Stephen Hall L. Meek (July 4, 1807 – January 8, 1889) was a

fur trapper Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily #Guard hair, guard hair on top and thick #Down hair, underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as ...

and guide in the

American west The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

, most notably a guide on a large

wagon train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. It ...

that used a trail known as the

Meek Cutoff Meek Cutoff was a horse trail road that branched off the Oregon Trail in northeastern Oregon and was used as an alternate emigrant route to the Willamette Valley in the mid-19th century. The road was named for frontiersman Stephen Meek, who wa ...

. A native of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, both he and his younger brother Joseph Meek would spend their lives as

trappers Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management. History Neolithic ...

west of 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 ...

Early years

Stephen Meek was born in

Washington County, Virginia Washington County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,935. Its county seat is Abingdon. Washington County is part of the Kingsport–Bristol–Bristol, TN-VA Metropolitan Statis ...

on July 4, 1807.Corning, Howard M. (1989) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 164. In his autobiography, he claims to be a relative of President

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

, and the claim is corroborated by his brother. Eleven years in the Rocky Mountains and a life on the frontier, Chapter 35 He was educated in the local public schools in Virginia before beginning work for William Sublette in 1827. He began working as a laborer for Sublette's

Rocky Mountain Fur Company The enterprise that eventually came to be known as the Rocky Mountain Fur Company was established in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1822 by William Henry Ashley and Andrew Henry. Among the original employees, known as "Ashley's Hundred," were Jedediah S ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. Soon, however, he became a trapper for a variety of companies.

American West

Meek joined an expedition with

Benjamin Bonneville Benjamin Louis Eulalie de Bonneville (April 14, 1796 – June 12, 1878) was an American officer in the United States Army, fur trade, fur trapper, and explorer in the American West. He is noted for his expeditions to the Oregon Country and the Gre ...

in 1831 as a trapper while Bonneville was exploring the

Great Salt Lake The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. It lies in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah and has a substantial impact upon the local climate, particula ...

. From 1833 to 1834, he traveled to California with

Joseph R. Walker Joseph R. Walker (December 13, 1798 – October 27, 1876) was a mountain man and experienced Reconnaissance, scout. He established the segment of the California Trail, the primary route for the emigrants to the gold fields during the Californ ...

.Palmer, Joel
''Palmer's Journal of Travels Over the Rocky Mountains, 1845–1846''
(1847),

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

catalog F592 .T54 vol. 30. p. 40. Meek moved to the

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, co ...

in 1835 and began working at 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 div ...

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 the ...

for

John McLoughlin John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, (October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857) was a French-Canadian, later American, Chief Factor and Superintendent of the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver fro ...

. This included trips to California with Thomas McKay. In 1841, Meek bought the first lot of the Oregon City, Oregon, townsite from

, and helped to survey the land. He joined the American mountaineers that year for one year. The following year, he served as a guide for a

of pioneers to 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 east, ...

from Fort Laramie, and in 1845 led the ill-fated group that followed him from the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...

on the

. That party split at

Fort Hall Fort Hall was a fort in the western United States that was built in 1834 as a fur trading post by Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth. It was located on the Snake River in the eastern Oregon Country, now part of present-day Bannock County in southeastern Ida ...

from the main party that included Joel Palmer and Sam Barlow. In May 1845, he married Elizabeth Schoonover at

. They had one son, George. The Meeks would reside at

Linn City, Oregon Linn City was a community in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, that existed from 1843-1861 and was destroyed in the Great Flood of 1862. The former site of Linn City was incorporated into the city of West Linn. History Robert Moore found ...

, until 1848.

Later years

Meek would later spend time in the mines of the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

before settling in Siskiyou County, California. In 1850, he briefly returned to the Oregon Territory, before returning to California, continuing to mine until 1865. In 1865, Elizabeth died, and he returned to working as a guide and trapper. Stephen Meek died in

Etna, California Etna is a city in the Scott Valley area of Siskiyou County, California, United States. Its population is 678 as of the 2020 census, down from 737 from the 2010 census. Name Originally named Rough and Ready, it was changed by statute in 1874 to E ...

, on January 8, 1889, at the age of 81.

References

External links

*
Deschutes & Ochoco National Forests - Heritage - History

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meek, Stephen 1805 births 1886 deaths American fur traders Mountain men Oregon Trail Members of the Provisional Government of Oregon Oregon pioneers People from Siskiyou County, California

Early years

American West

Later years

See also

References

External links