| The history of Oregon agriculture |
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| The Oregon story |
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Long before surveyed boundaries existed to create what has come to be known as Oregon, thousands of indigenous peoples, speaking scores of different languages, lived with nature here and practiced a totally different concept of what we call "agriculture." The Indians of the Oregon Country had developed a tried and true approach to hunting, trapping, harvesting, and preserving that seemed primitive and incomprehensible to the Euroamerican entrepreneurs, settlers, and missionaries. Attempts to "civilize" the native peoples ended in miserable failure.
In 1824, the Hudson's Bay Company established Ft. Vancouver, under the direction of Dr. John McLoughlin. The Fort, in an effort to be self-sustaining, commenced farming operations that included the planting of grain and orchards, and raising sheep and cattle. Within a year of its establishment, supplies of seed corn, barley, oats, peas, potatoes, and wheat arrived. Pigs, chickens, and other livestock had come in by land from other Hudson's Bay posts, or by sea from California. On Sauvie Island, a complex of dairies was created to supply needed milk, butter, and cheese. As Hudson's Bay employees retired, land was given to them to farm, especially in the French Prairie area of the Willamette Valley.
From the early success of Ft. Vancouver's farming efforts, thousands of Americans and Europeans arrived in search of land and an unlimited array of farming opportunities. Although most crops and livestock could be successfully raised in the new Oregon Country, it soon became apparent to the pioneer farmer that due to the varied climates of the region, a certain amount of experimentation and adaptation would be necessary.
Unlike conditions in the eastern states and territories, the Oregon land West of the Cascade Mountains was found to be heavily forested, with a mild maritime climate. Here, with the exception of natural prairie areas such as the Willamette Valley, the farmer needed to first expend a considerable amount of time and energy creating a clearing to plant crops.
East of the Cascades was an entirely different picture--here the infrequent rainfall meant less water for irrigation and less timber, but it also dictated a more cautious, challenging farming technique. At first, the bunch grass growing on the rolling hills of Eastern Oregon provided a natural grazing area for cattle, horses, and sheep. The areas was naturally suited towards a livestock economy. Then, it was discovered that wheat would do fairly well in the area in spite of a scarcity of rainfall.
Between these two extremes--the rain forests on the coastal range averaging 150 inches per year, to the vast stretches of arid land in eastern portion of the state--the pioneer farmer found numerous micro-climates to reckon with, creating unexpected challenges, hard work, and a need for liberal use of imagination and creativity to successfully grow crops and raise animals.
The pioneer farmer traveling to Oregon brought the most rudimentary farming techniques that dated back hundreds, sometimes thousands of years. Land clearing, plowing, sowing, and harvesting were all tediously performed by hand, with the occasional help of a beast of burden. Marketing was an entirely different set of challenges, depending on proximity to waterways or dirt road conditions.
As the 19th century moved on, a revolutionary change in technology took place, involving both intensive use of the horse to replace man power, and the mechanization of farming operations to take the place of the horse. Steam power, gasoline engine tractors, and electricity took over many of the labor intensive jobs of mowing, harvesting, threshing, and cleaning the grain.
These developments, slow to move West, and slower still to be adapted, nevertheless captures the interest and imagination of some mechanically-minded Oregonians who temporarily turned their attention from the land to the invention of machines to help reduce the amount of back-breaking and time-consuming chores of farm life. For example, in the late 1860s, Nathaniel P. Slate of Tangent teamed up with Daniel Best, an Albany machine shop pattern maker, to design and manufacture a combine harvester, steam powered tractors, and a hay-baler. His other inventions included a steam driven river boat designed to tow logs down the Calapooia River to his sawmill, and digging and earth moving equipment.
De Lafayette Remington of Woodburn, who had a foundry and machine shop, was fortunate enough to acquire Slate's first steam tractor in exchange for debt. In 1888, after a period of experimentation, Remington patented a tractor that was able to work in soft, wet ground. Nicknamed "Rough and Ready," the tractor was used broadly for field work and stationary power, such as logging equipment.
For Oregon's Centennial of Statehood in 1959, the Oregon Historical Society created a program to honor families who have maintained a working farm continuously for 100 years or more. Known as the Century Farm Program, almost 1000 farms in Oregon have now been enrolled. The applications of the past year alone indicate a rich and diverse settlement in Oregon.- Peter Kristian Enbysk made enough money raising reindeer in Hammerfest, Norway, to emigrate to the United States in 1871. He heard there was good land in Oregon, and in 1877 settled in Adams in Northern Umatilla County to raise horses and mules, and grow wheat and barley.
- Daniel Shaw left North Carolina in 1890 to settle near Pilot Rock. Although his efforts to grow popcorn and peanuts were unsuccessful, he managed to plant an orchard of 1400 apple trees, raise hogs, alfalfa, cattle, sheep, horses, and vegetables.
- In 1893, John Fredich Dworschak left his native Austria and acquired a forty acre farm near Molalla. Also from Austria came John Kraxberger in 1892 to acquire 160 acres near Canby.
- Philip Kollas traveled from his native Germany to Australia, and then to Oregon to settle in the Hood River Valley near Odell in 1894 where he established an orchard still in operation today.
- In 1893, William and Florence Benninger traveled from Michigan to establish a farm near Blachly, in Lane County. That same year, Herman Steinhauer came from Germany and acquired 80 acres to farm, also near Blachly.
- Palmer Curtis traveled from Iowa and acquired 645 acres near Shedd, and Charles Andrews traveled up from California in 1892 and acquired 160 acres of prime wheat land in Sherman County.
- Nels and Hannah Youngberg left their native Sweden and settled near Carlton in 1889 where they obtained 40 acres.
- George Gutbrod and Jacob Grauer came to Oregon in 1893 via Germany and Iowa, and established farms in the Sheridan area.
Although only a small percentage of the population is engaged in farming today, agriculture still plays a major role in the state's economy.
Oregon's farmers, and the generations of descendants who comprise Century Farm families, retain the same sense of pride and spirit of determination of their adventurous pioneer ancestors.
Century Farm and Ranch Program
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