Oregon City, now a suburb of Portland, Oregon, was one of the largest settlements in the West in the 1840s. Located at the Willamette Falls, which halted all boat traffic on the Willamette River, Oregon City was a natural stopping point for pioneers from the East. Starting with the Great Migration of 1843, Oregon City became the destination for many farmers and tradespeople.
When Portland received its name in 1845, the settlement probably had fewer than 50 residents. But because of its location at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, Portland had better access to river traffic than Oregon City, and river transportation was crucial in the era before railroads were widespread, so Portland started to grow.
In 1847, the year in which my novels Lead Me Home and Forever Mine are set, Oregon City’s population was about 600, while Portland’s was only 150. Both towns suffered a dip in population during the California Gold Rush, when many residents of Oregon headed south to the gold fields.
Soon, however, Portland caught up with Oregon City in population and then surpassed it. By 1850, the U.S. Census reported that Portland’s population was 821. (Coincidentally, Oregon City had the same number of residents.) But by the 1860 census, Portland had 2,847 residents, while Oregon City had 1,229.
The Gold Rush sent people streaming into California. In 1840, San Francisco was smaller than Oregon City. But by 1850, San Francisco had around 25,000 people, and the 1860 census reported 56,802 residents.
What is now Washington State was the last of the Pacific territories to develop. In 1860, Seattle had only 188 residents. Its population didn’t begin booming until the railroad arrived in the 1880s. There is little information on the population of Tacoma in 1860, but there were only 73 residents there in 1870. By 1880, by which time the Northern Pacific had announced it would terminate in Tacoma, there were 1,098 residents. But like Seattle, Tacoma’s population didn’t swell until the railroad actually arrived in the 1880s.
My historical novels don’t cover these Western locations in any detail. But as the series has progressed, I have tried to illustrate the development of the West, particularly in Oregon. Methods of transportation and communications changed through the decades of the mid-19th century. The discovery and exploitation of natural resources also impacted which locations developed ahead of others. These advances form a backdrop for my characters’ activities.
I started out writing about the Oregon Trail because the idea of people moving to virgin land so far from home fascinated me. But as my research extended beyond the 1840s, I became equally interested in how these territories evolved from wilderness into integral parts of the nation.
The arrival of the railroads caused wagon train traffic to end, but technological advances beyond railroads continue to transform the region. Airplanes and computers did in the 20th century what railroads and the telegraph did in the 19th.
What interests you most about history?
