Jesse Applegate notes and communications on Oregon history
Scope and Contents
Collection contains notes and correspondence regarding Oregon.
Dates
- circa 1811-1888
Creator
- Applegate, Jesse A., 1811-1888 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish collection materials must be submitted to Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.
Biographical / Historical
Jesse Applegate was born in Kentucky and attended the Rock Creek Seminary in Illinois. He later worked as a school teacher and a clerk before serving as deputy surveyor to the Missouri surveyor general. In 1832 he married Cynthia Ann Parker who became mother to their 13 children. Applegate's brothers, Charles and Lindsay, and their families joined Jesse and his family on the Oregon Trail in what was known as the "Great Migration" of 1843. Jesse led a company of immigrants across the plains and mountains to The Dalles on the Columbia River in Oregon. The next year he started a farm in what is now western Polk County. He also built a mill and worked as a surveyor, including the 1844 survey of the Oregon City townsite.
Applegate played a key part in opening the South Road to Oregon that is also known as the Applegate Trail (Scott-Applegate Trail). The route started at Fort Hall in present day Idaho and followed the Humboldt River before crossing the Klamath Basin. Advocates saw it as a way to encourage settlement in southern Oregon and the upper Willamette Valley. The route had fewer obstacles for wagons than the northern route to the Willamette Valley but offered its own set of problems.
Oregon politics attracted Applegate's attention beginning in 1845 with his service in the provisional government where he helped in the complete revision of the government that increased its influence in the Oregon Country. He later helped shape the development of the Oregon Territory as part of the United States and worked to elect Abraham Lincoln president.
Applegate settled on a land claim in the Umpqua Valley in 1849 in a place he called Yoncalla after the local Indian tribe. There he farmed and raised cattle. A student and writer, Applegate maintained a large library in his house. He continued his influence over public issues and gained the title "Sage of Yoncalla" from his friends.
Source: Oregon Blue Book
http://bluebook.state.or.us/notable/notapplegate.htm
Extent
0.1 linear feet (1 container) : 1 folder
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Jesse Applegate was an Oregon pioneer, politician, and helped to establish the Applegate Trail. Collection contains notes and correspondence regarding Oregon.
Processing Information
Collection processed by staff.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
- Applegate Trail Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Correspondence Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Oregon National Historic Trail Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Pioneers Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Pioneers -- Oregon Territory -- Correspondence Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Guide to the Jesse Applegate notes and communications on Oregon history
- Status
- Complete Description
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by University of Oregon Libraries, Archivists' Toolkit Project Team and Jenn Newby
- Date
- 2012
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English
Repository Details
Part of the University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Repository