James B. Stephens
Encyclopedia
James B. Stephens was a pioneer
of the U.S. state
of Oregon
. A cooper
by trade, he operated one of the first ferries across the Willamette River
at what was East Portland, Oregon
. His father was the first burial at Portland's Lone Fir Cemetery
. A native of Virginia
, he was the founder of East Portland and Stephens Street in Portland, Oregon
is named in his honor.
(later West Virginia) to Emmor Stephens. When he was eight, his family moved to a farm in the Indiana Territory
. He learned the cooper trade
, and practiced for several years in Indiana and in Cincinnati, Ohio
. James married Elizabeth Walker in 1830 while living in Kentucky
. They would have seven children, of whom they would outlive all but one. He established a farm and a grocery store before moving to the Oregon Country
in 1844, where he settled near what is now Portland, Oregon
.
and got his barrel-making stock from William Overton
, one of the founders of Portland.
Stephens refused Overton's offer to sell him his Portland land claim for 300 new salmon barrels because he planned to bid for another claim, which he secured in 1845 and on which East Portland
was founded. East Portland was also known as Stephens' Addition. In 1846 he made 1000 flour barrels and 400 salmon barrels for the Hudson's Bay Company
, and in 1847 he made 400 beef barrels for shipment to the Sandwich Islands
.
In East Portland he operated the first ferry, located near the present location of the Morrison Bridge
. It began operations in 1846, and was the first ferry in what became Multnomah County
(it was part of Twality District
at that time). During the California Gold Rush
, Stephens sold his land and headed south to the gold fields.
He returned in 1850 and purchased land in what is now Southeast Portland from John McLoughlin
. Stephens laid out the town from the Willamette River to East First Street, and from Glisan Street to Hawthorne Street. Dividing his land into town lots, which he offered to settlers on their own terms, Stephens was said to materially aiding the development of the east side of the river. The Stark Street Ferry across the Willamette River began operating in 1853. In 1855, he helped organize the Pacific Telegraph Company
.
Stephens expanded East Portland in 1861 and opened the East Portland Savings and Loan Bank. In 1862, he donated the land for the construction of the Oregon Hospital for the Insane
in East Portland. The bank, which was at First and Oak streets closed in 1873. Stephens operated a ferry
across the Willamette River
at Oregon City
for 17 years.
James’ father Emmor died in 1846 and was buried on the family land in East Portland. When Stephens sold the land to Colburn Barrell in 1854, he required Barrell to maintain the grave site. On April 8, 1854, Barrell’s ship Gazelle exploded and killed his partner and several others, all buried next to Emmor Stephens. Barrell then created Mt. Crawford Cemetery on 10 acres (40,468.6 m²), which became Lone Fir Cemetery
after 1866 when 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) more had been added to the grounds of the cemetery. Stephens and his wife Elizabeth are buried at the cemetery.
SS James B. Stephens
was named for him. The National Register of Historic Places
-listed James B. Stephens House
is one of the oldest houses in Portland. Stephens Street in Portland is named for him.
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of 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...
. A cooper
Cooper (profession)
Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden staved vessels of a conical form, of greater length than breadth, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads...
by trade, he operated one of the first ferries across 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...
at what was East Portland, Oregon
East Portland, Oregon
East Portland was a city in the U.S. state of Oregon that was consolidated into Portland in 1891. It was founded on a land claim by James B. Stephens in 1846, who bought a land claim from John McLoughlin of the Hudson's Bay Company...
. His father was the first burial at Portland's Lone Fir Cemetery
Lone Fir Cemetery
Lone Fir Cemetery in the southeast section of Portland, Oregon, United States is a cemetery owned and maintained by Metro, a regional government entity. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the first burial was in 1846 with the cemetery established in 1855...
. A native of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, he was the founder of East Portland and Stephens Street in 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...
is named in his honor.
Early life
James Stephens was born on November 9, 1806, in Brooke County, VirginiaBrooke County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 25,447 people, 10,396 households, and 7,152 families residing in the county. The population density was 286 people per square mile . There were 11,150 housing units at an average density of 126 per square mile...
(later West Virginia) to Emmor Stephens. When he was eight, his family moved to a farm in the Indiana Territory
Indiana Territory
The Territory of Indiana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1800, until November 7, 1816, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Indiana....
. He learned the cooper trade
Cooper (profession)
Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden staved vessels of a conical form, of greater length than breadth, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads...
, and practiced for several years in Indiana and in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. James married Elizabeth Walker in 1830 while living in 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...
. They would have seven children, of whom they would outlive all but one. He established a farm and a grocery store before moving to 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...
in 1844, where he settled near what is now 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...
.
Oregon
He started a cooper shop in Oregon CityOregon City, Oregon
Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...
and got his barrel-making stock from William Overton
William Overton (Portland founder)
William Overton was a pioneer of the Oregon Country in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. In the mid-1840s he purchased the land claim, along with Asa Lovejoy, for the site which would become Portland, Oregon. Overton sold his share shortly thereafter to Francis Pettygrove.According to...
, one of the founders of Portland.
Stephens refused Overton's offer to sell him his Portland land claim for 300 new salmon barrels because he planned to bid for another claim, which he secured in 1845 and on which East Portland
East Portland, Oregon
East Portland was a city in the U.S. state of Oregon that was consolidated into Portland in 1891. It was founded on a land claim by James B. Stephens in 1846, who bought a land claim from John McLoughlin of the Hudson's Bay Company...
was founded. East Portland was also known as Stephens' Addition. In 1846 he made 1000 flour barrels and 400 salmon barrels for 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...
, and in 1847 he made 400 beef barrels for shipment to the Sandwich Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
.
In East Portland he operated the first ferry, located near the present location of the Morrison Bridge
Morrison Bridge
The Morrison Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon.The original Morrison Bridge was a wooden truss swing span bridge completed on April 12, 1887 as the first Willamette River bridge in Portland and the longest bridge west of the Mississippi River...
. It began operations in 1846, and was the first ferry in what became Multnomah County
Multnomah County, Oregon
Multnomah County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Though smallest in area, it is the most populous as its county seat, Portland, is the state's largest city...
(it was part of Twality District
Washington County, Oregon
- Major highways :* Interstate 5* Interstate 205* U.S. Route 26* Oregon Route 6* Oregon Route 8* Oregon Route 10* Oregon Route 47* Oregon Route 99W* Oregon Route 210* Oregon Route 217* Oregon Route 219-Demographics:...
at that time). During the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
, Stephens sold his land and headed south to the gold fields.
He returned in 1850 and purchased land in what is now Southeast Portland from John McLoughlin
John McLoughlin
Dr. John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, was the Chief Factor of the Columbia Fur District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver. He was later known as the "Father of Oregon" for his role in assisting the American cause in the Oregon Country in the Pacific Northwest...
. Stephens laid out the town from the Willamette River to East First Street, and from Glisan Street to Hawthorne Street. Dividing his land into town lots, which he offered to settlers on their own terms, Stephens was said to materially aiding the development of the east side of the river. The Stark Street Ferry across the Willamette River began operating in 1853. In 1855, he helped organize the Pacific Telegraph Company
Pacific Telegraph Company
In 1860, the Pacific Telegraph Act of 1860 called for the facilitation of communication between the east and west coasts of the United States of America. Hiram Sibley of the Western Union Telegraph Company won the contract...
.
Stephens expanded East Portland in 1861 and opened the East Portland Savings and Loan Bank. In 1862, he donated the land for the construction of the Oregon Hospital for the Insane
James C. Hawthorne
Dr. James C. Hawthorne was an American physician and politician in the states of California and Oregon. A native of Pennsylvania, he was the founder of the Oregon Hospital for the Insane in East Portland, Oregon...
in East Portland. The bank, which was at First and Oak streets closed in 1873. Stephens operated a ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
across 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...
at Oregon City
Oregon City, Oregon
Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...
for 17 years.
Cemetery
Lone Fir Cemetery
Lone Fir Cemetery in the southeast section of Portland, Oregon, United States is a cemetery owned and maintained by Metro, a regional government entity. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the first burial was in 1846 with the cemetery established in 1855...
after 1866 when 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) more had been added to the grounds of the cemetery. Stephens and his wife Elizabeth are buried at the cemetery.
Legacy
James B. Stephens died on March 22, 1889, at the age of 82. The liberty shipLiberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
SS James B. Stephens
SS James B. Stephens
The SS James B. Stephens was a 7,176 ton American liberty ship in World War II. She was built by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation of Portland, Oregon in 1942 with the hull number 580, and operated by United States Lines, New York and homeported in Portland. For her role of sailing in dangerous...
was named for him. The National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
-listed James B. Stephens House
James B. Stephens House
The James B. Stephens House is a house located in southeast Portland, Oregon, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.-See also:* James B. Stephens* National Register of Historic Places listings in Southeast Portland, Oregon...
is one of the oldest houses in Portland. Stephens Street in Portland is named for him.
External links
- East Portland 1874 from Oregon Historical SocietyOregon Historical SocietyThe Oregon Historical Society is an organization that encourages and promotes the study and understanding of the history of the Oregon Country, within the broader context of U.S. history. Incorporated in 1898, the Society collects, preserves, and makes available materials of historical character...