First settlement

Who’s first rerun: Many think Astoria is the first U.S. settlement west of the Rockies, established in 1811. But according to the Oregon Encyclopedia, Capt. Nathan Winship, who came up the Columbia River in the Albatross, arrived first, in May 1810. He soon started building a log house at Oak Point, a few miles northeast of Clatskankie. The objective of Winship and his two brothers, Jonathan and Abiel, was to harvest fur, but they also wanted to set up an agricultural base. Jonathan’s personal wish was to plant a “Garden of Eden.” (It’s said that slips from the settlement’s rose garden turned up in Portland’s gardens.) By June, the house timbers at the outpost were 10 feet high, and the Albatross crew started unloading livestock and planting seeds. A heavy rain caused a spring flood, uprooting the timbers. Time to move. The ship’s officer started building a new outpost at a higher site a quarter of a mile downstream.

This excerpt comes from the named source. Read the original for the full reporting.