John West (1809–1888) was a Scottish inventor and businessman who emigrated to Canada, California and later

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

where he operated a

cannery Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container ( jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although ...

and exported

tuna A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max len ...

to Great Britain. The Pelling Stanley and Company in the UK imported his tuna and paid for the rights to use his name, which led to the establishment of the use of "John West" as a brand name.

Biography

Born in 1809, John West immigrated to

Quebec, Canada Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...

where he married and started a family while apprenticing as a millwright. In 1849, he left his family and job to search for gold in California. A year later, with little gold to show for his efforts, he arrived in Astoria, Oregon and went to work using his knowledge as a millwright.Aalberg & Aalberg, 2005 In 1853, West and his wife Margaret took up a Donation Land Claim along the lower Columbia River upon which he soon began construction of a water-powered sawmill. West built a steam-powered sawmill in the early 1860s, and by 1868, he was exporting lumber to Australia.Andrews, 1994 During these years, the community of Westport grew up around John West's sawmill on his Donation Land Claim. The West family sold the mill in the early 1900s. The Westport Lumber Company continued production there until February 1956, when it became uneconomical to operate the mill because of a scarcity of logs sufficient in size. John West also exported salmon from as early as 1857. The first fish West processed were salted, packed in barrels, then shipped to California, where they were loaded on sailing ships and sent around

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...

to East Coast ports, and then on to Great Britain. In 1868, West, in partnership with others, founded the Westport Cannery, the first on the Oregon shore of the Columbia River.Smith, 1979 The cannery packed 22,000 cases of salmon during the 1873 season and in October of that year won a gold medal from the Oregon Agricultural Society, in a competition that was the genesis for the

Oregon State Fair The Oregon State Fair is the official state fair of the U.S. state of Oregon. It takes place every August–September at the Oregon State Fairgrounds located in north Salem, the state capital, as it has almost every year since 1862. In 2006, res ...

.Cunningham, 1953, Salmon canning peaked in the 1880s with 39 canneries in 1883, supported by 1,700 commercial fishing boats along the Columbia River. West invented an automated can-filing machine and was the first on the lower Columbia River to make use of salmon waste for oil and fishmeal by-products. He also experimented with canning beef, mutton, and blackberries to keep the machinery and workers busy during the salmon off season. West's brand label for canned foods lives on today as

John West Foods John West Foods is a United Kingdom-based seafood marketing company established in 1857, and currently owned by Thai Union Group of Thailand. The company produces canned salmon and tuna, as well as mackerel, sardine, herring, brisling, anchovi ...

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, which markets canned fish, fruit, vegetables, and meat all over the world.Miller, 1958 "Captain" John West died in 1888 at the age of 79 and is buried in the West family plot at the Westport Cemetery.

Commemoration

An Oregon Historical Marker was erected on July 14, 2009 at Bradley State Scenic Viewpoint near Westport, Oregon commemorating John West and Wesport, Oregon. Bryan C. Aalberg, fourth great-grandson of "Captain" John West is credited with creation of the marker.

Footnotes

References

*Aalberg, Jim. (2015) ''Westport Oregon Home of the Big Sticks and Gold Medal Tuna''. Portland, Oregon: Clatsop County Historical Society. *Aalberg, Bryan C & Aalberg, James C (2005) Penner, Lisa ed. "Captain John West" article in ''Cumtux'', Clatsop County Historical Society Quarterly, Volume 25, No. 1 - Winter 2005. ISSN 1083-9216 *Andrews, Ralph W. (1994) ''This Was Saw Milling''. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing Ldt. LCCN 93-87502 *Lockley, Fred (January 31, 1943). ''

Oregon Journal ''The Oregon Journal'' was Portland, Oregon's daily afternoon newspaper from 1902 to 1982. The ''Journal'' was founded in Portland by C. S. "Sam" Jackson, publisher of Pendleton, Oregon's ''East Oregonian'' newspaper, after a group of Portlander ...

'' (McArthur & McArthur, p. 1025 cite this article without giving its name, saying it has "information about John West and his large family") *Miller, Emma Gene. (1958) ''Clatsop County, Oregon - Its History, Legends and Industry''. Portland, Oregon: Bindords and Mort Publishing. LCCN 57-13209 *Smith, Cortland L. (1979) ''Tuna Fishers of the Columbia''. Corvallis, Oregon: Oregon State University Press. *Fuller, Tom & Ayre, Art (2009)''Oregon at Work: 1859 - 2009''. Portland, Oregon: Ooligan Press at Portland State University. *McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur (2003)

928 Year 928 (Roman numerals, CMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * King Rudolph of France, Rudolph I loses the support of Herbert II, Count of ...

''Oregon Geographical Names'' (Seventh Edition ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. (trade paperback), (hardcover). *Cunningham, Glenn (1953) "Oregon's First Tuna Canner, 'Captain' John West" article in ''Oregon Historical Quarterly, Volume 54, No. 3 - Sept., 1953, pp. 240–248. {{DEFAULTSORT:West, John 1809 births 1888 deaths Businesspeople from Oregon Oregon pioneers People from Astoria, Oregon People from Linlithgow People from West Lothian Scottish emigrants to the United States