This was
the final stop in the 2000 mile long trail--Oregon City.
Emigrant
James Miller:
"On our arrival in Oregon City, I found everything
quite different from what I expected. There were three small
churches, three stores, two blacksmiths shops, two flour
mills and one weekly newspaper, the Oregon Spectator. My
father purchased a house and lot and we moved into it soon
after we arrived, andcommenced the sale of our boots and
shoes. For fine boots, we got five dollars a pair."
Emigrant Overton Johnson: "We were happy, after a long
and tedious tour, to witness the home of civilization. To
see mills, storehouses, shops. To hear the noise of the
workman's hammer; to enjoy the warm welcome of countrymen
and friends."
From
Oregon City the emigrants fanned out in all directions to
stake their claims and begin their new lives. They had reached
the promised land.
The
provisional government allotted 640 acres of fertile Willamette
valley farmland to every male citizen. Theemigrants soon
learned that the legend of Oregon was true.
End
of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
Official web site of this visitor's center in Oregon City
