Newberg Area Historical Society

Courtney Walker and Ewing Young A young 22 year-old Courtney Walker first came to Oregon with Nathaniel Wyeth. Wyeth was an American businessman in Boston’s ice industry. In the 1830s, he became interested in the Oregon Country thank s to Hall Jackson Kelley a nd the Oregon fever breaking out along the eastern seaboard. In 1834 Wyeth outfitted and led an expedition, with plans for establishing fur-trading posts, a salmon fishery, and a colony on Wapato isla nd near present-day Portland Oregon.   Courtney Walker joined this expedition and stayed in Oregon despite the fact Wyeth’s operation was doomed and abandoned. It could not compete against the British Hudson's Bay Company ne arby at Fort Vancouver. Courtney Walker met Ewing Young at this time. He even sold him a cauldron that Wyeth was going to use for pickling salmon. (Ewing Young planned to use it for his whiskey operation.) After working with Ewing Young a few more times, he settled as a farmer near Dayton. He was a surveyo

 This Cowboy Bean recipe comes from Bill Hiscox, a 93 year old former cowboy and rancher. Ingredients: 2 cups dried pinto or similar beans 8 oz tomato sauce 4 pieces of bacon, chopped 1 cup chopped onion 3 tablespoons of molasses 2 tsp pepper 1/2 tsp nutmeg 2 tsp garlic powder Salt to taste 1. Pour the beans in your cooking pot and cover with water. There should be about 2 inches of water above the beans. Soak overnight. 2. Drain the beans then add water until there is about 1 inches above the soaked beans. Add all other ingredients except salt. 3. Bring to a boil. Boil for about three minutes and then lower to a simmer. Simmer for 2-3 hours (till lunchtime according to Bill!).  4. Add salt to taste and serve! This recipe is delicious with fresh biscuits or cornbread!

 This is a list of references we have compiled for those interested in learning more about Ewing Young. NATIVE AMERICANS IN NORTHERN WILLAMETTE VALLEY  Beckham, Stephen Dow; The Indians of Western Oregon, This Land was. Theirs, Aarago Books, 1977.  Clarke, S.A.; Pioneer Days of Oregon History, Vol 1, J.K. Gill, Portland, 1905.  Clark, Malcolm; The Eden Seekers, Houghton Mifflin, 1987, p.95.  Edwards, P.L; Sketch of the Oregon Territory. Liberty, Missouri Herald Office, 1842 p.19.  Mackey, Harold; Indians of the Willamette Valley, Monmouth OR. 1968.  Gibbs-Starling Map of 1851, "Sketch of Wallamette Valley showing purchases and reservations made by the board of commissioners appointed to treat with the Indians of Oregon."  Galschet, Albert S.; The Kalapuya People, 1899.  CHAMPOEG  Atherton, John H; * Excavations at Champoeg, Oregon", 1974 Mimeographed report from archeological investigations in 1974. Brauner, Dr. David; Presentation on tape presented at Champoeg Park, 199

  Richard H. Engeman for the Oregon History Project says, “ The sawmill was a defining symbol of Oregon for more than a century, and the mill was an iconic institution in hundreds of Oregon communities.”  SOURCE https://www.oregonhistoryproject.org/narratives/wooden-beams-and-railroad-ties-the-history-of-oregons-built-environment/sawn-lumber-and-greek-temples-1850-1870/sawmills-and-agricultural-structures/#.YBs_dOhKgdV  The very first sawmill along the Columbia River was built by the British Hudson’s Bay Company near Fort Vancouver in 1827. Ewing Young, in 1838, completed a small water-powered sawmill along the Chehalem Creek and sold the lumber to his neighbors. This was the first successful mill operation in the Willamette Valley. Other mills came soon after, the famous one at the Willamette Falls in Oregon City was operating by 1841. Hunt’s Mill east of Astoria on the Columbia River was operating by 1844. By 1850, dozens of mills were producing lumber up and down the Willamette Vall

 In 1836, Ewing Young, seeking a way to support himself, began a distilling operation. He purchased materials and constructed a still. The historical record conflicts on whether or not he actually began distilling however. Ewing Young's operation was vehemently opposed by Dr. John McLoughlin factor of Fort Vancouver for the Hudson's Bay Trading Company and by Reverend Jason Lee and others from the Methodist Mission established in the Willamette Valley. Whether or not Ewing Young actually produced any "spiritous liquors" is unknown, but we do know that the attempt to begin the operation led to another world changing event. In an effort to dissuade Young from distilling, McLoughlin, Lee, Slacum, and others contracted with Young to form the Willamette Cattle Company, bringing cattle to the Willamette Valley, breaking a monopoly on the cattle market held by the Hudson's Bay Company.  This is a image of a contemporary distilling operation from Sutter's Mill. Photo