French Prairie
Encyclopedia
French Prairie is a prairie
located in Marion County
, Oregon
, United States
, in the Willamette Valley
between the Willamette River
and the Pudding River
, north of Salem
. It was named for some of the earliest settlers of that part of the Oregon Country
, French Canadian
/Métis
people who were mostly former employees of the Hudson's Bay Company
.
established in 1814.
In the 1830s the French Canadian settlers, who were Roman Catholic, petitioned to the Bishop of Juliopolis at the Red River Colony
(present-day Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
) to have a priest sent to them. Two of these petitions were sent in 1836 and 1837. Bishop François Norbert Blanchet finally arrived in the French Prairie area in 1838. These first French Canadian settlers built hewn log homes
in the French style and started wheat farms. The homes were built with clay and stick chimneys, ash bark roofs, and animal skin windows that were similar to the homes built on the eastern Canadian
frontier. By 1843, approximately 100 French Canadian/Métis families lived on the prairie.
The St. Paul Roman Catholic Church, in St. Paul, was built in 1846 by the settlers of French Prairie and is the oldest brick building still standing in the Pacific Northwest
.
.
metropolitan area on the south, and the Willamette River on both the north and west as the Willamette makes a 90 degree turn to the south near Newberg
. Settlements on French Prairie originally founded by French Canadians include Butteville
, Champoeg
, Gervais
, Saint Louis, and St. Paul
.
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
located in Marion County
Marion County, Oregon
Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was originally named the Champooick District, after Champoeg, a meeting place on the Willamette River. On September 3, 1849, the territorial legislature renamed it in honor of Francis Marion, a Continental Army general of the...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in the Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
between the Willamette River
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...
and the Pudding River
Pudding River
The Pudding River is a tributary of the Molalla River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Its drainage basin covers . Among its tributaries is the Little Pudding River...
, north of Salem
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
. It was named for some of the earliest settlers of that part of the Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
, French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
/Métis
Métis
A Métis is a person born to parents who belong to different groups defined by visible physical differences, regarded as racial, or the descendant of such persons. The term is of French origin, and also is a cognate of mestizo in Spanish, mestiço in Portuguese, and mestee in English...
people who were mostly former employees of the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
.
European American settlement
The European presence in the French Prairie area began with the Willamette Trading PostWillamette Trading Post
The Willamette Trading Post or Willamette Fur Post was a fur trade facility owned by the North West Company established near the Willamette River in what would become the French Prairie in Oregon Country...
established in 1814.
In the 1830s the French Canadian settlers, who were Roman Catholic, petitioned to the Bishop of Juliopolis at the Red River Colony
Red River Colony
The Red River Colony was a colonization project set up by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk in 1811 on of land granted to him by the Hudson's Bay Company under what is referred to as the Selkirk Concession. The colony along the Red River of the North was never very successful...
(present-day Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) to have a priest sent to them. Two of these petitions were sent in 1836 and 1837. Bishop François Norbert Blanchet finally arrived in the French Prairie area in 1838. These first French Canadian settlers built hewn log homes
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
in the French style and started wheat farms. The homes were built with clay and stick chimneys, ash bark roofs, and animal skin windows that were similar to the homes built on the eastern Canadian
Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada is generally considered to be the region of Canada east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces:* New Brunswick* Newfoundland and Labrador* Nova Scotia* Ontario* Prince Edward Island* Quebec...
frontier. By 1843, approximately 100 French Canadian/Métis families lived on the prairie.
The St. Paul Roman Catholic Church, in St. Paul, was built in 1846 by the settlers of French Prairie and is the oldest brick building still standing in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
.
Later settlement
For a short time in the 1880s the Oregonian Railway Company had a station named French Prairie about two miles southeast of the city of St. PaulSt. Paul, Oregon
St. Paul is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. It is named after the Saint Paul Mission founded by Archbishop François Norbert Blanchet, who arrived in the Oregon Territory in 1838 to minister to the Catholic inhabitants of French Prairie. The population was 354 at the 2000 census...
.
French Prairie today
The French Prairie area is still an important agricultural area of the Willamette Valley, and there is concern about urban development encroaching on arable land.Geography
Generally, the French Prairie is bounded by the Pudding River on the east, the Salem-KeizerKeizer, Oregon
Keizer is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States, along the 45th parallel. It was named for Thomas Dove and John Brooks Keizer, two pioneers who arrived in the Wagon Train of 1843, and later filed donation land claims. The population was 36,278 at the 2010 census...
metropolitan area on the south, and the Willamette River on both the north and west as the Willamette makes a 90 degree turn to the south near Newberg
Newberg, Oregon
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 18,064 people, 6,099 households, and 4,348 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,599.4 people per square mile . There were 6,435 housing units at an average density of 1,282.2 per square mile...
. Settlements on French Prairie originally founded by French Canadians include Butteville
Butteville, Oregon
Butteville is an unincorporated community in Marion County, Oregon, United States. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Butteville as a census-designated place . The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with...
, Champoeg
Champoeg, Oregon
Champoeg is a former town in the U.S. state of Oregon. Now a ghost town, it was an important settlement in the Willamette Valley in the early 1840s. It is positioned halfway between Oregon City and Salem and the site of the first provisional government of the Oregon Country...
, Gervais
Gervais, Oregon
Gervais is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,009 at the 2000 census. The 2007 estimate is 2,250 residents. It is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, Saint Louis, and St. Paul
St. Paul, Oregon
St. Paul is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. It is named after the Saint Paul Mission founded by Archbishop François Norbert Blanchet, who arrived in the Oregon Territory in 1838 to minister to the Catholic inhabitants of French Prairie. The population was 354 at the 2000 census...
.
Notable French Prairie residents
- Pierre BellequePierre BellequePierre Belleque was a French Canadian fur trader in the British claimed Columbia District, which was also known as the Oregon Country and also claimed by the United States. He settled on the French Prairie in what is now the state of Oregon where in 1843 he participated in the Champoeg Meetings...
- Marie Aioe DorionMarie Aioe Dorion"Madame" Marie Aioe Dorion Venier Toupin was the only female member of the Astor Expedition, also known as the Wilson Price Hunt Expedition. Marie Dorion was a member of the Iowa tribe of Native Americans. She was married to Métis expedition member Pierre Dorion...
- Joseph GervaisJoseph GervaisJoseph Gervais was a pioneer settler and trapper in the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company . He is the namesake for the town of Gervais, Oregon....
- Michel LaframboiseMichel LaframboiseMichel Laframboise was a French Canadian fur trader in the Oregon Country that settled on the French Prairie in the modern U.S. state of Oregon. A native of Quebec, he worked for the Pacific Fur Company, the North West Company, and the Hudson’s Bay Company before he later became a farmer and...
- Étienne LucierÉtienne LucierÉtienne Lucier was a fur trader in what is now the Pacific Northwest. At the time it was called the Oregon Country and claimed by the United States and called the Columbia District as claimed by Great Britain. He was one of two French Canadians to vote for the creation of a government for that...
- François X. MatthieuFrançois X. MatthieuFrançois X. Matthieu was a French Canadian settler of the Oregon Country who was one of the people involved in forming the provisional government of what would become the U.S. state of Oregon...
External links
- List of Settlers West of Rockies, 1842 by Elijah White, Indian Agent
- French Canadians in the 1842 Oregon census (has detailed biographies of some of the settlers)
- Historic photos from the French Prairie area from Salem Public Library
- Friends of French Prairie land-use planning organization