An Early Account of Native People Near Falls City

Each archive I enter I find new information about the native peoples of that county. Generally, the stories are of early encounters with a few native people, experiences seeing native people around town, and other adventures. A few stories, really journal accounts, suggest aspects of tribal culture. This is one of those accounts. I collected this account some 10 years ago when visiting the Polk County Museum in Rickreall. I had seen the museum from the street numerous times at its location next to a fairground. Rickreall is kind of a valley crossroads with a population of mainly farmers. Highway … Continue reading An Early Account of Native People Near Falls City

Luckimauke Band of Calapooia Indians Reservation 1855

The Luckimiute (Luckimauke) Indians occupied an area from roughly the town of Rickreall south to Corvallis, on the west side of the Willamette River. They principally occupied the Luckimiute river and tributaries. The best records are those of Jesse Applegate’s “Recollections of My Boyhood” book. Applegate arrived in 1844 as a young boy with his family and first settled in Salt Creek just west of Rickreall. The Applegate house still stands at Salt Creek. Applegate writes, “the native population in our neighborhood was a tribe of the Kalapooya and near and far, even to the sea, were the Tillamook, Tawalatin, … Continue reading Luckimauke Band of Calapooia Indians Reservation 1855