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Environment--Effects of the Environment (Mountains)
Lewis and Clark reached the continental divide at Lemhi pass. Their group encountered mountains so steep some of the horses gave out. Other slipped and were injured, and one rolled down the mountainside. At the top in mid-September they encountered a snowstorm. One of the men called these Bitterroot Mountains a “horrible mountainous desert.” -
Economics--Fur Industry
General William Henry Ashley popularized the “rendezvous system,” a method of fur-trading that replaced permanent trading posts, thereby saving money. With this system, traders gathered annually at an appointed place to trade pelts for goods. -
Science/Technology--Transportation (Steamships)
The Beaver, a paddleboat constructed in England for the Hudson’s Bay Company, was the first steamboat in the northwest. One of its many tasks was supplying Russian Alaska. It ran aground and sank in British Columbia after more than fifty years in service. -
Religion--First Religions (Christianity)
Marcus and Narcissa Whitman reached Fort Vancouver after a journey lasting 207 days and traversing more than three thousand miles. They were received by chief factor John Mcloughlin on September 12, 1836. -
Science/Technology--Transportation (Stagecoach)
The first stagecoach in the northwest was an ox-powered stage that began twice-weekly operation between Oregon City and the Tualatin plain in Oregon. -
Environment--Effects of the Environment (Hazards of the Oregon Trail)
The Oregon trail has been called the world’s longest graveyard. People lost their lives to swollen rivers, quicksand, rattlesnakes, disease, and accidents. -
Religion--First Religions (Catholicism)
Roman Catholic Priest Toussaint Mesplie begins St. Patrick's Church. The church is the first in the small village of Walla Walla. In this structure the first Mass is offered and Walla Walla County's first election is held. -
Religion--First Religions (Mormons)
A band of thirteen colonists founded the city of Franklin—Idaho’s first town. Before long Mormons constituted the largest single religious group in Idaho. -
Economics--Mining Industry
Congress passed a law giving prospectors priority to use and buy federal lands when valuable mineral deposits were found. Critics later charged that the law gave the mining industry many advantages at taxpayer expense while leaving the land scarred and polluted. -
Science/Technology--Transportation (Early Railroads)
The Walla Walla and Columbia River Railroad, a thirty-two-mile-long narrow-gauge line, was completed by Dr. Dorsey S. Baker. -
Art/Architecture--Native Americans (Longhouses)
The Suquamish lived in shed-roofed, cedar plank houses during the winter months. The major Suquamish winter village was at Old Man House on the shoreline of Agate Passage at d’suq’wub meaning “clear salt water.” -
Environment--Effects of the Environment (Dry Lands)
Land in southern Idaho, previously considered useless for agriculture, becomes usable for wheat and potato production, as a result of the introduction of irrigation. Orchards blossomed in numerous locations once considered too dry for grain or fruit. -
Government--Women's Suffrage (Idaho)
Idaho adopts womens suffrage, after a quiet and inexpensive campaign managed mostly by local women, including Abigail Duniway. Ironically, the only dissenting county was Custer County, where Abigail called home for several years. -
Art/Architecture--Native Americans (Totem Poles)
A 60-foot totem pole from Fort Tongass, Alaska, is unveiled in Seattle's Pioneer Square. The totem had been stolen from a Tlingit village several weeks before and was presented to the City of Seattle by the Chamber of Commerce "Committee of Fifteen" -- the group of Seattle vandals that had taken the totem. The Seattle totem belonged to the Raven Clan and had been carved in about the year 1790 to honor a woman named Chief-of-All-Women. -
Art/Architecture--Native Americans (Canoes)
Cheslahud was a renowned Duwamish chief and travel guide. Cheslahud was the leader of a Duwamish village on Lake Union. Cheslahud had a cabin and a potato patch on land given to him by pioneer David Denny. Cheslahud’s canoe was a full-sized Salish style canoe, with gently up-curving bow and tapering, angled stern. -
Government--Women's Suffrage (Washington)
Washington women won the right to vote for the third and final time. The previous two times were overturned by the court. -
Government--Women's Suffrage (Oregon)
The Oregon electorate narrowly approved women’s suffrage. -
Economics--Timber Industry
The Weyerhaeuser Timber Company constructed the world’s largest sawmill in Everett, Washington.
