Daniel Lownsdale was one of the founders of Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

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Coming from Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

 sometime before 1845, Lownsdale established the first tannery

Tanning

Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...

 near the current location of Jeld-Wen Field just west of downtown. He served as a member of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon

Provisional Legislature of Oregon

The Provisional Legislature of Oregon was the single-chamber legislative body of the Provisional Government of Oregon. It served the Oregon Country of the Pacific Northwest of North America from 1843 until early 1849 at a time when no country had sovereignty over the region...

 in 1846. Lownsdale purchased the land that would become downtown Portland

Downtown Portland

Downtown Portland, the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States, is located on the west bank of the Willamette River. It is in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and is where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found....

 on September 22, 1848. He resurveyed Portland, keeping the small blocks (200 feet per side, 64 feet streets), and adding the contiguous park blocks.

He became involved in a land dispute involving the authority of the laws from the Provisional Government

Provisional Government of Oregon

The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected government created in the Oregon Country, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It existed from May 2, 1843 until March 3, 1849. Created at a time when no country had sovereignty over the region, this independent government...

 with Josiah Lamberson Parrish

Josiah Lamberson Parrish

Reverend Josiah Lamberson Parrish was an American missionary in Oregon Country and trustee of the Oregon Institute at its founding. A native of New York, he also participated in the Champoeg Meetings that led to the formation of the Provisional Government of Oregon in 1843...

. Lownsdale would defend the matter in court in a case that would make its way through the Oregon Supreme Court

Oregon Supreme Court

The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The OSC holds court at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon, near the capitol...

 and to the United States Supreme Court in Lownsdale v. Parrish, 62 U.S. 290 (1858).

Lownsdale is buried in the Salem Pioneer Cemetery

Salem Pioneer Cemetery

Salem Pioneer Cemetery is a cemetery in Salem, Oregon, United States.-Overview:...

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