The Settlers of Oregon

The romantic history of the Oregon Trail is one of the first encounters students have in the classroom, along with the Revolutionary War. The brave decision to pack up your family and belongings and start a new life in the West had a honeymoon allure during the first few months of the trip. But soon the honeymoon was over with gun and wagon accidents, angst over Native meetings or sightings, the lack of food and water, land that went on and on forever, looming mountains, roiling rivers, heat, snow, and cholera. The Pioneers started pining for their old “home sweet home” with the thatched roofs of Europe. Trail Guide, Ezra Meek, made the song, “Home Sweet Home” the official pioneer song long after the emigrants had settled.

Part way over this grueling trip, the honeymoon was over. Some dared to keep going and others pushed to go back. But finally, down the Columbia River or over Mt. Hood, the bravest of the Pioneers made it to Eden’s Gate, the promised land. And what a Pacific Northwest jungle it was!

Ann Martinazzi of Tualatin, Oregon, who personally knew many of the settlers, describes the first few years of the settler’s life:

“…by 1852, dozens of one-room log cabins of the white man sprang up on the small clearings in the great forest, so recently occupied by the smoky ‘wigwams’ (or camps) of Indians…early residents were almost dependent on wild game for food, since the denseness of the trees prevented the growth of pasture grass sufficient to support even a family cow. Trapping fur bearing animals, a chore usually…