Oregon
Oregon's colonial history began with a Spanish claim as part of the Nootka Territory (1789–1795), followed by a prolonged joint occupation between Britain and the United States formalized by the Treaty of 1818, during which British fur traders and the Hudson's Bay Company dominated the region while American settlers began arriving in the mid-1830s. The dispute was resolved by the Oregon Treaty of 1846, which set the boundary at the 49th parallel and transferred the southern portion to the United States. The Provisional Government of Oregon had already been operating since 1843, and the formal Oregon Territory was established by Congress on August 14, 1848. Oregon was admitted to the Union as the 33rd state on February 14, 1859.
Pre-contact era
Oregon was inhabited by numerous independent American Indian peoples throughout its pre-contact and early contact periods. Indian traders played a critical role in the fur trade, and the Chinook nation of the lower Columbia River provided the lingua franca (Chinook jargon) between Indians and Europeans. This was the last period in which the Oregon Country's Indian nations retained a sizeable majority in their land and relative economic independence.
Colonial history
Spanish 'El Orejón' was part of the Nootka Territory (1789–1795) per the Oregon Territory article; Spain was one of several countries originally claiming the region.
Oregon Country was jointly occupied by Britain and the United States from 1818 to 1846. The British used the name 'Columbia District' for the region. The Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department comprised most of Oregon Country. Neither the British nor American governments recognized the numerous independent American Indian peoples in their eventual disposition of the territory.
The Provisional Government of Oregon existed from May 2, 1843 until March 3, 1849, providing a legal system and common defense among mostly American pioneers. The Organic Laws of Oregon were adopted in 1843, with settlers agreeing to the laws 'until such time as the United States of America extend their jurisdiction over us.'
Everything a full the United States report reveals
Pick any location and Aubrey pulls together 18 strands of its history, each drawn from the record:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
State history content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Historic sites data: National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
About Oregon
Research the history of any US location
Aubrey searches federal archives, archaeological records, historic registers, and primary sources to build a full historical report for any address or place in the United States.