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Oregon History: Chronology - 1543 to 1850
| 1543 | Bartolome Ferrelo possibly reaches southwest coast |
| 1565 | Manila Galleon trade opens across North Pacific |
| 1579 | Sir Francis Drake allegedly visits Oregon |
| 1603 | Sebastian Vizcaino possibly sights Cape Sebastian |
| 1707 | San Francisco Xavier probably wrecks at Nehalem |
| 1765 | First use of word "Ouragon" in Maj. Robert Rogers' petition to explore American West |
| 1774 | Capt. Juan Perez sails to Northwest Coast for Spain |
| 1775 | Capt. Bruno Hezeta sees mouth of Columbia and names it Rio San Roque |
| 1778 | Capt. James Cook makes landfall at Cape Foulweather and discovers fur wealth of Northwest Coast |
| 1779 | Jonathan Carver's book refers to the "River Oregon" |
| 1788 | Capt. Robert Gray trades with Indians in Tillamook Bay |
| Marius Lopius, African with Gray, probably murdered at Tillamook | |
| 1792 | Capt. Robert Gray enters and names the Columbia River |
| Capt. George Vancouver expedition charts Columbia estuary | |
| 1803 | Louisiana Purchase extends United States to Rocky Mountains |
| 1804 | President Thomas Jefferson dispatches Lewis & Clark Expedition |
| 1805 | Lewis & Clark Expedition explores lower Snake and Columbia Rivers and establishes Fort Clatsop |
| 1806 | Lewis & Clark Expedition returns to the United States |
| 1811 | Pacific Fur Company establishes Fort Astoria |
| David Thompson descends Columbia River from Canada | |
| 1812 | Overland Astorians discover South Pass in Wyoming, later route of Oregon Trail |
| 1813 | North West Company purchases Fort Astoria and name it Fort George |
| 1814 | Treaty of Ghent resolves the War of 1812 |
| First English woman, Jane Barnes, visits Fort George | |
| First domestic livestock imported by sea from California | |
| 1817 | William Cullen Bryant refers to "Oregon" in poem Thanatopsis |
| 1818 | North West Company establishes Fort Nez Perces |
| James Biddle and John Prevost assert U.S. interests in Oregon | |
| U.S. and Great Britain agree to "joint occupancy" of Oregon | |
| 1819 | Adams-Onis Treaty cedes Spain's discovery rights north of 42 degrees to the U. S. |
| 1821 | Hudson's Bay Company subsumes North West Company |
| 1824 | U.S. and Russia agree to 50 degrees as southern boundary of Russian interests |
| Dr. John McLoughlin begins long tenure as Chief Factor for Hudson's Bay Company | |
| 1825 | Workmen build Fort Vancouver on Columbia River |
| David Douglas begins botanical collecting | |
| 1827 | U.S. and Great Britain agree to indefinite "joint occupancy" |
| First sawmill begins cutting lumber near Fort Vancouver | |
| 1828 | Jedediah Smith's party travels overland from California but Indians murder fifteen men on the Umpqua River |
| First grist mill starts making flour at Fort Vancouver | |
| 1829 | Dr. John McLoughlin establishes claim at Willamette Falls, later Oregon City |
| 1830 | Fever pandemic begins calamitous death toll of Indians |
| 1832 | Newspapers report four Indians from Pacific Northwest in St. Louis seeking missionaries |
| Nathaniel Wyeth enters Oregon fur trade | |
| Capt. B. L. E. Bonneville arrives overland to trap and trade for furs on Columbia Plateau | |
| Hudson's Bay Company establishes Fort Umpqua at Elkton | |
| 1833 | First school opens at Fort Vancouver |
| First lumber exports by Hudson's Bay Company to China | |
| 1834 | Jason Lee's party establishes Methodist Mission near Wheatland |
| John K. Townsend and Thomas Nuttall collect natural history specimens | |
| 1836 | First steamship Beaver begins service for Hudson's Bay Company on the Columbia River |
| Lt. William Slacum mounts reconnaissance of western Oregon | |
| Whitman-Spalding mission party, including Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spalding, arrives overland via Oregon Trail | |
| Washington Irving publishes Astoria | |
| 1838 | Willamette Cattle Company drives livestock overland from California |
| Priests Blanchet and Demers arrive overland from Canada | |
| 1839 | Catholics establish mission at St. Paul |
| First book, a Nez Perce language primer, printed at Lapwai, Idaho | |
| 1841 | Lt. Charles Wilkes mounts reconnaissance with U.S. Exploring Expedition |
| Ewing Young's death leads to public meetings | |
| First Catholic boys' school founded at St. Paul | |
| First ship, Star of Oregon, built by settlers | |
| 1842 | Methodist missionaries found the Oregon Institute in Salem, an antecedent to Willamette University |
| First brick building, a house, erected by George Gay in Polk County | |
| 1843 | First large migration of over 900 emigrants arrives via Oregon Trail |
| Lt. John C. Fremont mounts reconnaissance of Oregon Trail | |
| "Wolf Meetings" lead to Provisional Government | |
| Oregonians submit petition to Senate seeking U.S. jurisdiction | |
| 1844 | First plat surveyed for a town at Oregon City |
| First Catholic girls' school founded at St. Paul | |
| 1845 | Meek Cut-off opens as alleged short-cut to Oregon Trail |
| Estimated 3,000 overland emigrants arrive | |
| Oregonians petition Congress for federal services | |
| First Provisional governor, George Abernethy, elected | |
| Francis Pettygrove and A. L. Lovejoy name Portland and commence plat of city | |
| 1846 | Lt. Neil Howison mounts reconnaissance of western Oregon |
| Barlow Road opens as toll route | |
| Applegate Trail opens as alternative to Oregon Trail | |
| Oregon Treaty affirms U.S. sovereignty to Pacific Northwest | |
| First newspaper, Oregon Spectator, founded in Oregon City | |
| 1847 | Cayuse Indians attack Whitman Mission |
| Oregon Volunteers engage in Cayuse Indian War | |
| First postmaster, John Shively, named at Astoria | |
| First English book, a "Blue Back Speller," printed in Oregon City | |
| 1848 | Joseph Meek carries petition east seeking federal "patronage" |
| Organic Act creates Oregon Territory | |
| James Marshall discovers gold in California | |
| First U.S. Customs Service office opens in Astoria | |
| 1849 | First territorial governor, Joseph Lane, assumes duties |
| First Mounted Riflemen of U.S. Army arrive overland | |
| First "Beaver" gold coins minted in Oregon City | |
| 1850 | Congress passes Oregon Donation Land Act |
| First capital punishment--five Cayuse Indians hanged in Oregon City | |
| Investors start printing Oregonian in Portland | |
| Census enumerates 11,873 Oregonians |