Methodists in Oregon

Reverend Jason Lee established the first Methodist Mission near Champoeg in 1835. By 1839 the mission had been damaged by flood waters and Lee established another farm and school in what is now downtown Salem. Lee had the sawmill built first, and with the sawed timbers built first the grist mill then his house on Broadway at the Liberty interchange along Chemeketa Creek (Mill Creek)( the house is now situated at Willamette Heritage Center) and then the mission school, at what is now Willamette University. Many of the students at the first mission were taken off of the French Prairie and … Continue reading Methodists in Oregon

Lt. William A. Slacum, United States Spy in the Oregon Territory, and ; Chief Slacum of the Clowewalla

Lt. William A. Slacum, a Navy purser, was sent by the President, through the Department of State, as a special investigator to the Oregon Territory to investigate the Britain operations and to take stock of the tribes and the resources in the territory. Slacum was alone, except for one servant, and was not sent with supplies or any obvious purpose for going to Oregon. In sending Slacum to Oregon, the President, Andrew Jackson, was reacting to the obvious dominance of the British in the Oregon Territory despite the Treaty of 1818 which provides for a joint occupation of the territory … Continue reading Lt. William A. Slacum, United States Spy in the Oregon Territory, and ; Chief Slacum of the Clowewalla