and 112 °F (44 °C) on June 27; the previous record of 107 °F (42 °C) was set in July 1965 and matched twice in August 1981. A temperature of 100 °F (38 °C) has been recorded in all five months from May through September. The warmest night of
450-628: A century. During the prehistoric period, the land that would become Portland was flooded after the collapse of glacial dams from Lake Missoula , in what would later become Montana. These massive floods occurred during the last ice age and filled the Willamette Valley with 300 to 400 feet (91 to 122 m) of water. Before American settlers began arriving in the 1800s, the land was inhabited for many centuries by two bands of indigenous Chinook people – the Multnomah and
600-647: A community-driven series of rallies, campaigns, nonprofits and events designed to address Portland's racial history, leading to a city considered significantly more tolerant than in 1988 at Seraw's death. Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a 2,170-mile (3,490 km) east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory . The eastern part of
750-648: A dome of rock they named Independence Rock and started their long trek on foot to the Missouri River. Upon arriving back in a settled area they bought pack horses (on credit) and retrieved their furs. They had discovered the route that Robert Stuart had taken in 1813—eleven years before. Thomas Fitzpatrick was often hired as a guide when the fur trade dwindled in 1840. Smith was killed by Comanche natives around 1831. Up to 3,000 mountain men were trappers and explorers , employed by various British and United States fur companies or working as free trappers, who roamed
900-431: A few degrees. Evening temperatures fall to or below freezing 32 nights per year on average, but very rarely below 18 °F (−8 °C). There are only 2.1 days per year where the daytime high temperature fails to rise above freezing; the mean for the lowest high is at the exact freezing point of 32 °F (0 °C). The lowest overnight temperature ever recorded was −3 °F (−19 °C), on February 2, 1950, while
1050-528: A former U.S. Army Captain and fur trader who was contracted to guide the train to Fort Hall for $ 1 per person. The winter before, Marcus Whitman had made a brutal mid-winter trip from Oregon to St. Louis to appeal a decision by his mission backers to abandon several of the Oregon missions. He joined the wagon train at the Platte River for the return trip. When the pioneers were told at Fort Hall by agents from
1200-519: A highly active volcano 50 miles (80 km) northeast of the city in Washington state, is easily visible on clear days and is close enough to have dusted the city with volcanic ash after its eruption on May 18, 1980. The rocks of the Portland area range in age from late Eocene to more recent eras. Multiple shallow, active fault lines traverse the Portland metropolitan area. Among them are
1350-656: A large number of saloons, bordellos , gambling dens, and boarding houses which were populated with miners after the California Gold Rush , as well as the multitude of sailors passing through the port. By the early 20th century, the city had lost its reputation as a "sober frontier city" and garnered a reputation for being violent and dangerous. Between 1900 and 1930, the city's population tripled from nearly 100,000 to 301,815. During World War II , it housed an "assembly center" from which up to 3,676 people of Japanese descent were dispatched to internment camps in
1500-439: A letter to her sister, Lucy P. Griffith, described how travelers responded to the new environment they encountered: The mountains looked like volcanoes and the appearance that one day there had been an awful thundering of volcanoes and a burning world. The valleys were all covered with a white crust and looked like salaratus . Some of the companies used it to raise their bread. While women experienced many deaths and hardships on
1650-588: A newspaper, the Weekly Oregonian . A major fire swept through downtown in August 1873 , destroying twenty blocks on the west side of the Willamette along Yamhill and Morrison Streets, and causing $ 1.3 million in damage, roughly equivalent to $ 33.1 million today. By 1879, the population had grown to 17,500 and by 1890 it had grown to 46,385. In 1888, the first steel bridge on the West Coast
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#17327732856731800-762: A path to the Pacific Ocean, it was neither direct nor practicable for prairie schooner wagons to pass through without considerable road work. The two passes they found going through the Rocky Mountains , Lemhi Pass , and Lolo Pass , turned out to be much too difficult. On the return trip in 1806, they traveled from the Columbia River to the Snake River and the Clearwater River over Lolo Pass again. They then traveled overland up
1950-481: A protest to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Floyd's murder caused property damage, and was followed by a number of arrests. Portland lies on top of a dormant volcanic field known as the Boring Lava Field , named after the nearby bedroom community of Boring . The Boring Lava Field has at least 32 cinder cones such as Mount Tabor , and its center lies in southeast Portland. Mount St. Helens ,
2100-489: A rendezvous a year's worth of trading and celebrating would take place as the traders took their furs and remaining supplies back east for the winter and the trappers faced another fall and winter with new supplies. Trapper Jim Beckwourth described the scene as one of "Mirth, songs, dancing, shouting, trading, running, jumping, singing, racing, target-shooting, yarns, frolic, with all sorts of extravagances that white men or Indians could invent." In 1830, William Sublette brought
2250-424: A reputation as a bastion of counterculture . The city operates with a commission-based government , guided by a mayor and four commissioners, as well as Metro , the only directly elected metropolitan planning organization in the United States. Its climate is marked by warm, dry summers and cool, rainy winters. This climate is ideal for growing roses , and Portland has been called the "City of Roses" for over
2400-432: A single street name on a grid. For example, the 200 block north of Burnside is either NW Davis Street or NE Davis Street throughout the entire city. The six previous addressing sections of Portland, which were colloquially known as quadrants despite there being six, have developed distinctive identities, with mild cultural differences and friendly rivalries between their residents, especially between those who live east of
2550-698: A small group of men back east to report to Astor. The group planned to retrace the path followed by the overland expedition back up to the east following the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Fear of a Native American attack near Union Pass in Wyoming forced the group further south where they discovered South Pass, a wide and easy pass over the Continental Divide. The party continued east via the Sweetwater River , North Platte River (where they spent
2700-820: A statute applying the laws of Upper Canada to the district and giving the HBC power to enforce those laws. From 1813 to the early 1840s the British, through the NWC and HBC, had nearly complete control of the Pacific Northwest and the western half of the Oregon Trail. In theory, the Treaty of Ghent , which ended the War of 1812, restored possession of U.S. property in Oregon territory to the United States. "Joint occupation" of
2850-486: A time, contributing to 157 days on average with measurable (≥0.01 in or 0.25 mm) precipitation annually. Temperatures have reached 90 °F (32 °C) as early as April 30 and as late as October 5, while 80 °F (27 °C) has been reached as early as April 1 and as late as October 21. Thunderstorms are uncommon and tornadoes are very rare, although they do occur. See or edit raw graph data . Portland's cityscape derives much of its character from
3000-415: A trail through heavy timber. The wagons were stopped at The Dalles , Oregon, by the lack of a road around Mount Hood. The wagons had to be disassembled and floated down the treacherous Columbia River and the animals herded over the rough Lolo trail to get by Mt. Hood. Nearly all of the settlers in the 1843 wagon trains arrived in the Willamette Valley by early October. A passable wagon trail now existed from
3150-427: Is Mount Tabor , a volcanic landform. The 2020 census reported the city as 73.8% White (449,025 people), 8.2% Asian (52,854), 5.8% Black or African American (38,217), 0.9% Native American (7,335), 0.5% Pacific Islander (3,919), and 5.0% from two or more races (69,898). 10.3% were Hispanic or Latino, of any race (72,336). Whites not of Hispanic origin made up 68.8% of the total population. The 2010 census reported
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#17327732856733300-433: Is "PDX", the airport code for Portland International Airport . Other nicknames include Bridgetown, Stumptown, Rip City, Soccer City, P-Town, Portlandia, and the more antiquated Little Beirut. From May 28, 2020, until spring 2021, there were daily protests about the murder of George Floyd by police, and racial injustice. There were instances of looting, vandalism, and police actions causing injuries. One protestor
3450-480: Is approximately 100 miles (160 km) upriver from the Pacific Ocean on the Columbia. Though much of downtown Portland is relatively flat, the foothills of the Tualatin Mountains , more commonly referred to locally as the "West Hills", pierce through the northwest and southwest reaches of the city. Council Crest Park at 1,073 feet (327 m) is often quoted as the highest point in Portland; however,
3600-484: Is largely residential. Downtown district , made up of commercial businesses, museums, skyscrapers , and public landmarks represents a small area within the southwest address section. Portland's South Waterfront area has been developing into a dense neighborhood of shops, condominiums, and apartments starting in the mid-2000s. Development in this area is ongoing. The area is served by the Portland Streetcar ,
3750-666: Is the first new bridge to span the Willamette in Portland since the 1973 opening of the double-decker Fremont Bridge . Other bridges that span the Willamette River in the downtown area include the Burnside Bridge , the Ross Island Bridge (both built 1926), and the double-decker Marquam Bridge (built 1966). Other bridges outside the downtown area include the Sellwood Bridge (built 2016) to
3900-608: Is water. Although almost all of Portland is within Multnomah County , small portions of the city are within Clackamas and Washington counties. Portland has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen Csb), falling just short of a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) with cool and rainy winters, and warm and dry summers. This climate is characterized by having overcast, wet, and changing weather conditions in fall, winter, and spring, as Portland lies in
4050-595: The Blackfoot River and crossed the Continental Divide at Lewis and Clark Pass, as it would become known, and on to the head of the Missouri River. This was ultimately a shorter and faster route than the one they followed west. This route had the disadvantages of being much too rough for wagons and controlled by the Blackfoot tribes. Even though Lewis and Clark had only traveled a narrow portion of
4200-604: The California gold rush . It is estimated that about two-thirds of the male population in Oregon went to California in 1848 to cash in on the opportunity. To get there, they helped build the Lassen Branch of the Applegate-Lassen Trail by cutting a wagon road through extensive forests. Many returned with significant gold which helped jump-start the Oregon economy. Over the next decade, gold seekers from
4350-589: The Clackamas . The Chinook people occupying the land were first documented in 1805 by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark . Before its European settlement, the Portland Basin of the lower Columbia River and Willamette River valleys had been one of the most densely populated regions on the Pacific Coast. Large numbers of pioneer settlers began arriving in the Willamette Valley in the 1840s via
4500-589: The Great Basin to the eastern slope of the Sierras . Upon return in early August, Simpson reported that he had surveyed the Central Overland Route from Camp Floyd to Genoa, Nevada . This route went through central Nevada (roughly where U.S. Route 50 goes today) and was about 280 miles (450 km) shorter than the "standard" Humboldt River California trail route. The Army improved
4650-701: The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and the North West Company reached the point of armed hostilities, and the British government pressured the two companies to merge. The newly reconfigured HBC had a near monopoly on trading (and most governing issues) in the Columbia District, or Oregon Country as it was referred to by the Americans, and also in Rupert's Land . That year the British parliament passed
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4800-491: The MAX Orange Line and four TriMet bus lines. This former industrial area sat as a brownfield prior to development in the mid-2000s. Southeast Portland is largely residential, and consists of several neighborhoods, including Hawthorne District , Belmont , Brooklyn , and Mount Tabor . Reed College , a private liberal arts college that was founded in 1908, is located within the confines of Southeast Portland as
4950-566: The Midwestern United States and East Coast of the United States dramatically increased traffic on the Oregon and California Trails. The "forty-niners" often chose speed over safety and opted to use shortcuts such as the Sublette-Greenwood Cutoff in Wyoming which reduced travel time by almost seven days but spanned nearly 45 miles (72 km) of the desert without water, grass, or fuel for fires. 1849
5100-554: The Oregon Dragoons . They carried a large flag emblazoned with their motto " Oregon Or The Grave ". Although the group split up near Bent's Fort on the South Platte and Farnham was deposed as leader, nine of their members eventually did reach Oregon. In September 1840, Robert Newell , Joseph L. Meek , and their families reached Fort Walla Walla with three wagons that they had driven from Fort Hall. Their wagons were
5250-466: The Oregon Trail with many arriving in nearby Oregon City . A new settlement then emerged ten miles from the mouth of the Willamette River, roughly halfway between Oregon City and Hudson's Bay Company 's Fort Vancouver . This community was initially referred to as "Stumptown" and "The Clearing" because of the many trees cut down to allow for its growth. In 1843 William Overton saw potential in
5400-566: The Pacific Fur Company (PFC) operated in the Pacific Northwest in the North American fur trade . Two movements of PFC employees were planned by Astor: one sent to the Columbia River aboard the merchant ship Tonquin , the other dispatched overland under an expedition led by Wilson Price Hunt . Hunt and his party were to find possible supply routes and trapping territories for further fur trading posts. Upon arriving at
5550-618: The Portland Hills Fault on the city's west side, and the East Bank Fault on the east side. According to a 2017 survey, several of these faults were characterized as "probably more of a hazard" than the Cascadia subduction zone due to their proximities to population centers, with the potential of producing magnitude 7 earthquakes . Notable earthquakes that have impacted the Portland area in recent history include
5700-535: The Portland metropolitan area , making it the 25th-most populous in the United States. About half of Oregon's population resides within the Portland metro area. Named after Portland, Maine , which is itself named after the English Isle of Portland , the Oregon settlement began to be populated in the 1840s, near the end of the Oregon Trail . Its water access provided convenient transportation of goods, and
5850-692: The Red River Colony (located at the junction of the Assiniboine River and Red River near present Winnipeg , Manitoba , Canada) into the Oregon territory. This attempt at settlement failed when most of the families joined the settlers in the Willamette Valley, with their promise of free land and HBC-free government. In 1846, the Oregon Treaty ending the Oregon boundary dispute was signed with Britain. The British lost much of
6000-554: The Rocky Mountains . The Oregon Trail and its many offshoots were used by about 400,000 settlers, farmers, miners, ranchers, and business owners and their families to get to the area known as Oregon and its surroundings, with traffic especially thick from 1846 to 1869. The eastern half of the trail was also used by travelers on the California Trail (from 1843), Mormon Trail (from 1847), and Bozeman Trail (from 1863) before turning off to their separate destinations. Use of
6150-427: The U.S. Army's Corps of Topographical Engineers and his guide Kit Carson led three expeditions from 1842 to 1846 over parts of California and Oregon. His explorations were written up by him and his wife Jessie Benton Frémont and were widely published. The first detailed maps of California and Oregon were drawn by Frémont and his topographers and cartographers in about 1848. In 1834, The Dalles Methodist Mission
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6300-550: The Willamette Valley in Oregon, at which point what came to be called the Oregon Trail was complete, though further improvements in the forms of bridges, cutoffs, ferries, and roads would make the trip faster and safer. From various starting points in Iowa, Missouri, or Nebraska Territory , the routes converged along the lower Platte River Valley near Fort Kearny , Nebraska Territory. They led to fertile farmlands west of
6450-645: The Yellowstone River to the Sweetwater River. They were looking for a safe location to spend the winter. Smith reasoned since the Sweetwater flowed east it must eventually run into the Missouri River. Trying to transport their extensive fur collection down the Sweetwater and North Platte Rivers, they found after a near-disastrous canoe crash that the rivers were too swift and rough for water passage. On July 4, 1824, they cached their furs under
6600-566: The urban heat island effect. Neighborhoods outside of the downtown core, especially in slightly higher elevations near the West Hills and Mount Tabor , can experience a dusting of snow while downtown receives no accumulation at all. The city has experienced a few major snow and ice storms in its past, with extreme totals having reached 44.5 in (113 cm) at the airport in 1949–50 and 60.9 in (155 cm) at downtown in 1892–93. Summers in Portland are warm, dry, and sunny, though
6750-467: The 1840s, the Great Plains appeared to be unattractive for settlement and were illegal for homesteading until well after 1846—initially, it was set aside by the U.S. government for Native American settlements. The next available land for general settlement, Oregon, appeared to be free for the taking and had fertile lands, disease-free climate ( yellow fever and malaria were then prevalent in much of
6900-766: The 1940s and 1950s. In 1957, Life magazine published an article detailing the city's history of government corruption and crime, specifically its gambling rackets and illegal nightclubs. The article, which focused on crime boss Jim Elkins , became the basis of a fictionalized film titled Portland Exposé (1957). In spite of the city's seedier undercurrent of criminal activity, Portland enjoyed an economic and industrial surge during World War II. Ship builder Henry J. Kaiser had been awarded contracts to build Liberty ships and aircraft carrier escorts, and chose sites in Portland and Vancouver, Washington , for work yards. During this time, Portland's population rose by over 150,000, largely attributed to recruited laborers. During
7050-483: The 1960s, an influx of hippie subculture began to take root in the city in the wake of San Francisco 's burgeoning countercultural scene. The city's Crystal Ballroom became a hub for the city's psychedelic culture , while food cooperatives and listener-funded media and radio stations were established. A large social activist presence evolved during this time as well, specifically concerning Native American rights , environmentalist causes, and gay rights . By
7200-474: The 1970s, Portland had well established itself as a progressive city, and experienced an economic boom for the majority of the decade; however, the slowing of the housing market in 1979 caused demand for the city and state timber industries to drop significantly. In the 1990s, the technology industry began to emerge in Portland, specifically with the establishment of companies such as Intel , which brought more than US$ 10 billion in investments in 1995 alone. In
7350-420: The 6.8-magnitude Nisqually earthquake in 2001, and a 5.6-magnitude earthquake that struck on March 25, 1993. Per a 2014 report, over 7,000 locations within the Portland area are at high risk for landslides and soil liquefaction in the event of a major earthquake, including much of the city's west side (such as Washington Park ) and sections of Clackamas County . Portland is 60 miles (97 km) east of
7500-510: The California gold rush , and sex ratios did not reach essential equality in California (and other western states) until about 1950. The relative scarcity of women gave them many opportunities to do many more things that were not normally considered women's work of this era. After 1849, the California gold rush continued for several years as the miners continued to find about $ 50,000,000 worth of gold per year at $ 21 per ounce. Once California
7650-530: The Father of Oregon. The York Factory Express , establishing another route to the Oregon territory, evolved from an earlier express brigade used by the North West Company between Fort Astoria and Fort William , Ontario on Lake Superior . By 1825 the HBC started using two brigades, each setting out from opposite ends of the express route—one from Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River and the other from York Factory on Hudson Bay—in spring and passing each other in
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#17327732856737800-536: The Hudson's Bay Company that they should abandon their wagons there and use pack animals the rest of the way, Whitman disagreed and volunteered to lead the wagons to Oregon. He believed the wagon trains were large enough that they could build whatever road improvements they needed to make the trip with their wagons. The biggest obstacle they faced was in the Blue Mountains of Oregon where they had to cut and clear
7950-533: The Missouri River to The Dalles. Jesse Applegate's account of the emigration, " A Day with the Cow Column in 1843 ," has been described as "the best bit of literature left to us by any participant in the [Oregon] pioneer movement..." and has been republished several times from 1868 to 1990. In 1846, the Barlow Road was completed around Mount Hood, providing a rough but completely passable wagon trail from
8100-626: The Missouri River to the Willamette Valley: about 2,000 miles (3,200 km). In 1843, settlers of the Willamette Valley drafted the Organic Laws of Oregon organizing land claims within the Oregon Country. Married couples were granted at no cost (except for the requirement to work and improve the land) up to 640 acres (2.6 km ) (a section or square mile), and unmarried settlers could claim 320 acres (1.3 km ). As
8250-711: The Missouri and Mississippi River drainage), extensive forests, big rivers, potential seaports, and only a few nominally British settlers. Fur trappers, often working for fur traders, followed nearly all possible streams looking for beaver in the years (1812–40) when the fur trade was active. Fur traders included Manuel Lisa , Robert Stuart, William Henry Ashley , Jedediah Smith , William Sublette , Andrew Henry , Thomas Fitzpatrick , Kit Carson , Jim Bridger , Peter Skene Ogden , David Thompson , James Douglas , Donald Mackenzie , Alexander Ross , James Sinclair , and other mountain men . Besides describing and naming many of
8400-563: The Mormon emigrants followed the main Oregon/California/Mormon Trail through Wyoming to Fort Bridger , where they split from the main trail and followed (and improved) the rough path known as Hastings Cutoff , used by the ill-fated Donner Party in 1846. Between 1847 and 1860, over 43,000 Mormon settlers and tens of thousands of travelers on the California Trail and Oregon Trail followed Young to Utah. After 1848,
8550-546: The North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 to the early 1840s. They usually traveled in small groups for mutual support and protection. Trapping took place in the fall when the fur became prime. Mountain men primarily trapped beaver and sold the skins. A good beaver skin could bring up to $ 4 at a time when a man's wage was often $ 1 per day. Some were more interested in exploring the West. In 1825,
8700-635: The Oregon Trail and wrote extensively about their explorations. Captain Benjamin Bonneville on his expedition of 1832 to 1834 explored much of the Oregon trail and brought wagons up the Platte, North Platte, Sweetwater route across South Pass to the Green River in Wyoming. He explored most of Idaho and the Oregon Trail to the Columbia. The account of his explorations in the West was published by Washington Irving in 1838. John C. Frémont of
8850-508: The Oregon Trail crossed what is now the states of Kansas , Nebraska , and Wyoming . The western half crossed the current states of Idaho and Oregon. The Oregon Trail was laid by fur traders and trappers from about 1811 to 1840 and was initially only passable on foot or horseback. By 1836, when the first migrant wagon train was organized in Independence, Missouri , a wagon trail had been cleared to Fort Hall , Idaho. Wagon trails were cleared increasingly farther west and eventually reached
9000-455: The Pacific Ocean at the northern end of Oregon 's most populated region, the Willamette Valley. Downtown Portland straddles the banks of the Willamette River, which flows north through the city center and separates the city's east and west neighborhoods. Less than 10 miles (16 km) from downtown, the Willamette River flows into the Columbia River, the fourth-largest river in the United States, which divides Oregon from Washington state. Portland
9150-488: The Rocky Mountains to the Hawaiian Islands , and from Russian Alaska into Mexican-controlled California. At its pinnacle in about 1840, the manager of Fort Vancouver watched over 34 outposts, 24 ports, 6 ships, and about 600 employees. When American emigration over the Oregon Trail began in earnest in the early 1840s, for many settlers the fort became the last stop on the Oregon Trail where they could get supplies, aid, and help before starting their homesteads. Fort Vancouver
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#17327732856739300-441: The United States most of what it wanted, a "reasonable" boundary and a good anchorage on the West Coast in Puget Sound. While there were few United States settlers in the future state of Washington in 1846, the United States had already demonstrated it could induce thousands of settlers to go to the Oregon Territory, and it would be only a short time before they would vastly outnumber the few hundred HBC employees and retirees living in
9450-448: The West and western migration in the same way. Whereas men might deem the dangers of the trial acceptable if there was a strong economic reward at the end, women viewed those dangers as threatening to the stability and survival of the family. Once they arrived at their new Western home, women's public role in building Western communities and participating in the Western economy gave them a greater authority than they had known back East. There
9600-509: The Willamette River versus west of the river. Portland's addressing sections are North, Northwest, Northeast, South, Southeast, and Southwest (which includes downtown Portland ). The Willamette River divides the city into east and west while Burnside Street , which traverses the entire city lengthwise, divides the north and south. North Portland consists of the peninsula formed by the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, with N Williams Ave serving as its eastern boundary. All addresses and streets within
9750-483: The Willamette Valley, as well as various locations in the future states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. On May 1, 1839, a group of eighteen men from Peoria, Illinois , set out with the intention of colonizing the Oregon country on behalf of the United States of America and driving out the HBC operating there. The men of the Peoria Party were among the first pioneers to traverse most of the Oregon Trail. They were initially led by Thomas J. Farnham and called themselves
9900-410: The addition of South Portland, all six addressing sectors (N, NE, NW, S, SE and SW) are now officially known as sextants. The Pearl District in Northwest Portland , which was largely occupied by warehouses, light industry and railroad classification yards in the early to mid-20th century, now houses upscale art galleries , restaurants, and retail stores, and is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in
10050-405: The age of 13, mentioned the fascination she and other children felt for the graves and loose skulls they would find near their camps. Anna Maria King, like many other women, also advised family and friends back home of the realities of the trip and offered advice on how to prepare for the trip. Women also reacted and responded, often enthusiastically, to the landscape of the West. Betsey Bayley, in
10200-425: The agricultural Tualatin Valley via the " Great Plank Road " (the route of current-day U.S. Route 26 ), provided the pioneer city with an advantage over other nearby ports, and it grew very quickly. Portland remained the major port in the Pacific Northwest for much of the 19th century, until the 1890s, when Seattle's deepwater harbor was connected to the rest of the mainland by rail, affording an inland route without
10350-608: The assassination of their prophet Joseph Smith in 1844, Mormon leader Brigham Young led settlers in the Latter Day Saints (LDS) church west to the Salt Lake Valley in present-day Utah. In 1847 Young led a small, fast-moving group from their Winter Quarters encampments near Omaha , Nebraska, and their approximately 50 temporary settlements on the Missouri River in Iowa including Council Bluffs . About 2,200 LDS pioneers went that first year; they were charged with establishing farms, growing crops, building fences and herds, and establishing preliminary settlements to feed and support
10500-499: The cities to attract and retain the highest number of college-educated people in the United States. Between 2001 and 2012, Portland's gross domestic product per person grew by fifty percent, more than any other city in the country. The city acquired a diverse range of nicknames throughout its history, though it is most often called "Rose City" or "The City of Roses" (unofficial nickname since 1888, official since 2003). Another widely used nickname by local residents in everyday speech
10650-412: The city are prefixed by N, NW, NE, S, SW or SE with the exception of Burnside Street, which is prefixed with W or E. Starting on May 1, 2020, former Southwest prefix addresses with house numbers on east–west streets leading with zero dropped the zero and the street prefix on all streets (including north–south streets) converted from Southwest to South. For example, the current address of 246 S California St.
10800-432: The city as 76.1% White (444,254 people), 7.1% Asian (41,448), 6.3% Black or African American (36,778), 1.0% Native American (5,838), 0.5% Pacific Islander (2,919), 4.7% belonging to two or more racial groups (24,437) and 5.0% from other races (28,987). 9.4% were Hispanic or Latino, of any race (54,840). Whites not of Hispanic origin made up 72.2% of the total population. In 1940, Portland's African-American population
10950-566: The city proper, Portland has one of the largest Vietnamese populations in America per capita. According to statistics, there are over 4,500 Pacific Islanders in Portland, making up 0.7% of the city's population. There is a Tongan community in Portland, who arrived in the area in the 1970s, and Tongans and Pacific Islanders as a whole are one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the Portland area. Portland's population has been and remains predominantly White . In 1940, Whites were over 98% of
11100-474: The city's early establishment as being a " scion of New England ; an ends-of-the-earth home for the exiled spawn of the eastern established elite." In 1889, The Oregonian called Portland "the most filthy city in the Northern States", due to the unsanitary sewers and gutters, and, at the turn of the 20th century, it was considered one of the most dangerous port cities in the world. The city housed
11250-418: The city's population. In 2009, Portland had the fifth-highest percentage of White residents among the 40 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. A 2007 survey of the 40 largest cities in the U.S. concluded Portland's urban core has the highest percentage of White residents. Some scholars have noted the Pacific Northwest as a whole is "one of the last Caucasian bastions of the United States". While Portland's diversity
11400-728: The city. Areas further west of the Pearl District include neighborhoods known as Uptown and Nob Hill, as well as the Alphabet District and NW 23rd Ave., a major shopping street lined with clothing boutiques and other upscale retail, mixed with cafes and restaurants. Northeast Portland is home to the Lloyd District , Alberta Arts District , and the Hollywood District . North Portland is largely residential and industrial. It contains Kelley Point Park ,
11550-823: The coast, as well as the protective nature of the Oregon Coast Range to its west, Portland summers are less susceptible to the moderating influence of the nearby Pacific Ocean. Consequently, Portland occasionally experiences heat waves , with temperatures rising above 90 °F (32 °C) for a few days. However, on average, temperatures reach or exceed 80 °F (27 °C) on only 61 days per year, of which 15 days will reach 90 °F (32 °C) and only 1.3 days will reach 100 °F (38 °C). In 2018 more 90-degree days were recorded than ever before. On June 28, 2021, Portland recorded its all-time record high temperature of 116 °F (47 °C) and its warmest daily low temperature of 75 °F (24 °C) during
11700-450: The cost of traveling the trail by roughly $ 30 per wagon but decreased the speed of the transit from about 160 to 170 days in 1843 to 120 to 140 days in 1860. Ferries also helped prevent death by drowning at river crossings. In April 1859, an expedition of U.S. Corps of Topographical Engineers led by Captain James H. Simpson left Camp Floyd, Utah , to establish an army supply route across
11850-564: The direct path of the stormy westerly flow, and warm, dry summers when the North Pacific High reaches its northernmost point in mid-summer. Portland's USDA Plant Hardiness Zone is 8b, with parts of the Downtown area falling into zone 9a. Winters are cool, cloudy, and rainy. The coldest month is December with an average daily high temperature of 46.9 °F (8.3 °C), although overnight lows usually remain above freezing by
12000-450: The displaced workers from the wartime settlement to neighboring Albina . There and elsewhere in Portland, they experienced police hostility, lack of employment, and mortgage discrimination , leading to half the black population leaving after the war. In the 1980s and 1990s, radical skinhead groups flourished in Portland. In 1988, Mulugeta Seraw , an Ethiopian immigrant, was killed by three skinheads. The response to his murder involved
12150-446: The early 1840s thousands of American settlers arrived and soon greatly outnumbered the British settlers in Oregon. McLoughlin, despite working for the HBC, gave help in the form of loans, medical care, shelter, clothing, food, supplies and seed to U.S. emigrants. These new emigrants often arrived in Oregon tired, worn out, nearly penniless, with insufficient food or supplies, just as winter was coming on. McLoughlin would later be hailed as
12300-559: The early Oregon Trail pioneers. When the fur trade slowed in the 1840s because of fashion changes in men's hats, the value of the Pacific Northwest to the British was seriously diminished. Canada had few potential settlers who were willing to move more than 2,500 miles (4,000 km) to the Pacific Northwest, although several hundred ex-trappers, British and American, and their families did start settling in what became Oregon and Washington. In 1841, James Sinclair , on orders from HBC Governor Sir George Simpson , guided nearly 200 settlers from
12450-479: The east lies the actively volcanic Cascade Range . On clear days, Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens dominate the horizon, while Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier can also be seen in the distance. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has an area of 145.09 square miles (375.78 km ), of which 133.43 square miles (345.58 km ) is land and 11.66 square miles (30.20 km )
12600-706: The first significant American Rendezvous occurred on the Henry's Fork of the Green River . The trading supplies were brought in by a large party using pack trains originating on the Missouri River. These pack trains were then used to haul out the fur bales. They normally used the north side of the Platte River—the same route used 20 years later by the Mormon Trail . For the next 15 years, the American rendezvous
12750-530: The first to reach the Columbia River over land, and they opened the final leg of the Oregon Trail to wagon traffic. In 1841, the Bartleson-Bidwell Party was the first emigrant group credited with using the Oregon Trail to emigrate west. The group set out for California, but about half the party left the original group at Soda Springs , Idaho, and proceeded to the Willamette Valley in Oregon, leaving their wagons at Fort Hall. On May 16, 1842,
12900-406: The first wagons carrying his trading goods up the Platte, North Platte, and Sweetwater rivers before crossing over South Pass to a fur trade rendezvous on the Green River near the future town of Big Piney , Wyoming. He had a crew that dug out the gullies and river crossings and cleared the brush where needed. This established that the eastern part of most of the Oregon Trail was passable by wagons. In
13050-649: The formerly very popular beaver felt hats and prices for furs rapidly declined and the trapping almost ceased. Fur traders tried to use the Platte River, the main route of the eastern Oregon Trail, for transport but soon gave up in frustration as its many channels and islands combined with its muddy waters were too shallow, crooked, and unpredictable to use for water transport. The Platte proved to be unnavigable. The Platte River and North Platte River Valley, however, became an easy roadway for wagons, with its nearly flat plain sloping easily up and heading almost due west. Several U.S. government-sponsored explorers explored part of
13200-464: The future Canada–U.S. border). The fort quickly became the center of activity in the Pacific Northwest. Every year ships would come from London to the Pacific (via Cape Horn ) to drop off supplies and trade goods in its trading posts in the Pacific Northwest and pick up the accumulated furs used to pay for these supplies. It was the nexus for the fur trade on the Pacific Coast; its influence reached from
13350-472: The group was a provisional government with no authority, these claims were not valid under United States or British law, but they were eventually honored by the United States in the Donation Land Act of 1850. The Donation Land Act provided for married settlers to be granted 320 acres (1.3 km ) and unmarried settlers 160 acres (0.65 km ). Following the expiration of the act in 1854 the land
13500-607: The heartland. It was the first American city to have residents report thus, and the Pacific International Livestock Exposition operated from May through September 10, 1942, processing people from the city, northern Oregon, and central Washington . General John DeWitt called the city the first "Jap-free city on the West Coast." At the same time, Portland became a notorious hub for underground criminal activity and organized crime in
13650-492: The highest point in Portland is on a section of NW Skyline Blvd just north of Willamette Stone Heritage site . The highest point east of the river is Mt. Tabor , an extinct volcanic cinder cone, which rises to 636 feet (194 m). Nearby Powell Butte and Rocky Butte rise to 614 feet (187 m) and 612 feet (187 m), respectively. To the west of the Tualatin Mountains lies the Oregon Coast Range , and to
13800-435: The land they had so long controlled. The new Canada–United States border was established at the 49th parallel to the Pacific Coast, then dipping south around Vancouver Island. The treaty granted the HBC navigation rights on the Columbia River for supplying their fur posts, clear titles to their trading post properties allowing them to be sold later if they wanted, and left the British with a good anchorage at Victoria. It gave
13950-555: The lap of the West Hills , while the flatter east side extends for roughly 180 blocks until it meets the suburb of Gresham . In 1891 the cities of Portland, Albina , and East Portland were consolidated, creating inconsistent patterns of street names and addresses. It was not unusual for a street name to be duplicated in disparate areas. The "Great Renumbering" on September 2, 1931, standardized street naming patterns and divided Portland into five "general districts." It also changed house numbers from 20 per block to 100 per block and adopted
14100-482: The largest Asian ethnic group in the city, followed by Chinese (1.7%), Filipinos (0.6%), Japanese (0.5%), Koreans (0.4%), Laotians (0.4%), Hmong (0.2%), and Cambodians (0.1%). A small population of Iu Mien live in Portland. Portland has two Chinatowns, with New Chinatown in the ' Jade District ' along SE 82nd Avenue with Chinese supermarkets, Hong Kong style noodle houses, dim sum , and Vietnamese phở restaurants. With about 12,000 Vietnamese residing in
14250-543: The late 1830s, the HBC instituted a policy intended to destroy or weaken the American fur trade companies. The HBC's annual collection and re-supply Snake River Expedition was transformed into a trading enterprise. Beginning in 1834, it visited the American Rendezvous to undersell the American traders—losing money but undercutting the American fur traders. By 1840 the fashion in Europe and Britain shifted away from
14400-404: The late 1990s, the Portland area was rated the fourth-least affordable place in the United States to purchase a new home. After 2000, Portland experienced significant growth, with a population rise of over 90,000 between the years 2000 and 2014. The city's increasing reputation for culture established it as a popular city for young people, and it was second only to Louisville, Kentucky , as one of
14550-422: The limited springs and acceptable camping places on the trail. The much larger presence of women and children meant these wagon trains did not try to cover as much ground in a single day as Oregon and California-bound emigrants, typically taking about 100 days to cover the 1,000 miles (1,600 km) trip to Salt Lake City. (The Oregon and California emigrants averaged about 15 miles (24 km) per day.) In Wyoming,
14700-451: The lowest daytime high temperature ever recorded was 14 °F (−10 °C) on December 30, 1968. The average window in which freezing temperatures may occur is between November 15 and March 19, allowing a growing season of 240 days. Annual snowfall in Portland is 4.3 inches (10.9 cm), which usually falls between December and March. The city of Portland avoids snow more frequently than its suburbs, due in part to its low elevation and
14850-453: The many bridges that span the Willamette River downtown, several of which are historic landmarks, and Portland has been nicknamed "Bridgetown" for many decades as a result. Three of downtown's most heavily used bridges are more than 100 years old and are designated historic landmarks: Hawthorne Bridge (1910), Steel Bridge (1912), and Broadway Bridge (1913). Portland's newest bridge in the downtown area, Tilikum Crossing , opened in 2015 and
15000-534: The many thousands of emigrants expected in the coming years. After ferrying across the Missouri River and establishing wagon trains near what became Omaha, the Mormons followed the northern bank of the Platte River in Nebraska to Fort Laramie in present-day Wyoming. They initially started in 1848 with trains of several thousand emigrants, which were rapidly split into smaller groups to be more easily accommodated at
15150-403: The middle of the continent. This established a "quick"— about 100 days for 2,600 miles (4,200 km) one way— to transport personnel and transmit messages between Fort Vancouver and York Factory on Hudson Bay. The HBC built a new much larger Fort Vancouver in 1825 about 90 miles upstream from Fort Astoria, on the north side of the Columbia River (they were hoping the Columbia would be
15300-424: The multiple deaths experienced by her traveling group: But listen to the deaths: Sally Chambers, John King, and his wife, their little daughter Electa and their babe, a son 9 months old, and Dulancy C. Norton's sister are gone. Mr. A. Fuller lost his wife and daughter Tabitha. Eight of our two families have gone to their long home. Similarly, emigrant Martha Gay Masterson , who traveled the trail with her family at
15450-452: The new settlement but lacked the funds to file an official land claim. For 25 cents, Overton agreed to share half of the 640-acre (2.6 km ) site with Asa Lovejoy of Boston . In 1844, Overton sold his remaining half of the claim to Francis W. Pettygrove of Portland, Maine . Both Pettygrove and Lovejoy wished to rename "The Clearing" after their respective hometowns (Lovejoy's being Boston, and Pettygrove's, Portland). This controversy
15600-479: The northeast quadrant of the city continued. Portland's longshoremen racial mix was described as being "lily-white" in the 1960s when the local International Longshore and Warehouse Union declined to represent grain handlers since some were black. Racial Makeup of Portland (2022) Over two-thirds of Oregon's African-American residents live in Portland. As of the 2000 census, three of its high schools (Cleveland, Lincoln and Wilson) were over 70% White, reflecting
15750-587: The northernmost point of the city. It also contains the St. Johns neighborhood, which is historically one of the most ethnically diverse and poorest neighborhoods in the city. Old Town Chinatown is next to the Pearl District in Northwest Portland. In 1890 it was the second largest Chinese community in the United States. In 2017, the crime rate was several times above the city average. This neighborhood has been called Portland's skid row. Southwest Portland
15900-503: The northwestern area of the state at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, it is the county seat of Multnomah County , Oregon's most populous county. As of 2020, Portland's population was 652,503, making it the 26th-most populous city in the United States, the sixth-most populous on the West Coast , and the second-most populous in the Pacific Northwest, after Seattle . Approximately 2.5 million people live in
16050-452: The overall population, while Jefferson High School was 87% non-White. The remaining six schools have a higher number of non-Whites, including Blacks and Asians. Hispanic students average from 3.3% at Wells to 31% at Roosevelt . Portland residents identifying solely as Asian Americans account for 7.1% of the population; an additional 1.8% is partially of Asian heritage. Vietnamese Americans make up 2.2% of Portland's population, and make up
16200-610: The party accompanied American fur traders going to the 1836 rendezvous on the Green River in Wyoming and then joined Hudson's Bay Company fur traders traveling west to Fort Nez Perce (also called Fort Walla Walla ). The group was the first to travel in wagons to Fort Hall, where the wagons were abandoned at the urging of their guides. They used pack animals for the rest of the trip to Fort Walla Walla and then floated by boat to Fort Vancouver to get supplies before returning to start their missions. Other missionaries, mostly husband and wife teams using wagon and pack trains, established missions in
16350-645: The process passed across Union Pass and into Jackson Hole , Wyoming. From there they went over the Teton Range via Teton Pass and then down to the Snake River into modern Idaho . They abandoned their horses at the Snake River, made dugout canoes, and attempted to use the river for transport. After a few days' travel, they soon discovered that steep canyons, waterfalls, and impassable rapids made travel by river impossible. Too far from their horses to retrieve them, they had to cache most of their goods and walk
16500-612: The rapid growth of the Ku Klux Klan , which became very influential in Oregon politics, culminating in the election of Walter M. Pierce as governor. The largest influxes of minority populations occurred during World War II, as the African American population grew by a factor of 10 for wartime work. After World War II, the Vanport flood in 1948 displaced many African Americans. As they resettled, redlining directed
16650-677: The region was formally established by the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 . The British, through the HBC, tried to discourage any U.S. trappers, traders, and settlers from work or settlement in the Pacific Northwest. By overland travel, American missionaries and early settlers (initially mostly ex-trappers) started showing up in Oregon in the late 1820s. Although officially the HBC discouraged settlement because it interfered with its lucrative fur trade, its manager at Fort Vancouver, John McLoughlin , gave substantial help, including employment, until they could get established. In
16800-552: The region. Reports from expeditions in 1806 by Lieutenant Zebulon Pike and in 1819 by Major Stephen Long described the Great Plains as "unfit for human habitation" and as "The Great American Desert ". These descriptions were mainly based on the relative lack of timber and surface water. The images of sandy wastelands conjured up by terms like "desert" were tempered by the many reports of vast herds of millions of Plains Bison that somehow managed to live in this "desert". In
16950-462: The rest of the way to the Columbia River where they made new boats and traveled to the newly established Fort Astoria. The expedition demonstrated that much of the route along the Snake River plain and across to the Columbia was passable by pack train or with minimal improvements, even wagons. This knowledge would be incorporated into the concatenated trail segments as the Oregon Trail took its early shape. Pacific Fur Company partner Robert Stuart led
17100-522: The river in March 1811, the Tonquin crew began building what became Fort Astoria . The ship left supplies and men to continue work on the station and ventured north up the coast to Clayoquot Sound for a trading expedition. While anchored there, Jonathan Thorn insulted an elder Tla-o-qui-aht who was previously elected by the natives to negotiate a mutually satisfactory price for animal pelts. Soon after,
17250-499: The rivers and mountains in the Intermountain West and Pacific Northwest, they often kept diaries of their travels and were available as guides and consultants when the trail started to become open for general travel. The fur trade business wound down to a very low level just as the Oregon trail traffic seriously began around 1840. In the fall of 1823, Jedediah Smith and Thomas Fitzpatrick led their trapping crew south from
17400-484: The route of the Oregon Trail (and other emigrant trails ) across the continental divide—they just had not located the South Pass or some of the interconnecting valleys later used in the high country. They did show the way for the mountain men , who within a decade would find a better way across, even if it was not an easy way. Founded in 1810 by John Jacob Astor as a subsidiary of his American Fur Company (AFC),
17550-400: The route was unused for more than 10 years. In August 1811, three months after Fort Astoria was established, David Thompson and his team of North West Company explorers came floating down the Columbia to Fort Astoria. He had just completed a journey through much of western Canada and most of the Columbia River drainage system. He was mapping the country for possible fur trading posts. Along
17700-428: The second organized wagon train set out from Elm Grove, Missouri, with more than 100 pioneers. The party was led by Elijah White . The group broke up after passing Fort Hall with most of the single men hurrying ahead and the families following later. In what was dubbed "The Great Migration of 1843" or the "Wagon Train of 1843", an estimated 700 to 1,000 emigrants left for Oregon. They were led initially by John Gantt,
17850-542: The south. It includes the Lair Hill, Johns Landing and South Waterfront districts and Lewis & Clark College as well as the Riverdale area of unincorporated Multnomah County south of the Portland city limits. In 2018, the city's Bureau of Transportation finalized a plan to transition this part of Portland into South Portland, beginning on May 1, 2020, to reduce confusion by 9-1-1 dispatchers and delivery services. With
18000-495: The south; and the St. Johns Bridge , a Gothic revival suspension bridge built in 1931, to the north. The Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge and the Interstate Bridge provide access from Portland across the Columbia River into Washington state. The Willamette River, which flows north through downtown, serves as the natural boundary between East and West Portland. The denser and earlier-developed west side extends into
18150-413: The sunny warm weather is short-lived, from mid-June to early September. June, July, August and September account for a combined 4.19 inches (106 mm) of total rainfall – only 11% of the 36.91 in (938 mm) of annual precipitation. The warmest month is August, with an average high temperature of 82.3 °F (27.9 °C). Because of its inland location 62 miles (100 km) from
18300-468: The timber industry was a major force in the city's early economy. At the turn of the 20th century, the city had a reputation as one of the most dangerous port cities in the world, a hub for organized crime and racketeering . After the city's economy experienced an industrial boom during World War II , its hard-edged reputation began to dissipate. Beginning in the 1960s, it became noted for its growing liberal and progressive political values, earning it
18450-435: The trail declined after the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, making the trip west substantially faster, cheaper, and safer. Since the mid-20th century, modern highways, such as Interstate 80 and Interstate 84 , follow parts of the same course westward and pass through towns originally established to serve those using the Oregon Trail. The first land route across the present-day contiguous United States
18600-597: The trail for use by wagons and stagecoaches in 1859 and 1860. Starting in 1860, the American Civil War closed the heavily subsidized Butterfield Overland Mail stage Southern Route through the deserts of the American Southwest. In 1860–1861, the Pony Express , employing riders traveling on horseback day and night with relay stations about every 10 miles (16 km) to supply fresh horses,
18750-538: The trail, the trail was also a place for women to take on roles they had previously not been allowed to take on back east. Women started to use their journals on the trails to express themselves as “reporters, guides, poets, and historians.” They would jot down botany and different species on the trail to help feed their family. Women used their resourcefulness and creativity on the trail. Following persecution and mob action in Missouri , Illinois , and other states, and
18900-697: The travelers headed to California or Oregon resupplied at the Salt Lake Valley, and then went back over the Salt Lake Cutoff , rejoining the trail near the future Idaho–Utah border at the City of Rocks in Idaho. Along the Mormon Trail, the Mormon pioneers established several ferries and made trail improvements to help later travelers and earn much-needed money. One of the better-known ferries
19050-401: The treacherous navigation of the Columbia River. The city had its own Japantown, for one, and the lumber industry also became a prominent economic presence, due to the area's large population of Douglas fir , western hemlock , red cedar , and big leaf maple trees. Portland developed a reputation early in its history as a hard-edged and gritty port town . Some historians have described
19200-470: The upper Missouri River drainage and part of the Columbia River drainage, these were considered the two major rivers draining most of the Rocky Mountains, and the expedition confirmed that there was no "easy" route through the northern Rocky Mountains as Jefferson had hoped. Nonetheless, this famous expedition had mapped both the eastern and western river valleys (Platte and Snake Rivers) that bookend
19350-518: The vessel was attacked and overwhelmed by the indigenous Clayoquot, killing many of the crew. Its Quinault interpreter survived and later told the PFC management at Fort Astoria of the destruction. The next day, the ship was blown up by surviving crew members. Under Hunt, fearing attack by the Niitsitapi , the overland expedition veered south of Lewis and Clark's route into what is now Wyoming and in
19500-423: The way, he camped at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers and posted a notice claiming the land for Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a fort on the site. When the War of 1812 broke out, the managers at Fort Astoria were concerned the British navy would seize their forts and supplies, and in 1813 they sold out to the North West Company. By 1821, intense competition between
19650-706: The while upholding the virtues of the Culture of Domesticity . Some of the additional tasks women had on the wagon trail included collecting "buffalo chips" for fire fuel, unloading and loading up the wagons, driving teams of oxen, pouring bullets to help in Indian attacks, and striving to keep their men and children at peace. They were the backbones of life on the wagon trail and took up not only their regular duties but many duties of men as well. However, feminist scholarship, by historians such as Lillian Schlissel, Sandra Myres, and Glenda Riley, suggests men and women did not view
19800-499: The winter of 1812–13), and Platte River to the Missouri River, finally arriving in St. Louis in the spring of 1813. The route they had used appeared to potentially be a practical wagon route, requiring minimal improvements, and Stuart's journals provided a meticulous account of most of the route. Because of the War of 1812 and the lack of U.S. fur trading posts in the Pacific Northwest, most of
19950-444: The year averages 68 °F (20 °C). Spring and fall can bring variable weather including high-pressure ridging that sends temperatures surging above 80 °F (27 °C) and cold fronts that plunge daytime temperatures into the 40s °F (4–9 °C). However, lengthy stretches of overcast days beginning in mid-fall and continuing into mid-spring are most common. Rain often falls as a light drizzle for several consecutive days at
20100-659: The years many ferries were established to help get across the many rivers on the path of the Oregon Trail. Multiple ferries were established on the Missouri River, Kansas River , Little Blue River , Elkhorn River , Loup River , Platte River, South Platte River , North Platte River, Laramie River , Green River, Bear River , two crossings of the Snake River, John Day River , Deschutes River , Columbia River, as well as many other smaller streams. During peak immigration periods several ferries on any given river often competed for pioneer dollars. These ferries significantly increased speed and safety for Oregon Trail travelers. They increased
20250-483: Was a "female frontier" that was distinct and different from that experienced by men. Women's diaries kept during their travels or the letters they wrote home once they arrived at their destination support these contentions. Women wrote with sadness and concern about the numerous deaths along the trail. Anna Maria King wrote to her family in 1845 about her trip to the Luckiamute Valley Oregon and of
20400-412: Was an annual event moving to different locations, usually somewhere on the Green River in the future state of Wyoming . Each rendezvous, occurring during the slack summer period, allowed the fur traders to trade for and collect the furs from the trappers and their Native American allies without having the expense of building or maintaining a fort or wintering over in the cold Rockies. In only a few weeks at
20550-479: Was approximately 2,000 and largely consisted of railroad employees and their families. During the war-time Liberty Ship construction boom, the need for workers drew many Black people to the city. The new influx of Black people settled in specific neighborhoods, such as the Albina district and Vanport . The May 1948 flood which destroyed Vanport eliminated the only integrated neighborhood, and an influx of blacks into
20700-582: Was changed from 0246 SW California St. and the current address of 4310 S Macadam Ave. was converted from 4310 SW Macadam Ave. The new South Portland addressing section was approved by the Portland City Council on June 6, 2018 and is bounded by SW Naito Parkway , SW View Point Terrace and the Tryon Creek State Natural Area to the west, SW Clay Street to the north, the Willamette River to the east, and city limits to
20850-569: Was erected in 1843 and became the headquarters of operations in British Columbia, eventually growing into modern-day Victoria , the capital city of British Columbia. By 1840, the HBC had three forts: Fort Hall (purchased from Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth in 1837), Fort Boise and Fort Nez Perce on the western end of the Oregon Trail route as well as Fort Vancouver near its terminus in the Willamette Valley . With minor exceptions, they all gave substantial and often desperately needed aid to
21000-730: Was established as a prosperous state, many thousands more emigrated there each year for the opportunities. The trail was still in use during the Civil War , but traffic declined after 1855 when the Panama Railroad across the Isthmus of Panama was completed. Paddle wheel steamships and sailing ships, often heavily subsidized to carry the mail, provided rapid transport to and from the East Coast and New Orleans , Louisiana, to and from Panama to ports in California and Oregon. Over
21150-532: Was founded by Reverend Jason Lee just east of Mount Hood on the Columbia River . In 1836, Henry H. Spalding and Marcus Whitman traveled west to establish the Whitman Mission near modern-day Walla Walla , Washington. The party included the wives of the two men, Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Hart Spalding , who became the first European-American women to cross the Rocky Mountains. En route,
21300-450: Was historically comparable to metro Seattle and Salt Lake City, those areas grew more diverse in the late 1990s and 2000s. Portland not only remains White, but migration to Portland is disproportionately White. The Oregon Territory banned African American settlement in 1849. In the 19th century, certain laws allowed the immigration of Chinese laborers but prohibited them from owning property or bringing their families. The early 1920s saw
21450-520: Was killed by an opposing one. Local businesses reported losses totaling millions of dollars as the result of vandalism and looting, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting . Some protests caused injury to protesters and police. In July, federal officers were deployed to safeguard federal property; their presence and tactics were criticized by Oregon officials, who demanded they leave, while lawsuits were filed against local and federal law enforcement alleging wrongful actions by them. On May 25, 2021,
21600-579: Was mapped by the Lewis and Clark Expedition between 1804 and 1806, following these 1803 instructions from President Thomas Jefferson to Meriwether Lewis : "The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, and such principal stream of it, as, by its course and communication with the waters of the Pacific Ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado and/or other river may offer the most direct and practicable water communication across this continent, for commerce." Although Lewis and William Clark found
21750-587: Was no longer free but cost $ 1.25 per acre ($ 3.09/hectare) with a limit of 320 acres (1.3 km )—the same as most other unimproved government land. Consensus interpretations, as found in John Faragher's book, Women and Men on the Overland Trail (1979), held that men's and women's power within marriage was uneven. This meant that women did not experience the trail as liberating, but instead only found harder work than they had handled back east, all
21900-559: Was opened in Portland, the predecessor of the 1912 namesake Steel Bridge that survives today. In 1889, Henry Pittock's wife, Georgiana, established the Portland Rose Society. The movement to make Portland a "Rose City" started as the city was preparing for the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition . Portland's access to the Pacific Ocean via the Willamette and Columbia rivers, as well as its easy access to
22050-544: Was settled with a coin toss that Pettygrove won in a series of two out of three tosses, thereby providing Portland with its namesake. The coin used for this decision, now known as the Portland Penny , is on display in the headquarters of the Oregon Historical Society . At the time of its incorporation on February 8, 1851, Portland had over 800 inhabitants, a steam sawmill, a log cabin hotel, and
22200-668: Was the Mormon Ferry across the North Platte near the future site of Fort Caspar in Wyoming which operated between 1848 and 1852 and the Green River ferry near Fort Bridger which operated from 1847 to 1856. The ferries were free for Mormon settlers while all others were charged a toll ranging from $ 3 to $ 8. In January 1848, James Marshall found gold in the Sierra Nevada portion of the American River , sparking
22350-478: Was the first year of large scale cholera epidemics in the United States, and thousands are thought to have died along the trail on their way to California—most buried in unmarked graves in Kansas and Nebraska. The adjusted 1850 U.S. census of California showed this rush was overwhelmingly male with about 112,000 males to 8,000 females (with about 5,500 women over age 15). Women were significantly underrepresented in
22500-402: Was the main re-supply point for nearly all Oregon trail travelers until U.S. towns could be established. The HBC established Fort Colvile in 1825 on the Columbia River near Kettle Falls as a good site to collect furs and control the upper Columbia River fur trade. Fort Nisqually was built near the present town of DuPont , Washington, and was the first HBC fort on Puget Sound. Fort Victoria
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