June 26, 2003
Beginning The History Lesson In Earnest
Picked up a trio of books on Portland history this week. First, found at Powell's on SE Hawthorne, there's Portland: An Informal History and Guide by Terence O'Donnell and Thomas Vaughan for the Oregon Historical Society, published in 1984.
The first seventy pages or so comprise a "portrait" of the city's history. Memorable so far is the mention of the little-known third party involved in the city's beginnings, that being one William Overton.
While many people by now are familiar with the story of the coin toss between Asa Lovejoy and Francis Pettygrove which resulted in the city being named Portland rather than Boston, it was in fact originally Lovejoy and Overton who each owned half of what would become the new town. But Overton bartered his half of the claim to Pettygrove, and so himself become something of a lost figure in the city's history.
I was also amused at the mention of the four-day celebration of the 4th of July in 1895, which included on the evening of the 3rd "a parade of 1,200 cyclists, with prizes given to those with the most strikingly decorated wheels." Apparently, Critical Mass has been around a little longer than we all thought.
Also picked up, this time from Great Northwest Bookstore: Early Portland: Stump-Town Triumphant by Eugene E. Snyder, published in 1970, and covering "rival townsites on the Willamette" from 1831 to 1854; and the 1976 Voices of Portland, edited by Christine Ermenc as part of something called the Neighborhood History Project.
Comments (5)
Dave Lister on 26 Jun 2003
I had the opportunity to learn more about a very interesting aspect of old Portland's history, the infamous "Shanghai Underground" below the streets of the old North End. Cascade Historical Society puts on an excellent tour which is worth taking. According to them, as many as three thousand unsuspecting folks a year were drugged, kidnapped and impressed into involuntary service at sea. Talk about waking up with a hangover!
The One True b!X on 26 Jun 2003
It's actually something of an annual tradition for one or more of the local television news teams to do a story on the Shanghai Tunnels, although I haven't paid enough attention to them to notice if they just repackage the same ones every year.
And this particular aspect of Portland's history does get mentioned a couple of times in the O'Donnell and Vaughan book.
Rob Salzman on 26 Jun 2003
Here's a story passed down in my family. When the two founders were clearing the lots of brush, my ggg grandfather was offered one third of the land in return for his help clearing the land.
He decided it was too much work, and wandered down south of Oregon City, to work in a Sawmill.
I come from a long line of slackers & losers.
The One True b!X on 26 Jun 2003
If it's any consolation, and although this is technically off-topic, let me provide you with my all-time favorite dictionary definition of the word "slack" taken from the OED:
"In critical path analysis, the amount of time by which a particular event may be delayed without delaying the achievement of the overall objective."
Alexander Craghead on 27 Jun 2003
Also check out the E Kimbark McCall book sets. Shaping of a City, Growth of a City, and Merchants Money and Power. All provide some excellent insights, and Growth comes up as far as "No Sin" Lee's era.