The Willamette Cattle Company was formed in 1837 by pioneers in the Willamette Valley of present day Oregon. The company was formed with the express purpose of purchasing cattle in California to bring to Oregon Country. Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 (MDCCCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley is the region in northwest Oregon in the United States that surrounds the Willamette River as it proceeds northward from its emergence from mountains near Eugene to its confluence with the Columbia River. ... Official language(s) None Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 9th  - Total 98,466 sq mi (255,026 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 2. ... Landscape in Oregon Country, by Charles Marion Russell Map of Oregon Country Oregon Country was a region of western North America that originally consisted of the land north of 42°N latitude, south of 54°40N latitude, and west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. ...

Background

Prior to the activities of the Willamette Cattle Company, virtually all cattle in the region were owned by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC).^[1] In order to perpetuate that lucrative monopoly the HBC only leased cattle, never selling the animals and all calves born would be owned by the HBC.^[2] In order to circumvent that monopoly residents of the valley, including some former employees of the HBC, were drawn together by Lieutenant William A. Slacum.^[1] Slacum had been sent west by President Andrew Jackson to inquire about the strategic and economic conditions in Oregon.[1] The lieutenant had arrived via the brig Loriot and became aware of the cattle situation amongst the pioneers.^[1] The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC) is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (often called cows in vernacular and contemporary usage, or kye as the Scots plural of cou) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... This article is 45 kilobytes or more in size. ...

Agreement

A variety of settlers including missionaries such as Jason Lee, former HBC employees, HBC employees, and American pioneers created a joint-stock company to travel via the Loriot to California and purchase as many heads of cattle as they could.^[1][2] The articles of incorporation were signed on January 13, 1837^[1] at Campment du Sable.^[3] They would then drive the cattle overland north to the Willamette Valley and distribute the cattle proportional to the amount invested into the company by each investor.^[1] The company would pay for all expenses of those journeying to Mexican held California and pay them $20 per month in wages.^[1] American Ewing Young was selected as the leader of the company and in charge of going to California with Philip Leget Edwards as treasurer.^[3] Jason Lee (NSHC statue) Jason Lee (June 28, 1803 – March 12, 1845) an American missionary and pioneer, was born on a farm near Stanstead, Quebec. ... Ewing Young expeditions to American West Ewing Young (1799 - February 9, 1841) was an American trapper from Tennessee who traveled the western United States before settling in Oregon Country. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ...

Execution

On January 22, 1837 the Willamette Cattle Company employees set sail aboard the Loriot from Wappatoo Island on the Willamette River.^[3] The group arrived first in San Francisco in March, but were told permission for the purchase of any cattle would need to be from the civil governor located in Santa Barbara.^[3] Young then went overland and received permission to buy cattle, but only from the government. He then returned north and met the group in Monterrey on May 12, 1837. They then purchased 746 head of cattle at $3 per head that were to be picked up at two locations.^[3] In June the enterprise had procured the cattle and started driving them north to Oregon Country.^[3] On July 27 the group began traveling through the Sacramento Valley after a delay due to wet gunpowder that required a small group to return to San Francisco to buy more.^[2] They passed through the valley during the hot summer season and then crossed over the Siskiyou Mountains of northern California and southern Oregon. On September 14 they crossed the Shasta River and soon after William Bailey and George Gay shot a “friendly” native boy in what was considered revenge for attacks on previous trips through the area.^[3] This event angered Young and raised tensions in an area that still had sizable populations of Native Americans. Map of Sauvie Island, drawn in 1937, showing Multnomah Channel, Columbia River, Willamette River, Portland, Vancouver, and Columbia River Highway. ... The Willamette River (pronounced wil-LAM-met) is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 240 mi (386 km) long, in northwestern Oregon in the United States. ... Nickname: The City by the Bay; Fog City Location of the City and County of San Francisco, California Coordinates: Country United States of America State California City-County San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Area    - City 122 km²  (47 sq mi)  - Land 121. ... Santa Barbara is a city in California, United States. ... The Customs House at Monterey View of Monterey Bay and its kelp A sea lion rookery at the marina Museum interior with ship models and equipment Kelp Forest display at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Monterey is a city near the Pacific coast in northern California. ... Landscape in Oregon Country, by Charles Marion Russell Map of Oregon Country Oregon Country was a region of western North America that originally consisted of the land north of 42°N latitude, south of 54°40N latitude, and west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. ... The Sacramento Valley is the portion of the California Central Valley that lies to the north of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta. ... Siskiyou Mountains The Siskiyou Mountains are a coastal mountain range in the northern Klamath Mountains in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States. ... Shasta River from California State Hwy. ...

Finally, in October the group returned to the European settlements of the Willamette Valley.^[3] They had arrived with approximately 630 head of cattle left from what was purchased in California.^[2] Some of these animals were lost by natural causes, some were killed by natives, at least one was killed by the group for feed, and others simply wandered off.^[3] The remaining animals were then divided amongst the investors with a value of $8.50 per head, with Young receiving the largest allotment of 135.^[2]

Legacy

The procurement of cattle began to help break the dependence of the settlers on the cattle of the Hudson’s Bay Company.^[1] Young’s role made him the wealthiest of the settlers, which would lend a part in the attempt to form a government after his death in 1841 to deal with his heirless estate.^[2] However, even with over 600 cattle among the approximately 500 Europeans^[2] in the valley, there was still more demand for cattle, and the settlers would come up with a novel enterprise with the Star of Oregon episode in 1840-1841 to get more cattle.^[4] 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Participants

Company

Those investing in the Willamette Cattle Company:

• Incomplete list: Ewing Young,^[2] Jason Lee,^[2] John McLoughlin,^[2] William Slacum^[5]

John McLoughlin (NSHC statue) Dr. John McLoughlin (pronounced mc-lock-lin, October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857), the Father of Oregon, was a fur trader and early settler in the Oregon Country in the Pacific Northwest. ...

Cattle drive

Those participating in the cattle drive from California:

• Incomplete list:^[3] Ewing Young, Philip Edwards, Jason Lee, Webley Hauxhurst, Lawrence Carmichael, William J. Bailey, Ergnette, John Turner, George Gay, B. Williams, Tibbets, and De Puis.

George Gay Ensign George Gay (right), sole survivor of USS Hornets VT-8 squadron at Midway, standing in front of his Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bomber on 4 June, 1942. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Willamette Cattle Company Agreement, 1837. Echoes of Oregon. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Ewing Young Route. Oregon's Historic Trails. End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. Retrieved on 2006-12-21.
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Diary of Philip Leget Edwards. Historical California Longhorns. California Association of Texas Longhorn Breeders. Retrieved on 2007-01-24.
4. ^ Dobbs, Caroline C. (1932). Men of Champoeg: A Record of the Lives of the Pioneers Who Founded the Oregon Government. Metropolitan Press. 136. 
5. ^ Collins, Dean (1943). Stars of Oregon. Binford & Mort. 44. 

	Pioneer History of Oregon (1806 - 1890)
Topics	Oregon Country · Oregon Treaty · Oregon missionaries · Executive Committee · Oregon Trail · Oregon boundary dispute · Pacific Fur Company · Hudson's Bay Company 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD (or CE) era. ... January 23 is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD (or CE) era. ... January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... State seal of Oregon. ... Landscape in Oregon Country, by Charles Marion Russell Map of Oregon Country Oregon Country was a region of western North America that originally consisted of the land north of 42°N latitude, south of 54°40N latitude, and west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. ... Map of the lands in dispute The Treaty with Great Britain, in Regard to Limits Westward of the Rocky Mountains, also known as the Oregon Treaty or Treaty of Washington, is a bilateral treaty between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States that was signed... Jason Lee The Oregon missionaries were collectively the religious-minded pioneers who settled in the Oregon Country of North America starting in the 1830s with the intent of coverting local Native Americans to Christianity. ... An Executive Committee was the title of a three-person committee which served as the executive Branch of the Provisional Government of the Oregon Territory. ... For other uses, see Oregon Trail (disambiguation). ... The Oregon Country/Columbia District Disputed Area is the main area of dispute, although the whole region was disputed The Oregon boundary dispute (often called the Oregon question) arose as a result of competing British and American claims to the Oregon Country, a region of northwestern North America known also... The Pacific Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor on June 23, 1810, as a subsidiary of his American Fur Company. ... The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC) is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world. ...
Events	Champoeg Meetings · Treaty of 1818 · Russo-American Treaty · Donation Land Claim Act · Whitman massacre The Champoeg Meetings in Oregon Country were the first attempts at governing in the Pacific Northwest by United States European-American pioneers. ... The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary, and the restoration of slaves between the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, was a treaty signed in 1818 between... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, sometimes known just as the Donation Land Act, was a historic law passed by the Congress of the United States intended to promote homestead settlement in the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest (comprising the present-day states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho). ... Marcus Whitman The Whitman massacre (also known as the Walla Walla massacre and the Whitman Incident) was the murder in the Oregon Country on November 29, 1847 of U.S. missionaries Dr. Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa, along with twelve others, by Cayuse and Umatilla Indians. ...
Places	Fort Astoria · Oregon Mission · Fort Vancouver · Champoeg, Oregon · Willamette Stone · Barlow Road Fort Astoria was the Pacific Fur Companys primary fur trading post in the Northwest, and was the first permanent U.S. settlement on the Pacific coast. ... Oregon Mission (1831-1846) began as an effort by the Methodist Episcopal Church to convert the native Indians of the far west to Christianity. ... Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudsons Bay Company in the Oregon Country. ... Champoeg, Oregon Champoeg, pronounced sham_POO_ee (SAMPA /ʃæm. ... The Willamette Stones location is now commemorated by a circular marker and plaque. ... The Barlow Road was the last overland segment of the Oregon Trail before reaching the Willamette Valley. ...
People	George Abernethy · Sam Barlow · Tabitha Brown · Abigail Scott Duniway · Philip Foster · Peter French · Joseph Gale · William Gilpin · David Hill · Jason Lee · John McLoughlin · Joseph Meek · Ezra Meeker · Joel Palmer · Sager orphans · Marcus Whitman · Narcissa Whitman George Abernethy (1807 - 1877) was a U.S. businessman. ... Samuel Kimbrough Barlow (b. ... Tabitha Moffatt Brown (May 1, 1780 – May 4, 1858) was a pioneer emigrant that traveled the Oregon Trail, and assisted in the founding of Tualatin Academy that would grow to become Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. ... Abigail Scott Duniway (October 22, 1834 _ October 11, 1915) was born Abigail Jane Scott near Groveland, Illinois, to John Tucker Scott and Anne Roelofson. ... Philip Foster (January 29, 1805–March 17, 1884) was one of the first settlers in Oregon, United States. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Joseph Gale (1807-1881) was an American pioneer, trapper, and politican who contributed to the early settlment of the Oregon Country. ... William Gilpin William Gilpin (October 4, 1813–1894) was a 19th century U.S. explorer, politician, land speculator, and futurist writer about the American West. ... David Hill (1809–1850), was a pioneer and settler of what became Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. ... Jason Lee (NSHC statue) Jason Lee (June 28, 1803 – March 12, 1845) an American missionary and pioneer, was born on a farm near Stanstead, Quebec. ... John McLoughlin (NSHC statue) Dr. John McLoughlin (pronounced mc-lock-lin, October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857), the Father of Oregon, was a fur trader and early settler in the Oregon Country in the Pacific Northwest. ... Joseph Lafayette Meek (1810–1875) was born in Washington County, Virginia, near the Cumberland Gap. ... Meeker in Kearney, Nebraska, ca. ... General Joel Palmer, October 4, 1810 (Ontario, Canada) – June 9, 1881 (Dayton, Oregon), was an Oregon pioneer, author of a popular immigrant guidebook, co-founder of Dayton, Oregon, a controversial Indian Affairs administrator, and a popular Oregon politician. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Marcus Whitman Narcissa Whitman Marcus Whitman (September 4, 1802–November 29, 1847) was an American physician and missionary in the Oregon Country. ... Narcissa Whitman (March 14, 1808 – November 29, 1847), born Narcissa Prentiss in Prattsburgh, New York in the Genesee Valley. ...
Oregon History	Native Peoples History · History to 1806 · Pioneer History · Modern History Official language(s) None Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 9th  - Total 98,466 sq mi (255,026 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 2. ... Oregon Pioneer History (1806 to 1890) is the time in the European History of Oregon when pioneers and mountain men traveled west to explore and settle the lands west of the Rocky Mountains and north of California. ...