Our Own End of the Oregon Trail
A Look Back
This past Wednesday, Kris and I took advantage of the Juneteenth holiday to explore some local history. Earlier in the week, Kris mentioned that the End of the Oregon Trail museum was nearby, and given our imminent departure back to the East Coast, I couldn't think of a better way to wrap up our time here in Oregon.
After a relaxed start, we hit the road around 10 AM and headed for the End of the Trail Interpretive Center in Oregon City. The trip is a short, hour-long drive from our home through rolling terrain that passes fir-lined hills with occasional glimpses of Mt. Hood, punctuating the local beauty. As we made our way to the interpretive center, we saw a sign on Highway 205 for a scenic overlook. It's easy to pass these opportunities up when you live here and are busy with daily to-do lists, but we were purposefully taking a break from our hectic schedule and decided to check it out.
Good call! After we pulled off and parked, we discovered some Oregon history (thematically appropriate) and beautiful views. The photo at the top of this blog entry shows the gem at this stop: the Willamette Falls Locks with Mt. Hood in the background. Several historic markers highlighted the history of Oregon and the Locks, which came into use on January 1st, 1873. There was also a marker celebrating George Abernathy, the first Provisional Governor of The Oregon Country from 1845 to 1849. We encountered the name Abernathy several more times during our visit to the interpretive center. This spot also had a geocache, earning us bonus points for our decision to stop!
The interpretive center is a very short hop from Willamette Falls, and when we arrived, there was plenty of shaded parking. We started our visit by buying our tickets and making a cursory stop at the gift shop. For those who don't know, we enjoy collecting stickers from the interesting places we visit. I could tell this was going to be a fun trip and asked about stickers when we were buying our tickets. No joy. They do carry them, but they were out of stock. This was especially disappointing because the sticker featured the iconic 8-bit image of a wagon pulled by oxen with the classic “You have died of dysentery” line beneath—a favorite for nerd historians everywhere. Oh well. (Don't feel too sad for me; I did get a sweatshirt with the same print instead.)
The good news is the disappointment was short-lived. We started our tour of the interpretive center, where several exhibits highlighted the history of the area. One fun fact: in 1792, American sea captain Robert Gray, in the ship “Columbia,” discovered the mouth of the river that now bears the ship's name. I also learned that Astoria was established by the Pacific Fur Company in 1811. Neat! While there are several exhibits that highlight facts like this, I was more drawn to the personal stories of the women and people of color who worked to make Oregon (now Oregon and Washington) their home. While Oregon was never a slave state, it was apparent from the posted individual histories and other historic documents that this was due to twisted racist ideas and not some higher morality. Reading the stories of these early “minority” pioneers was fascinating and spoke volumes about the human spirit, determination, and kindness. I reflected on where we are today compared to then, and it's easy to see we still have quite a ways to go before we become the best version of ourselves.
After meandering through the static displays and reading several personal histories, we went to the theatre to watch two movies. The first was a traditional museum short that highlighted what it was like to be on the Oregon Trail from four different journal accounts from those early travelers. The second movie was a more recent account of the effects of the Oregon Trail on the native peoples. The latter movie was called Oregon’s First People and was definitely my favorite of the two. It covered how the expansion of the settlers displaced the native population, the immediate and longer-term deleterious effects of the expansion on their culture and population, and the recent efforts to restore the native peoples' ability to live as they had before the expansion. One of the native interviewees shared that he can now go to the mall and hear young people speak in their native language, something that was not likely to happen when he was growing up. The thought that their language is coming back gave me warm fuzzies, and I hope it continues.
We finished the exhibition portion of our visit with a trip through another set of static displays. There was a fun board that quizzed you on your Oregon knowledge with things like: highest point, Mt. Hood; state flower, Oregon Grape; and state rock, thunder egg. The final exhibit leads to a walking path that takes you to the main attraction.
The marker for the End of the Oregon Trail is in the middle of a heritage garden and has two plaques explaining the significance of the site. The marker is at the western terminus of the trail, some 2,000 miles from where the trail begins in Independence, MO. We stood and took the requisite selfies after a brief moment of reading the information. And with that, we had, ourselves, reached the end of the Oregon Trail.
Bonus Content
After reaching the end of the Oregon Trail, Kris and I rewarded ourselves with a trip to the local McMenamins, the Oregon City Pub. Kris gets full credit here as she had seen this place many times while running errands in the area. The pub was originally St. Paul's Episcopal Church, which dates back to 1930 with an associated history reaching back to the 1860s. It sits next to another historic place, the Oregon City Bridge, which was put into service in 1922 and is registered with the National Register of Historic Places. After a meal of Fish & Chips for me and Chicken Strips 'n Tots for Kris, we headed home via the historic bridge.
It was a fantastic day out, and I'm looking forward to more adventures with Kris. Until next time... peace.