Harvey Whitefield Scott (1838–1910) was an

American pioneer American pioneers were European American and African American settlers who migrated westward from the Thirteen Colonies and later United States to settle in and develop areas of North America that had previously been inhabited or used by Nati ...

who traveled to Oregon in 1852. Scott was a long-time editorialist, and eventual part owner of ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'' newspaper. Scott was regarded by his contemporaries as instrumental in bringing the state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

firmly into the political camp of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

Early years and education

Scott was born February 1, 1838, in rural

Tazewell County, Illinois Tazewell County () is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 135,394. Its county seat and largest city is Pekin. It is pronounced with a short "a", to rhyme with "razz" rather than "raze." ...

, near the town of Peoria, the son of John Tucker Scott, a farmer. The family crossed the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

as pioneers to

in 1852. During the trip, his mother, Ann Roelofson Scott, died. His eight siblings included notable sisters

Abigail Scott Duniway Abigail Scott Duniway (October 22, 1834 – October 11, 1915) was an American women's rights advocate, newspaper editor and writer, whose efforts were instrumental in gaining voting rights for women. Biography Abigail S. Duniway was born Abigai ...

, and

Catherine Amanda Coburn Catherine Amanda Coburn (, Scott; November 30, 1839 – May 27, 1913) was an American pioneer of the long nineteenth century associated with the Oregon Territory. Entering the workforce after the untimely death of her husband, she became a teache ...

. The family settled in

Yamhill County Yamhill County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 107,722. The county seat is McMinnville. Yamhill County was named after the Yamhelas, members of the Kalapuya Tribe. Yamhill Cou ...

, where they remained one year before relocating north to Mason County on

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

in the

Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

.''Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon: Containing Original Sketches of Many Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present.'' Chicago, IL: Chapman Publishing Co., 1904; pp. 71-73. Scott-Harvey-W-1857

In 1855 and 1856, Scott fought for a year as a volunteer in the

Puget Sound War The Puget Sound War was an armed conflict that took place in the Puget Sound area of the state of Washington (U.S. state), Washington in 1855–56, between the United States Military, United States military, local militias and members of the ...

, serving with the local militia in skirmishes against the Nisqually,

Muckleshoot The Muckleshoot ( lut, bəqəlšuł ) are a Lushootseed language, Lushootseed-speaking Native American tribe, part of the Coast Salish peoples of the Pacific Northwest. They are descendants of the Duwamish and Puyallup peoples whose traditional t ...

, Puyallup, and Klickitat peoples. With the so-called Indian War at an end, in 1857, Scott walked 150 miles from the family home on Puget Sound to

Forest Grove, Oregon Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a commuter town in the Portland metro area. Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in 1850, then incorpora ...

, where he attended high school for four months. During this interval, Scott's parents moved their own home from the Washington Territory back to Oregon, establishing for themselves a new farm about 20 miles south of

Oregon City ) , image_skyline = McLoughlin House.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = The McLoughlin House, est. 1845 , image_flag = , image_seal = Oregon City seal.png , image_map ...

. The family moved again in 1859, establishing a saw mill at Forest Grove. Harvey Scott spent the years from 1859 to 1863 splitting his time between farm work and mill work and education, working his way through school. He entered the fledgling

Pacific University Pacific University is a private university in Forest Grove, Oregon. Founded in 1849 as the Tualatin Academy, the original Forest Grove campus is west of Portland. The university maintains three other campuses in Eugene, Hillsboro, and Wood ...

at Forest Grove and in 1863 became the first alumnus of that institution, head of a graduating class consisting only of himself.

Career

After graduation from school, Scott spent a year in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

as a

gold miner Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface ...

. This interlude proved brief, however, and in 1864 he returned to Oregon, studying law in the office of attorney E.D. Shattuck, a leading

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and Unionist during the ongoing

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Scott supported himself while

reading law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

by working as the librarian of the

Library Association of Portland Multnomah County Library is the public library system serving Portland and Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. A continuation of the Library Association of Portland, established in 1864, the system now has 19 branches offering books, magazine ...

. In 1865, Scott's plans to become an attorney came to an abrupt end when he was offered and accepted a position as editorial writer for the Portland ''

Morning Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850 ...

.''

Newspaper editor

Scott was editor of ''The Oregonian'' newspaper from 1866 to 1872. His

editorial An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK) is an article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, suc ...

s strongly supported the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

and the newly emerging

party during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. According to many sources, he was highly respected throughout his career, and did much to establish the field of journalism in Oregon. He was active nationally, and served on the board of directors of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

. Alfred Powers questioned his legacy, writing in 1936 that Scott was "lacking in sympathy and humanity" and that he "held to outworn social theories," and that his scholarship and character were overestimated.

Later career

After leaving the paper in 1872, Scott was the collector of customs for the Port of Portland until 1877. He then bought a sizable amount of stock in ''The Oregonian'' and returned as its

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

. Around 1880, he vociferously opposed

public high school State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

s in Oregon, especially Portland, stating "the machinery of the schools has grown too cumbrous and expensive a system; that there are too many studies; that the high school is not a proper part of the system of public education;... that those who desire for their children an education beyond the common branches of the old-fashioned common school should pay for it." Scott was a

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States often omits the ''and'', while the English Constitution in the United Kingdom omits the ''Scottish''), commonly known as simply the Sco ...

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

.Eugene E. Snyder, ''Portland Potpourri.'' Portland, OR: Binford & Mort, 1991; pp. 73–79.

Historian

Scott also edited the first history of

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, published in 1890, and compiled the six-volume ''History of the Oregon Country'' with his son,

Leslie M. Scott Leslie McChesney Scott (February 18, 1878 – December 18, 1968) was an American historian, newspaper publisher and Oregon Republican Party, Republican politician in Oregon. He served as Oregon State Treasurer from 1941-1949. He served as acting G ...

, who published it after Harvey's death.

Death and legacy

Mount Tabor Park, Portland, Oregon (2012) - 22

Scott died unexpectedly following surgery in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, on August 7, 1910. His body was buried at River View Cemetery in Portland. His wife, Margaret Scott, died in 1925. Mount Scott, an extinct volcano in Happy Valley, was named after him, as was Harvey Scott Elementary School in Northeast Portland. Using $10,000 left in his widow's will for the purpose,

Gutzon Borglum John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum (March 25, 1867 – March 6, 1941) was an American sculptor best known for his work on Mount Rushmore. He is also associated with various other public works of art across the U.S., including Stone Mountain in Georg ...

(notable for sculptures on

Mount Rushmore Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: ''Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe'', or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota ...

) was commissioned to erect a statue of Harvey W. Scott. The city council chose the summit of

Mount Tabor Mount Tabor ( he, הר תבור) (Har Tavor) is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee. In the Hebrew Bible (Book of Joshua, Joshua, Book of Judges, Judges), Mount Tabor is the sit ...

for the statue in 1928 and Borglum placed a model of the statue there in 1930. The bronze statue was dedicated on July 22, 1933, with approximately 3000 in attendance, 23 years after Scott died. Oregon governor

Julius Meier Julius L. Meier (December 31, 1874 – July 14, 1937) was an American businessman, civic leader, and politician in the state of Oregon. The son of the Meier & Frank department store founder, he would become a lawyer before entering the family bu ...

was chairman of the event and

Chester Harvey Rowell Chester Harvey Rowell (November 1, 1867 - April 12, 1948) was an early leader of the Progressive Party (United States, 1912), progressive movement in California. Born in Bloomington, Illinois, he earned a degree from the University of Michigan in ...

gave a speech. The statue was toppled during the early morning hours of October 20, 2020 in relation to racial justice protests in Portland. An unauthorized bust of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

was installed around February 17, 2021 in the now-empty location where Scott's statue used to be. On October 24, 2022, ''The Oregonian'' published evidence that Scott's 40-year tenure as the newspaper's editor was an era when "overtly racist words" were commonly published in its pages. In reponse to the article, in December 2022, the board of Pacific University voted unanimously to remove Scott's name from a campus building.

Works

''History of Portland, Oregon: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citizens and Pioneers.''
Syracuse, NY: D. Mason & Co., 1890. * ''Religion, Theology and Morals: Selected Editorials and Public Lectures Compiled by Leslie M. Scott''. Cambridge, MA: Riverside Press, 1917. * ''History of the Oregon Country.'' With Leslie M. Scott. Cambridge, MA: Riverside Press, 1924.