Champoeg ( , historically Horner, John B. (1919). ''Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature''. The J.K. Gill Co.: Portland. p. 398.) is a former town in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. Now a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

, it was an important settlement in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a 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, the ...

in the early 1840s. Located halfway between Oregon City and Salem, it was the site of the first provisional government of the

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

. The town site is on the south bank of 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 ...

in northern Marion County, on

French Prairie French Prairie is located in Marion County, Oregon, United States, in the Willamette Valley between the Willamette River and the Pudding River, north of Salem. The prairie area roughly corresponds to the traditional land of the Kalapuya peopl ...

, approximately southeast of Newberg. The town is now part of Champoeg State Heritage Area, an Oregon state park. The Champoeg State Park Historic Archeological District is within the heritage area. The name "Champoeg" comes from the Kalapuyan word '' �ʰámpuik', which might be an abbreviation of '' �ʰa-čʰíma-púičuk', referring to the edible root '' úičuk', or yampa.

History

Champoeg is best known as the site of a series of meetings held in the town during the 1840s. On February 7, 1841, Willamette Valley settlers convened there for the first time. They selected Oregon missionary Jason Lee as their chairman and considered measures to deal with problem of

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

menacing their settlements. It was to be the first in a series of "Wolf Meetings" at the town site that would establish the basis of civil codes. By the middle 1840s, the question of the possession of the disputed Oregon Country between the United States and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

began to loom large. On May 2, 1843, a meeting was held at the town to determine whether a provisional government should be established. The measure passed by 52 to 50. A group of nine representatives was named to create a provisional government with Champoeg as its capital. A petition to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

was drafted and sent to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, with William Gilpin, who had helped draft the petition and came to the Willamette Valley with the expedition of

John C. Frémont Major general (United States), Major-General John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was a United States Army officer, explorer, and politician. He was a United States senator from California and was the first History of the Repub ...

. On his journey eastward to deliver the petition, Gilpin evangelized for the settlement of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

, helping to spread "Oregon fever". He presented the petition to Congress in 1845. The question of possession of the Oregon Country was settled the following year in the 1846

Oregon Treaty The Oregon Treaty was a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to ...

. When the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...

was organized in 1848, however, Champoeg was not chosen as the capital. Around 1852 the town had grown to include a ferry across the Willamette, a warehouse owned by Francis Pettygrove and Alanson Beers, a steamboat landing, a granary owned by the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

, and a stagecoach office.Chapman, J. S. (1993). ''French prairie ceramics: the Harriet D. Munnick archaeological collection, circa 1820–1860: a catalog and Northwest comparative guide''. Anthropology northwest, no. 8. Corvallis, Or: Dept. of Anthropology, Oregon State University. There were 10 north–south streets and six east–west streets laid out in the community. Champoeg was also the crossroads of the Champoeg-St. Paul Road, Champoeg-Salem Road, Champoeg-Oregon City Road, and the Champoeg-DeGuire's Ferry Road. Most of the town was located on the Donation Land Claims of Robert Newell and André Longtain. Champoeg Monument

The town continued to exist after Oregon statehood. However, on December 2, 1861, the adjacent

rose above its normal summer stage,

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ing the town with of water. The great flood destroyed most of the structures in the town, barring two saloons. Panicked residents found shelter at the Newell House, which was built upon a hill. Robert Newell went nearly bankrupt in caring for the flood victims. Champoeg was never rebuilt after the disaster. The town site is now preserved as Champoeg State Heritage Area. A 1901 monument records the names of the 52 settlers who voted to establish the provisional government at the 1843 meeting. Dams installed since the 1930s make another catastrophic flood unlikely.

Champoeg State Heritage Area

Amenities of the heritage area include a visitor center, an 1860s-style garden, the Newell House Museum – Robert Newell's restored 1852 house – and the Pioneer Mothers Memorial Cabin Museum. Also located in the park is the Historic Butteville Store, which was founded in 1863. Considered the oldest operating store in Oregon, it is the last remaining commercial building of the nearby community of Butteville. A series of weekend interpretive programs is available late June through Labor Day weekend, and the Champoeg Promise program provides an interactive living history program for schoolchildren. The site is open year-round and is available for camping (tent, yurt, cabin and RV), hiking, disc golf, bicycling, bird watching, picnicking, fishing and boating.

Archeological sites

The Champoeg State Heritage Area is the site of the Champoeg State Park Historic Archeological District, which was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1984. One of the important archeological finds at the site is the only mostly intact early homesite found so far on

. The evidence suggests that this was Robert Newell's first homesite.

References

External links

*
Friends of Historic Champoeg
from ghosttowns.com

video about an archaeological study by

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

(17½ minutes) * {{authority control Populated places established in 1841 Ghost towns in Oregon Parks in Marion County, Oregon State parks of Oregon Champoeg Meetings National Register of Historic Places in Marion County, Oregon Museums in Marion County, Oregon Open-air museums in Oregon 1841 establishments in Oregon Country Populated places on the Willamette River Former populated places in Marion County, Oregon Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon

History

Champoeg State Heritage Area

Archeological sites

See also

References

External links