The Star of Oregon episode of American history began in 1840 and ended in 1843. This enterprise by pioneers in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the eas ...

of present-day

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 ...

consisted of building a ship they named '' Star of Oregon'' and then sailing it to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in order to bring back cattle to Oregon Country. The group was led by

Joseph Gale Joseph Goff Gale (April 29, 1807 – December 13, 1881) was an American pioneer, trapper, entrepreneur, and politician who contributed to the early settlement of the Oregon Country. There he assisted in the construction of the first sailing vesse ...

and received assistance from Captain Wilkes of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

prior to setting sail on the open ocean. These pioneers were able to procure nearly 4,000 head of cattle, sheep, and horses combined.

Background

In 1837, the

Willamette Cattle Company The Willamette Cattle Company was formed in 1837 by pioneers in the Willamette Valley of present-day Oregon, United States. The company was formed with the express purpose of purchasing cattle in Mexican California. Nearly 750 head of cattle and ...

had brought over 600 head of cattle to Oregon via California. Prior to this, virtually all cattle in the region were owned by the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

(HBC). While the events of 1837 had broken the HBC's monopoly, most of the cattle were still owned by a few individuals such as

Ewing Young Ewing Young (1799-February 9, 1841) was an American fur trapper and trader from Tennessee who traveled in what was then the northern Mexico frontier territories of Santa Fe de Nuevo México and Alta California before settling in the Oregon Country. ...

, John McLoughlin, and the

Methodist Mission The Methodist Mission was the Methodist Episcopal Church's 19th-century conversion efforts in the Pacific Northwest. Local Indigenous cultures were introduced to western culture and Christianity. Superintendent Jason Lee was the principal leader fo ...

. The independent settlers of the Willamette Valley were left in the same situation as before, so they met and came up with a plan to alleviate their need for cattle. The group decided to build a ship, sail it to California, trade the ship there for cattle, and then drive the cattle overland back to Oregon. In the early stages of planning,

, an experienced sailor, was asked to assist on the project and serve as captain once they got further along in the building.

Ship construction

Construction of the ship began in 1840 on Swan Island in present-day

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

. There the ship was built under the guidance of Felix Hathaway, a ship's carpenter. On May 19, 1841, the ship was launched into the water, but only after Hathaway left the project for lack of pay. Construction then moved upriver to Oak Island to complete the vessel. As the area lacked many industries at the time, supplies were difficult to acquire. This was made more difficult when Hudson's Bay Company doctor John McLoughlin denied the shipbuilders requests to purchase supplies from

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of th ...

. McLoughlin claimed he did not think the boat would be seaworthy and even if it was able to set sail that the owners might attempt

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

with the ship. Therefore, the builders covertly procured supplies elsewhere, mainly through buying from other settlers. Additionally, the

’s blacksmith Josiah Lamberson Parrish made metal spikes needed for the ship, and Thomas J. Hubbard also made spikes for the ship. As construction progressed, the builders needed more and more materials to complete the boat. Coincidentally, in the summer of 1841, Captain

Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842). During the American Civil War (1861–1865), he commanded ' during the ...

of the

arrived on the Columbia River as part of the

United States Exploring Expedition The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...

. While inland, he learned of the construction of the ship. Wilkes then impressed upon McLoughlin to change his position regarding the sale of supplies to the builders, including an offer to pay for any supplies the Americans were unable to buy. McLoughlin agreed, allowing the shipbuilders to buy the remaining items needed, namely canvas and rigging. Even with a seaworthy craft, the builders also needed to get official papers to allow them to freely sail the ocean. Once again Captain Wilkes was able to provide this necessity, but not before testing Captain Gale on his sailing and navigation skills. Gale passed the test, and Wilkes presented papers to the crew along with a compass,

kedge anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄ ...

, log line, two log glasses, and an American flag. As October approached, the builders halted construction for the winter. The ship was completed the next year, in August 1842, and Gale began training his crew as they sailed down the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...

. They named the completed vessel '' Star of Oregon''. The ship and crew set sail for California on August 29, 1842, leaving the Willamette River and sailing past

. As the ship progressed down the Columbia River, Captain Gale continued to train the rest of the crew in sailing. On September 12, the ''Star of Oregon'' left the Columbia and entered the open ocean. The day before, Gale met with Captain John H. Couch aboard Couch's brig ''Chenamus'' when Couch offered to lead the way out of the river's mouth.

Execution

Once on the ocean, Gale stayed at the helm for approximately 36 hours straight through the fog and rain. He elected to sail out from the coast and then head south due to the ship's lack of charts. While sailing south the ship nearly hit rocks as they cruised too close to shore in the fog. On September 17, 1842, the ''Star of Oregon'' and her crew reached San Francisco Bay. They stopped at the Old Presidio and presented their papers to the Mexican officials, who then allowed them to proceed to

Yerba Buena Yerba buena or hierba buena is the Spanish name for a number of aromatic plants, most of which belong to the mint family. ''Yerba buena'' translates as "good herb". The specific plant species regarded as ''yerba buena'' varies from region to regi ...

. Once in Yerba Buena (present-day San Francisco), a passenger named Mr. Pfeffenhauser disembarked to continue his journey to find his relative

John Sutter John Augustus Sutter (February 23, 1803 – June 18, 1880), born Johann August Sutter and known in Spanish as Don Juan Sutter, was a Swiss immigrant of Mexican and American citizenship, known for establishing Sutter's Fort in the area th ...

. The ship was sold to a Frenchman,

Joseph Yves Limantour Joseph Yves Limantour (1812 – 1885) was a French merchant who engaged in the California sea trade during the years preceding American occupation of that Mexican province in 1846. He was also known in California as José Limantour. Life Liman ...

, in a three-way transaction. Limantour was in need of a new vessel since in October 1841, the merchant's schooner ''Ayacucho'' had gone aground near

Point Reyes Point Reyes (, meaning "Point of the Kings") is a prominent cape and popular Northern California tourist destination on the Pacific coast. Located in Marin County, it is approximately west-northwest of San Francisco. The term is often appli ...

. Limantour did not have cattle, but General

Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo Don (honorific), Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (4 July 1807 – 18 January 1890) was a Californios, Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of ...

, Commander General of California, did. Vallejo owned a substantial rancho in Sonoma with plenty of cattle. Vallejo received merchandise from Limantour, the Oregonians received 350 head of cattle from Vallejo, and Limantour received the ship. The vessel was then renamed the ''Jóven Fanita'' in honor of General Vallejo's seven-year-old daughter, Epifania. The ''Star of Oregon'' crew did not immediately head back north, as Gale thought it best to wait out the winter and attempt to recruit more people for the overland journey. Kilbourne then dropped out and decided to stay. Meanwhile, Gale sent out several circulars to attempt to recruit more people to settle in Oregon. Once spring came and the crew gathered at Cash Creek there were now a total of 42 people ready to head north to Oregon Country. This party started north with 1,250 head of cattle, 600 horses and mules, and 3,000 sheep. The journey overland took 75 days, and in mid-May 1843, they arrived back in the

of the Oregon Country.

Legacy

The enterprise brought the first Spanish

Merino sheep The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the breed ...

to Oregon, and allowed for greater economic independence of the pioneers. Joseph Gale was elected to the

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...

of Oregon a few months later as one of three members of the

executive committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

at the

Champoeg Meetings The Champoeg Meetings were the first attempts at formal governance by European-American and French Canadian pioneers in the Oregon Country on the Pacific Northwest coast of North America. Between 1841 and 1843, a series of public councils was held ...

Participants

Shipbuilding

Those participating in the construction of the vessel included George Davis, Henry Wood, Joseph Gale, Felix Hathaway, John Canan, Pleasant Armstrong, Ralph Kilbourne, and Jacob Green.

Journey

*Known participants: Joseph Gale, John Canan, Pleasant Armstrong, Ralph Kilbourne, Jacob Green. *Passenger: Charles Pfeffenhauser

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Star Of Oregon (Event) Oregon Country American frontier Pre-statehood history of Oregon