Oregon Mission
Encyclopedia
The Oregon Mission began as an effort by the Methodist Episcopal Church
to convert the native Indians of the far west to Christianity
. This mission, under the leadership of Jason Lee
, largely failed in its initial goal, but played a significant role in the westward expansion of the United States of America. The Oregon
Mission helped to define the current national boundaries between the northwestern continental United States and Canada.
to St. Louis
, Missouri
in hopes of meeting with General William Clark, the Indian agent at St. Louis. Upon meeting, they told Gen. Clark that they had come from the land of the setting sun in order to learn about the Christian’s book and the white man’s God
. General Clark gave them religious instruction but did not give them a Bible
. They were overheard by a man named William Walker. He wrote an article for a Christian magazine and started a wave of missionaries that would travel to Oregon Country and try and convert the "awaiting" Indians. They also happened to meet a Methodist of the Wyandot tribe who had been sent to St. Louis on business by the United States government. The Indians returned to Oregon disappointed. They were unaware of the stream of events that they had set in motion.
This unknown Wyandot Methodist sent letters that stimulated the Methodist Episcopal Church
to begin the first transcontinental mission in America. News of the event was published in the Christian Advocate
and Journal in New York, and Christian sympathy was aroused for the inquisitive unbelievers. President Wilbur Fisk
of Wesleyan University
in Middletown, Connecticut
was the first leader to rise to the call. He played the key role in securing and preparing Jason Lee for a mission to Oregon Territory
.
Jason Lee was a young teacher from Ontario, Canada and was involved in missionary work to Indians in that region. He answered Dr. Fisk’s call. Lee traveled to Boston awaiting further instructions. Bishop Elijah Hedding
ordained Lee into the New England Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church
, now the United Methodist Church
, and charged him to the so far nonexistent Oregon mission. The now Rev. Lee left Boston
for St. Louis in March 1834.
Leaving Independence, Missouri
on April 24, 1834, the historic missionary pilgrimage headed across the vast country to Fort Vancouver
. On this Methodist mission, he was assisted by his nephew, Rev. Daniel Lee, and two laypersons, Cyrus Shepard from Boston, Massachusetts, and P. L. Edwards from Missouri
. They traveled with a group of about seventy men, mostly hunters and fur traders. At Fort Hall
they met Thomas McKay
of the Hudson's Bay Company, who had traveled between the Fort Hall area to Fort Vancouver many times. McKay guided the group all the way to Fort Vancouver, and then helped Lee select the site for the Willamette Mission.
Lee and his companions arrived at Fort Vancouver
, headquarters for the British Hudson's Bay Company
, in what is now Vancouver, Washington
, near Portland, Oregon
. It is often said that on September 28, 1834, Rev. Jason Lee preached the first Protestant sermon on the Pacific coast yet, to be precise, he was perhaps fifty miles from the Pacific coast.
, about 10 miles north of present-day Salem
, where the Wheatland Ferry
now crosses the Willamette River. They called it Mission Bottom. Missionaries untrained in manual labor slowly built log cabins and a school. Lee remarked, “Men never worked harder or performed less.” In the first year, there were fourteen Indian students in the mission school.. Seven of these students died and five ran away. In 1836, there were twenty-five Indian students and sixteen died. One of the surviving Indians converted to Christianity. Indians in the Willamette Valley were dying at a horrendous rate. Retrospectively, it appears that this might have been due to new diseases unwarily brought to the area by the new immigrants. The mission began to form branches.
When a first wave of Americans arrived it is curious that they were greeted by two Canadians; Dr. John McLoughlin
, Chief of the Hudson’s Bay Company, who was under orders to discourage white settlers, and Rev. Jason Lee who was most responsible for establishing white settlements, organizing schools, and creating government. Fortunately, Dr. McLoughlin was personally sympathetic to the newcomers. These first arrivals were mostly explorers, traders, mountain men, and missionaries. Hudson’s Bay Company did not want settlers in the region for business and political reasons explained below.
In March 1836, Rev. Lee wrote to Dr. Fisk telling of the need for tradesmen and farmers. He complained that there was little time for the business of religion. This resulted in reinforcements being sent in 1837 and 1838. After the 1838 reinforcements arrived, Lee moved back to New England. Part of the 1837 group was Alanson Beers
, a member of the later Provisional Government
.
The mission provided for the protection of American immigrants in the area as early as 1838 through a magistrate and constable.
Lee returned to Oregon with the Great Reinforcement of 1840. He had worked hard to recruit new settlers for his mission. He had 50 people, including needed tradesmen, teachers, and physicians. With this arrival, the population of Mission Bottom was forty adults and fifty children. In 1841, serious flooding resulted in relocation of the community and the Manual Labor School from Mission Bottom to the Chemeketa site, a site within present day Salem, Oregon. In July 1843, Rev. George Gary replaced Rev. Jason Lee. The church expenses were excessive for the limited success of the missions. Rev. Gary closed most of the mission branches.
’s Pacific Fur Company
and the much larger British Hudson's Bay Company were the primary interests there. As Hudson’s Bay Company grew due to its long-term presence and goodwill among the native peoples, the territory for most of the period was under de facto British administration. This was limited largely, however, to its trading posts and forts and the small settlements which grew up around them.
The Methodist missionaries sent three petitions to Congress requesting that the United States extend its jurisdiction into this area. Jason Lee toured the country in a crusade to encourage people to settle in the Oregon Territory. In 1843 alone, over one thousand settlers traveled the vast plains and mountains to make their home in Oregon. At that time, this represented the largest migration across the Rockies in history.
The joint jurisdiction of the Northwest between the United States and Great Britain, which began in 1818, ended in 1846 with the Oregon Treaty
. The American migration had settled the issue. The boundary between the United States and Canada was fixed at the 49th parallel, where it remains today. The task of converting the Indians was less fruitful. Nevertheless, the Methodist Episcopal Church grew to meet the needs of the growing republic and played a large role in its increase.
. The little settlement along Mill Creek grew to become Salem, Oregon
. Some of the original structures may be seen at Mission Mill Museum
located in Salem, Oregon. The Oregon Institute
, established in 1842 to educate the white children of Mission Mill, evolved into present-day Willamette University
. A city street and a cemetery in Salem bear the name of Jason Lee. A statue of Jason Lee stands in the U. S. Capitol Building’s Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. as one of the two statues allotted to the state of Oregon.
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
to convert the native Indians of the far west to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. This mission, under the leadership of Jason Lee
Jason Lee (missionary)
Jason Lee , an American missionary and pioneer, was born on a farm near Stanstead, Quebec. He was the first of the Oregon missionaries and helped establish the early foundation of a provisional government in the Oregon Country....
, largely failed in its initial goal, but played a significant role in the westward expansion of the United States of America. The Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
Mission helped to define the current national boundaries between the northwestern continental United States and Canada.
The beginning
According to legend, in 1831 Indians walked from the Oregon CountryOregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
to St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
in hopes of meeting with General William Clark, the Indian agent at St. Louis. Upon meeting, they told Gen. Clark that they had come from the land of the setting sun in order to learn about the Christian’s book and the white man’s God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. General Clark gave them religious instruction but did not give them a Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. They were overheard by a man named William Walker. He wrote an article for a Christian magazine and started a wave of missionaries that would travel to Oregon Country and try and convert the "awaiting" Indians. They also happened to meet a Methodist of the Wyandot tribe who had been sent to St. Louis on business by the United States government. The Indians returned to Oregon disappointed. They were unaware of the stream of events that they had set in motion.
This unknown Wyandot Methodist sent letters that stimulated the Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
to begin the first transcontinental mission in America. News of the event was published in the Christian Advocate
Christian Advocate
The Christian Advocate was a weekly newspaper published in New York by the Methodist Episcopal Church. It began publication in 1826 and by the mid-1830s had become the largest circulating weekly in America with more than 30,000 subscribers and an estimated 150,000 readers....
and Journal in New York, and Christian sympathy was aroused for the inquisitive unbelievers. President Wilbur Fisk
Wilbur Fisk
Willbur Fisk , also known as Wilbur Fisk, was a prominent American Methodist minister, educator and theologian. He was the first President of Wesleyan University. Willbur Fisk (August 31, 1792 – February 22, 1839), also known as Wilbur Fisk, was a prominent American Methodist minister,...
of Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
in Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...
was the first leader to rise to the call. He played the key role in securing and preparing Jason Lee for a mission to Oregon Territory
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
.
Jason Lee was a young teacher from Ontario, Canada and was involved in missionary work to Indians in that region. He answered Dr. Fisk’s call. Lee traveled to Boston awaiting further instructions. Bishop Elijah Hedding
Elijah Hedding
Elijah Hedding was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1824.-Birth and Rebirth:...
ordained Lee into the New England Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
, now the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
, and charged him to the so far nonexistent Oregon mission. The now Rev. Lee left Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
for St. Louis in March 1834.
Leaving Independence, Missouri
Independence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
on April 24, 1834, the historic missionary pilgrimage headed across the vast country to Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
. On this Methodist mission, he was assisted by his nephew, Rev. Daniel Lee, and two laypersons, Cyrus Shepard from Boston, Massachusetts, and P. L. Edwards from Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. They traveled with a group of about seventy men, mostly hunters and fur traders. At Fort Hall
Fort Hall
Fort Hall, sitting athwart the end of the common stretch shared by the three far west emigrant trails was a 19th century outpost in the eastern Oregon Country, which eventually became part of the present-day United States, and is located in southeastern Idaho near Fort Hall, Idaho...
they met Thomas McKay
Thomas McKay (fur trader)
Thomas McKay was a Anglo-Métis Canadian Fur trader who worked mainly in the Pacific Northwest for the Pacific Fur Company , the North West Company , and the Hudson's Bay Company . He was a fur brigade leader and explorer of the Columbia District and later became a U.S. citizen and an early settler...
of the Hudson's Bay Company, who had traveled between the Fort Hall area to Fort Vancouver many times. McKay guided the group all the way to Fort Vancouver, and then helped Lee select the site for the Willamette Mission.
Lee and his companions arrived at Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
, headquarters for the British Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
, in what is now Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
, near Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. It is often said that on September 28, 1834, Rev. Jason Lee preached the first Protestant sermon on the Pacific coast yet, to be precise, he was perhaps fifty miles from the Pacific coast.
The Mission and westward expansion
They located the mission in the Willamette ValleyWillamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
, about 10 miles north of present-day Salem
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
, where the Wheatland Ferry
Wheatland Ferry
The Wheatland Ferry is a cable ferry that connects Marion County and Yamhill County across the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. The ferry travels approximately 580 feet across the river, depending on the height of the river, and is powered by two electric motors connected to an...
now crosses the Willamette River. They called it Mission Bottom. Missionaries untrained in manual labor slowly built log cabins and a school. Lee remarked, “Men never worked harder or performed less.” In the first year, there were fourteen Indian students in the mission school.. Seven of these students died and five ran away. In 1836, there were twenty-five Indian students and sixteen died. One of the surviving Indians converted to Christianity. Indians in the Willamette Valley were dying at a horrendous rate. Retrospectively, it appears that this might have been due to new diseases unwarily brought to the area by the new immigrants. The mission began to form branches.
When a first wave of Americans arrived it is curious that they were greeted by two Canadians; Dr. John McLoughlin
John McLoughlin
Dr. John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, was the Chief Factor of the Columbia Fur District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver. He was later known as the "Father of Oregon" for his role in assisting the American cause in the Oregon Country in the Pacific Northwest...
, Chief of the Hudson’s Bay Company, who was under orders to discourage white settlers, and Rev. Jason Lee who was most responsible for establishing white settlements, organizing schools, and creating government. Fortunately, Dr. McLoughlin was personally sympathetic to the newcomers. These first arrivals were mostly explorers, traders, mountain men, and missionaries. Hudson’s Bay Company did not want settlers in the region for business and political reasons explained below.
In March 1836, Rev. Lee wrote to Dr. Fisk telling of the need for tradesmen and farmers. He complained that there was little time for the business of religion. This resulted in reinforcements being sent in 1837 and 1838. After the 1838 reinforcements arrived, Lee moved back to New England. Part of the 1837 group was Alanson Beers
Alanson Beers
Alanson Beers was an American pioneer and politician in the early days of the settlement of the Oregon Country. A blacksmith by trade, he was a reinforcement for the Methodist Mission in what would become the state of Oregon...
, a member of the later Provisional Government
Champoeg Meetings
The Champoeg Meetings in Oregon Country were the first attempts at governing in the Pacific Northwest by United States European-American pioneers. Prior to this, the closest entity to a government was the Hudson's Bay Company, mainly through Dr...
.
The mission provided for the protection of American immigrants in the area as early as 1838 through a magistrate and constable.
Lee returned to Oregon with the Great Reinforcement of 1840. He had worked hard to recruit new settlers for his mission. He had 50 people, including needed tradesmen, teachers, and physicians. With this arrival, the population of Mission Bottom was forty adults and fifty children. In 1841, serious flooding resulted in relocation of the community and the Manual Labor School from Mission Bottom to the Chemeketa site, a site within present day Salem, Oregon. In July 1843, Rev. George Gary replaced Rev. Jason Lee. The church expenses were excessive for the limited success of the missions. Rev. Gary closed most of the mission branches.
The international politics
During these events the entire territory of what is now Oregon, Washington, and Idaho were claimed jointly by Great Britain and the United States, with economic activity and settlement and other investment by citizens and companies of both sides allowed. This arrangement was to continue indefinitely until both nations agreed on how it should be divided or transferred. Neither country was much interested in taking control, as they were unsure of continued national financial gains through fur trading. John Jacob AstorJohn Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor , born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German-American business magnate and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States...
’s Pacific Fur Company
Pacific Fur Company
The Pacific Fur Company was founded June 23, 1810, in New York City. Half of the stock of the company was held by the American Fur Company, owned exclusively by John Jacob Astor, and Astor provided all of the capital for the enterprise. The other half of the stock was ascribed to working partners...
and the much larger British Hudson's Bay Company were the primary interests there. As Hudson’s Bay Company grew due to its long-term presence and goodwill among the native peoples, the territory for most of the period was under de facto British administration. This was limited largely, however, to its trading posts and forts and the small settlements which grew up around them.
The Methodist missionaries sent three petitions to Congress requesting that the United States extend its jurisdiction into this area. Jason Lee toured the country in a crusade to encourage people to settle in the Oregon Territory. In 1843 alone, over one thousand settlers traveled the vast plains and mountains to make their home in Oregon. At that time, this represented the largest migration across the Rockies in history.
The joint jurisdiction of the Northwest between the United States and Great Britain, which began in 1818, ended in 1846 with the Oregon Treaty
Oregon Treaty
The Oregon Treaty is a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to the Oregon Country, which had been jointly occupied by...
. The American migration had settled the issue. The boundary between the United States and Canada was fixed at the 49th parallel, where it remains today. The task of converting the Indians was less fruitful. Nevertheless, the Methodist Episcopal Church grew to meet the needs of the growing republic and played a large role in its increase.
Remnants
The Mission Bottom site is now preserved as Willamette Mission State ParkWillamette Mission State Park
Willamette Mission State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Oregon, located about four miles north of Keizer adjacent to the Wheatland Ferry and east of the Willamette River...
. The little settlement along Mill Creek grew to become Salem, Oregon
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
. Some of the original structures may be seen at Mission Mill Museum
Mission Mill Museum
Mission Mill Museum is a historic museum located in Salem, Oregon, United States. It features working displays of a woolen mill—the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill—and several historic Salem buildings that have been relocated to the mill site.-Mill history:...
located in Salem, Oregon. The Oregon Institute
Oregon Institute
The Oregon Institute was a school located in the Willamette Valley of the Oregon Country during the 19th century. Begun in 1842, it was the first school built for European-Americans west of Missouri. Founded by members of the Methodist Mission, it was located in what is now Salem, Oregon, United...
, established in 1842 to educate the white children of Mission Mill, evolved into present-day Willamette University
Willamette University
Willamette University is an American private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the Western United States. Willamette is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges, and is made up of an undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and...
. A city street and a cemetery in Salem bear the name of Jason Lee. A statue of Jason Lee stands in the U. S. Capitol Building’s Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. as one of the two statues allotted to the state of Oregon.
External links
- Willamette Mission State Park
- http://bluebook.state.or.us/cultural/history/history08.htm (page from Oregon Blue BookOregon Blue BookThe Oregon Blue Book is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon copyrighted by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. As Governor Ted Kulongoski notes in his introduction for the 2005–2006 edition, it "provides...
)