History of Oregon Timeline

American sea captain Robert Gray entered Tillamook Bay in 1788 and later explored the mouth of the Columbia River in 1792, advancing American claims to the region.

Image source: Robert Gray (sea captain)

Exploration by Lewis and Clark (1805–1806) and later the United Kingdom's David Thompson, who extensively explored the Columbia River from 1807 to 1811, publicized the abundance of fur-bearing animals in the area.

Image source: Lewis and Clark Expedition

The Astor Expedition of 1810–1812, financed by American businessman John Jacob Astor, brought fur traders to the future site of Astoria by both land and sea.

Image source: John Jacob Astor

At risk of being captured by the British during the War of 1812, Fort Astoria and all other Pacific Fur Company assets in the Oregon Country were sold to the Montreal-based North West Company in October 1813.

Image source: Fort Astoria

Following the Anglo American Treaty of 1818, the Oregon Country was 'jointly occupied' by the United States and Great Britain, setting the stage for decades of shared control.

Image source: Treaty of 1818

The North West Company dominated the region unchallenged from its 1813 acquisition of the Pacific Fur Company until 1821, when it was absorbed into the Hudson's Bay Company.

Image source: North West Company

The Hudson's Bay Company expanded the system and during the 1820s and 1830s dominated the Pacific Northwest from its Columbia District headquarters at Fort Vancouver, built in 1825 by Chief Factor John McLoughlin across the Columbia from present-day Portland.

Image source: Fort Vancouver

On October 29, 1830, Jedediah Smith sent Secretary of War John H. Eaton a letter and map containing information gathered from 1824 to 1830 about his explorations into the Rockies, the South Pass, and the Pacific Northwest, recommending President Jackson terminate the Treaty of 1818.

Image source: Jedediah Smith

Jason Lee was the first missionary, traveling in Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth's party in 1833 and establishing the Oregon Mission in the Willamette Valley; the Whitmans and Spaldings arrived in 1836, establishing the Whitman Mission east of the Cascades.

Image source: Jason Lee (missionary)

In 1839 the Peoria Party embarked for Oregon from Illinois, an early organized emigration to the Oregon Country.

Image source: Peoria Party

In 1841, wealthy master trapper and entrepreneur Ewing Young died without a will, and there was no system to probate his estate, highlighting the need for government in the settlement.

Image source: Ewing Young

Babcock chaired two meetings in 1842 at Champoeg to discuss wolves and other animals of contemporary concern, precursors to the all-citizen meeting of 1843.

Image source: Champoeg Meetings

An all-citizen meeting in 1843 instituted a provisional government headed by an executive committee made up of David Hill, Alanson Beers, and Joseph Gale.

Image source: Provisional Government of Oregon

The Oregon Trail brought many new settlers to the region starting in 1842–1843, after the United States agreed to jointly settle the Oregon Country with the United Kingdom.

Image source: Oregon Trail

The infamous 'Lash Law,' requiring that blacks in Oregon be whipped twice a year until they quit the territory, passed in June 1844. It was deemed too harsh and reduced to forced labor in December 1844.

Image source: Oregon black exclusion laws

The Barlow Road became the final leg of the Oregon Trail after its construction in 1846, and the Santiam Wagon Road would later cut through the central part of the mountains.

Image source: Barlow Road

The dispute over the Oregon boundary, friendly at first, escalated into the threat of war before being resolved amicably in 1846 by splitting the region 50-50 between Britain and the U.S., ending joint occupation.

Image source: Oregon Treaty

The Oregon Territory was officially organized in 1848, established by the United States Congress two years after sovereignty over the southern portion of the region was established by the Oregon Treaty of June 1846.

Image source: Oregon Territory

Another law, passed in 1849, prohibited Black immigration into the territory. The law was repealed in 1854, though an exclusion clause was incorporated into the Oregon constitution in 1857.

Settlement increased because of the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, in conjunction with the forced relocation of the native population to Indian reservations.

Image source: Donation Land Claim Act

The northern and eastern portions of the Oregon Territory were separated in 1853, becoming the new Washington Territory, which would become the 42nd state in 1889; the eastern portion later became the Idaho Territory in 1863.

Image source: Washington Territory

On November 9, 1857, the Oregon Territory's electorate, consisting of white men above age 21, voted 7,195 (69.25%) for and 3,195 (30.75%) against adopting the Constitution of Oregon, which included a Black exclusion clause.

Image source: Constitution of Oregon

Oregon was admitted to the Union on February 14, 1859, becoming the 33rd state of the United States.

Image source: Oregon

Oregon Senator Edward Dickinson Baker was killed leading Union troops at the Battle of Ball's Bluff on October 21, 1861.

Image source: Edward D. Baker

A law adopted by the state in 1862 required all ethnic minorities to pay a $5 annual tax, and interracial marriage was prohibited by law from approximately 1861 until 1951.

Image source: History of Oregon

During the Civil War, immigrants clashed with the Paiute, Shoshone and Bannock tribes in Oregon, Idaho and Nevada. Oregon raised the 1st Oregon Cavalry, activated in 1862 and serving until June 1865.

Image source: 1st Oregon Cavalry Regiment

During the Civil War, immigrants continued to clash with the Paiute, Shoshone and Bannock tribes in Oregon, Idaho and Nevada until relations degenerated into the bloody Snake War of 1864–1868. The 1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment, formed in 1864, saw its last company mustered out in July 1867.

The most influential figure of Oregon's progressive movement was William U'Ren, a highly energetic activist and leader of the Direct Legislation League and the Nonpartisan Direct Legislation League of Oregon from 1898.

Image source: William Simon U'Ren

In 1902, Oregon approved a system of direct legislation by the state's citizens by way of initiative and referendum, known as the Oregon System, and in 1908 also empowered its citizens to recall public officials by ballot initiative.

Image source: Direct Legislation League

Democrats who promoted progressive policies included George Earle Chamberlain (governor 1903 to 1909 and U.S. senator 1909 to 1921), Oswald West (governor 1911 to 1915), and Harry Lane (senator 1913–1917).

Image source: George E. Chamberlain

Senator Jonathan Bourne served in the Senate in 1907–1913. In 1908 he led the attempt to persuade Theodore Roosevelt to run for a third term; Roosevelt declined. Bourne served as president of the National Republican Progressive League in 1911–1912, but was not renominated in 1912.

Image source: Jonathan Bourne Jr.

New York City muckraker Lincoln Steffens was surprised when he visited in 1908 to discover that Oregon had more fundamental legislation than any other state except Oklahoma, enacting laws enabling its people to govern themselves.

Image source: Lincoln Steffens

The exclusion clause incorporated into the Oregon constitution in 1857 stood multiple repeal attempts until finally being repealed by a narrow margin in 1916.

Industrial expansion began in earnest following the construction of the Bonneville Dam in 1933–1937 on the Columbia River, bringing cheap hydroelectric power to the region.

Image source: Bonneville Dam

The historic Celilo Falls rapids were submerged in 1957 with the construction of The Dalles Dam on the Columbia River, dramatically altering the river and Native fishing traditions.

Image source: The Dalles Dam

A 1994 report from an Oregon Supreme Court task force found minorities more likely to be arrested, charged, convicted, incarcerated and on probation than similarly situated non-minorities, pointing out problems of institutional racism.

Image source: Racism in Oregon

In the 21st century, state ballots often include right-wing proposals such as anti-gay and pro-religious measures side by side with politically liberal issues like drug decriminalization, demonstrating the wide spectrum of political values in the state.

Image source: Politics of Oregon

A state of emergency related to COVID-19 was declared for the state of Oregon on February 28, 2020. By early March, universities and K–12 schools closed statewide and began providing online instruction.

By the end of June 2020, Governor Kate Brown announced that face masks would be required indoors, effective July 1.

By May 14, 2021, 31 of Oregon's 36 counties had met OHA requirements to enter the first phase of a three-phase process to reopen businesses.

As of September 1, 2022, 77.3% of Oregon's adult population had completed the primary COVID-19 vaccination series.