Tag: salmon river

General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon indians, Siletz Reservation2 Comments

Oregon Native Place Names in the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Part 1

David G. Lewis, PhD

In the map collections of Oregon Historical Society there is a selection of Coast Survey maps. Most of these maps date from 1874 and there are some later. They are blueprint copies of the original maps, which are likely in College Park, Maryland in the NARA Cartography collection center. These maps I had found and photographed some five years previously (very badly). Then I “discovered” that a couple of the maps had some Native Place names. It is on maps # 770 b & c where there is documentation of the survey from Siletz to the Tillamook area. The maps … Continue reading Oregon Native Place Names in the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Part 1

General History, Oregon indiansLeave a comment

A Trip to Tillamook, By Way of the Salmon River: the First Journey of Warren Vaughn

David G. Lewis, PhD

I encountered this history, partially unpublished I believe, in the Oregon Historical Society Library. The published book of his journal focuses on the second trip down the coast to Tillamook and his settlement in the Tillamook Valley (Vaughn, Warren. Till Broad Daylight: A History of Early Settlement in Oregon’s Tillamook County. Wallowa, Ore.: Bear Creek Press, 2004.). There is also a good Oregon Encyclopedia article about Vaughn, based on his History of Tillamook, which avoids mention of this first mistaken journey to Siletz Bay. Vaughn’s first trip to attempt to get to Tillamook is quite detailed and gives much information about … Continue reading A Trip to Tillamook, By Way of the Salmon River: the First Journey of Warren Vaughn

General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon Coast, Oregon indians1 Comment

Wagon Roads From Grand Ronde to the Coast

David G. Lewis, PhD

In the 1860’s, the Indians of the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation needed a route to get to the coast to gather fish. The Indian agents developed a fishery at the Salmon River and allowed the tribes to travel the mountain trials to the river to gather fish. The trail was originally small and barely able to pass a wagon in the summertime, and took about 2 hours on a good horse. The soils and weather would not allow easy travel in the winter. This route was well traveled and allow the Salmon river peoples, the Nechesne, to get to the … Continue reading Wagon Roads From Grand Ronde to the Coast

General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon Coast, Oregon indians, Siletz Reservation3 Comments

Devil’s Lake and Salmon River Encampment

David G. Lewis, PhD

Devil’s Lake is in Lincoln City, in fact it is the only such lake and state park completely contained within a city in Oregon. The lake extends along the eastern edge of Lincoln City and is defined by a ring of vacation and residential homes which ring the lake on all sides. The lake is drained by the “D” River, the shortest river in the world (self-defined) which is about 100 yards long and empties onto the main beach at Lincoln City. The Lake is part of a string of such lakes that line the coastline of Oregon, from the … Continue reading Devil’s Lake and Salmon River Encampment

coos bay, General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Native Issues, Oral History, Oregon Coast, Oregon indians, Siletz ReservationLeave a comment

The Significance of Salmon River Encampment in 1875

David G. Lewis, PhD

In 1875, the United States Congress passed an act, March 3, 1875, to reduce the Coast Reservation. This act, terminated the Alsea Reservation, that section on the south, and opened that section to white settlement. The previous act in 1865 (President Andrew Johnson signing the Executive Order of December 21, 1865) had eliminated a section in the north and a section in the center, in part because of the Yaquina Bay oyster rush. This last southern section held the encampments at Alsea and Yachats. The tribes here were the Alsea, Lower Umpqua, Siuslaw and Coos Bay peoples. Federal records had … Continue reading The Significance of Salmon River Encampment in 1875