[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 12, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S3622]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SMITH (for himself and Mr. Wyden):
  S. 601. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire 
the McLoughlin House National Historic Site in Oregon City, Oregon, for 
inclusion in the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I rise today as an original co-sponsor of 
the McLoughlin House Preservation Act.
  Dr. John McLoughlin, a powerful 6'4" man, is known, officially and 
fondly, as the ``Father of Oregon.'' His compassion played a critical 
role in the settling of the Northwest by Oregon Trail pioneers. Dr. 
McLoughlin's generosity to these early pioneers who arrived in the 
Oregon Territory after their incredible five month journey sick, hungry 
and without provisions was often the difference between survival and 
failure during their first winter.
  This bill is a testimony to the hard work that one community can 
achieve. Preservation of the McLoughlin House and the nearby Barclay 
House, located in Oregon City, Oregon, is important to the cultural 
identity of Oregon. This bill would make them part of the Fort 
Vancouver National Park Service administrative site, thereby 
highlighting the interwoven connection between Fort Vancouver, the fur 
trade and the beginnings of the Oregon Territory.
  Dr. McLoughlin first came to the Northwest in 1824, arriving at Fort 
George, now called Astoria, Oregon, to establish a supply center for 
the Hudson's Bay Company. Within a year, he moved to a more favorable 
location on the northern side of the Columbia, in what is now 
Washington State, and built a new trading post and named it Fort 
Vancouver. As the Post Administrator, the good hearted doctor 
maintained a very good relationship with neighboring Indians and used 
his medical skills to tend to the terrible fevers that broke out among 
them.
  The Fort belonged to the Hudson's Bay Company that was a rival of 
American trappers, and although company policy discouraged American 
settlers, Dr. McLoughlin was not one to refuse a helping hand to any 
trapper or settler in distress. When frustrated with the Hudson's Bay 
Company policy opposing American settlers, Dr. McLoughlin resigned and 
moved to Oregon City on the Willamette Falls. By 1848, Oregon had grown 
so much that it was officially designated a territory, and by 1859, it 
became the nation's thirty-third state. McLoughlin remained a vibrant 
public figure and became the Mayor of Oregon City in 1851. Many of the 
debates concerning Oregon's statehood are said to have taken place in 
McLoughlin's living room, and the Oregon State Legislature aptly named 
him the ``Father or Oregon.''
  The McLoughlin House was designated as the National Historic Site, 
one of the first in the west, in 1941. I thank my constituents in 
Clackamas County, particularly John Salisbury and the McLoughlin 
Memorial Association, for all of their hard work to preserve this 
Oregon treasure. Additionally, I thank Tracy Fortmann with the National 
Park Service at Fort Vancouver for her advocacy on behalf of the 
McLoughlin House. Mayor Alice Norris and the former mayors of Oregon 
City who have worked together to bring this legislation to the 
attention of the Oregon delegation deserve our thanks as well. Finally, 
I thank Representative Hooley for having the foresight to introduce 
this legislation in the House of Representatives in the 107th Congress 
and again in the 108th.
                                 ______