[or-roots] How did they get here;

[Leslie Chapman]

Interesting question,unfortunately the short answer is; "you will have to
find specific proof to know for sure" and the answer wasn't as easy to find
as I thought it would be, so I will let another genealogy nut answer it for
you, you might want to go to this list and check out the thread, it is
extensive.
Les C

http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/OREGON-TRAIL/2002-03/1016175097

From: Jim Tompkins <tompkins at bctonline.com>
Subject: Re: Trains
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 22:52:08 -0800
References: <<20020315021846.52230.qmail at web13901.mail.yahoo.com>>
In-Reply-To: <<20020315021846.52230.qmail at web13901.mail.yahoo.com>>


>  When did the trains come to Oregon and people quit using covered wagons?
>Doneva

You are actually asking two, relatively unrelated questions. The
first trains to Oregon did not end the use of covered wagons. Not
everyone could afford passage for their families and belongings.

All of the answers you got assumed the first trains to Oregon were
transcontinentals from the east.

The first train in Oregon was the Oregon Pony, now on display at
Cascade Locks, on the  portage railroad around the Cascades of the
Columbia. The Pony replaced mule powered railroads in 1862. Portage
railroads were in Oregon since 1850.

The first railroad to connect Oregon with the rest of the nation
began in Portland in 1865. It was originally called the California
and Oregon but was reorganized in 1868 as the Oregon and California.
The intent was to connect with the central Pacific at Sacramento. It
reached Oregon City Dec 31, 1869. It gained a new owner, Ben
Holladay, in 1870.  It stalled at Roseburg in 1873 following a major
US depression. To preserve the investments of a group of German
investors, Henry Villard was sent to the US. He developed a fund
called the Blind Trust to purchase several lines, including the
Northern Pacific, O&CRR, Central Pacific and Southern Pacific. The
O&C linked with the Southern Pacific  near Ashland at Siskyou Summit
in 1887.

The first railroad to Oregon from the east, and more closely linked
to the demise of the Oregon Trail was the Oregon Short Line, a
subsidiary of the Union Pacific headed by EH Harriman, starting at
Granger, Wyoming, in 1883.

Utilizing previous routes including the Walla Walla Railroad, the
Oregon Railway & Navigation Company, a subsidiary of Villard's
Northern Pacific, started in Portland. The two railroads met at
Huntington, Oregon, in 1884.

Other railroads including the Oregon Central (1863 RR that merged
into the O&C), Oregon Trunk (1908-1911 Wishram to Bend and later
Klamath Falls and the SP at Weed, Calif) and the Spokane, Portland
and Seattle (SP&S, 1912 Columbia River north bank RR) linked Oregon
with the rest of the world.

Famous names in Oregon railroading: Ben Holladay, Henry Villard, EH
Harriman, James J Hill, Sam Hill
--
Jim Tompkins
Beavercreek, Oregon

Oregon History Instructor:
      Clackamas Community College Adult Education
History Research:
      Oregon History, Oregon Trail, Barlow Road
Author:
      Spirits of the Oregon Trail, Discovering Laurel Hill,
      The Road to Oregon, The City at Willamette Falls
Board member:
      Oregon Trail Foundation (End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center)
      Sons and Daughters of Oregon Pioneers, Beavercreek United Church of
Christ
      Northwest Chapter of the Oregon-California Trails Assn. (Vice
President)
http://www.rutnut.com