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108-467: The Mount Hood Express travels along Highway 26 from Sandy east to Timberline Lodge , serving multiple ski resorts and the communities of Government Camp , Rhododendron , Zigzag , Welches , Wemme , and Brightwood . The Mount Hood Express operates seven days a week, providing five round trips daily between Sandy and Timberline, with an additional two-round trips during the winter recreation season, December 1 through March 31. The Mount Hood Express

216-604: A warm-summer Mediterranean climate , abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps. As of the census of 2010, there were 9,570 people, 3,567 households, and 2,486 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,047.8 inhabitants per square mile (1,176.8/km ). There were 3,768 housing units at an average density of 1,200.0 per square mile (463.3/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 90.0% White , 0.4% African American , 1.3% Native American , 1.2% Asian , 0.2% Pacific Islander , 3.4% from other races , and 3.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.2% of

324-432: A German immigrant and businessman, came to Sandy in 1876; his son, Paul Meinig, served as the city's second mayor from 1912 to 1918. A significant part of Sandy's economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was logging and sawmill operations which utilized the abundance of forests surrounding the city. In October 1913, the city experienced a major fire which destroyed numerous buildings and businesses, including

432-641: A dome of rock they named Independence Rock and started their long trek on foot to the Missouri River. Upon arriving back in a settled area they bought pack horses (on credit) and retrieved their furs. They had discovered the route that Robert Stuart had taken in 1813—eleven years before. Thomas Fitzpatrick was often hired as a guide when the fur trade dwindled in 1840. Smith was killed by Comanche natives around 1831. Up to 3,000 mountain men were trappers and explorers , employed by various British and United States fur companies or working as free trappers, who roamed

540-518: A former U.S. Army Captain and fur trader who was contracted to guide the train to Fort Hall for $ 1 per person. The winter before, Marcus Whitman had made a brutal mid-winter trip from Oregon to St. Louis to appeal a decision by his mission backers to abandon several of the Oregon missions. He joined the wagon train at the Platte River for the return trip. When the pioneers were told at Fort Hall by agents from

648-508: A homestead and trading post . Around 1873, the Revenues built the city's first hotel. Initially known as Revenue (after the Revenue family), in the late 19th century the settlement took its namesake of Sandy from the nearby Sandy River , which itself had taken its name from Meriwether Lewis and William Clark during their 1805 expedition , who at that time named it the "Quicksand River" due to

756-439: A letter to her sister, Lucy P. Griffith, described how travelers responded to the new environment they encountered: The mountains looked like volcanoes and the appearance that one day there had been an awful thundering of volcanoes and a burning world. The valleys were all covered with a white crust and looked like salaratus . Some of the companies used it to raise their bread. While women experienced many deaths and hardships on

864-489: A rendezvous a year's worth of trading and celebrating would take place as the traders took their furs and remaining supplies back east for the winter and the trappers faced another fall and winter with new supplies. Trapper Jim Beckwourth described the scene as one of "Mirth, songs, dancing, shouting, trading, running, jumping, singing, racing, target-shooting, yarns, frolic, with all sorts of extravagances that white men or Indians could invent." In 1830, William Sublette brought

972-511: A restaurant, livery stable, and saloon, all located on the south side of the Main Street (contemporarily Proctor Boulevard). A concrete replacement of the restaurant and saloon was subsequently erected, marking the first concrete building in the city. The Clackamas County Bank was established in Sandy in 1916. As of 2018 , the bank remains the oldest community bank in the state of Oregon. In 1919,

1080-475: A trail through heavy timber. The wagons were stopped at The Dalles , Oregon, by the lack of a road around Mount Hood. The wagons had to be disassembled and floated down the treacherous Columbia River and the animals herded over the rough Lolo trail to get by Mt. Hood. Nearly all of the settlers in the 1843 wagon trains arrived in the Willamette Valley by early October. A passable wagon trail now existed from

1188-471: A year prior to the 19th Amendment , the city elected two women to its government: Blanche Shelley was elected mayor, along with Edna Esson to city council. Both women were also active business leaders in the city. In 1923, the city completed construction of the Pioneer Building, a brick structure that served as Sandy Union High School , for $ 30,000. Prior to this, a small two-story schoolhouse served as

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1296-749: Is supplemented by the Villages Shuttle, which provides an additional three local service round-trips from Sandy to Rhododendron, Monday-Friday only. At the Sandy Transit Center the Mount Hood Express interchanges with the Sandy Area Metro bus system, which can be used to connect with the Portland region transit system TriMet . Multiple park and ride locations are available at the base of the mountain, in hopes of alleviating parking shortages at

1404-512: Is the community's weekly newspaper, and is the official newspaper of record for the city's legal notices. As of 2015, the City Government offers gigabit fiber-optic internet to all of its residents for $ 60 per month and 300 mbps internet for $ 40 per month. Oregon Trail This is an accepted version of this page The Oregon Trail was a 2,170-mile (3,490 km) east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in

1512-449: Is the northern terminus of Oregon Route 211 . From around the early 1940s through the 1960s, bus transit service connecting Sandy with Gresham and Portland was provided by a private company named Portland Stages, Inc . In 1970 this service was taken over by a then-new public agency, TriMet , which continued to provide transit service to Sandy until 2000. Since the beginning of 2000, Sandy has operated its own public transit system,

1620-684: Is to explore the Missouri river, and such principal stream of it, as, by its course and communication with the waters of the Pacific Ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado and/or other river may offer the most direct and practicable water communication across this continent, for commerce." Although Lewis and William Clark found a path to the Pacific Ocean, it was neither direct nor practicable for prairie schooner wagons to pass through without considerable road work. The two passes they found going through

1728-581: The California gold rush . It is estimated that about two-thirds of the male population in Oregon went to California in 1848 to cash in on the opportunity. To get there, they helped build the Lassen Branch of the Applegate-Lassen Trail by cutting a wagon road through extensive forests. Many returned with significant gold which helped jump-start the Oregon economy. Over the next decade, gold seekers from

1836-568: The Great Basin to the eastern slope of the Sierras . Upon return in early August, Simpson reported that he had surveyed the Central Overland Route from Camp Floyd to Genoa, Nevada . This route went through central Nevada (roughly where U.S. Route 50 goes today) and was about 280 miles (450 km) shorter than the "standard" Humboldt River California trail route. The Army improved

1944-651: The Midwestern United States and East Coast of the United States dramatically increased traffic on the Oregon and California Trails. The "forty-niners" often chose speed over safety and opted to use shortcuts such as the Sublette-Greenwood Cutoff in Wyoming which reduced travel time by almost seven days but spanned nearly 45 miles (72 km) of the desert without water, grass, or fuel for fires. 1849

2052-541: The Oregon Dragoons . They carried a large flag emblazoned with their motto " Oregon Or The Grave ". Although the group split up near Bent's Fort on the South Platte and Farnham was deposed as leader, nine of their members eventually did reach Oregon. In September 1840, Robert Newell , Joseph L. Meek , and their families reached Fort Walla Walla with three wagons that they had driven from Fort Hall. Their wagons were

2160-665: The Red River Colony (located at the junction of the Assiniboine River and Red River near present Winnipeg , Manitoba , Canada) into the Oregon territory. This attempt at settlement failed when most of the families joined the settlers in the Willamette Valley, with their promise of free land and HBC-free government. In 1846, the Oregon Treaty ending the Oregon boundary dispute was signed with Britain. The British lost much of

2268-759: The Rocky Mountains , Lemhi Pass , and Lolo Pass , turned out to be much too difficult. On the return trip in 1806, they traveled from the Columbia River to the Snake River and the Clearwater River over Lolo Pass again. They then traveled overland up the Blackfoot River and crossed the Continental Divide at Lewis and Clark Pass, as it would become known, and on to the head of the Missouri River. This

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2376-774: The Sandy Area Metro , which connects with TriMet's bus and MAX light rail system at the Gresham Transit Center . Since 2004, the Mount Hood Express (originally named Mountain Express) has also provided public transit bus service to Sandy, connecting it with communities and resort areas in the Mount Hood Corridor . Two airports exist in Sandy: the Sandy River Airport and Country Squire Airpark . The Sandy Post

2484-427: The U.S. Army's Corps of Topographical Engineers and his guide Kit Carson led three expeditions from 1842 to 1846 over parts of California and Oregon. His explorations were written up by him and his wife Jessie Benton Frémont and were widely published. The first detailed maps of California and Oregon were drawn by Frémont and his topographers and cartographers in about 1848. In 1834, The Dalles Methodist Mission

2592-623: The Yellowstone River to the Sweetwater River. They were looking for a safe location to spend the winter. Smith reasoned since the Sweetwater flowed east it must eventually run into the Missouri River. Trying to transport their extensive fur collection down the Sweetwater and North Platte Rivers, they found after a near-disastrous canoe crash that the rivers were too swift and rough for water passage. On July 4, 1824, they cached their furs under

2700-461: The 1840s, the Great Plains appeared to be unattractive for settlement and were illegal for homesteading until well after 1846—initially, it was set aside by the U.S. government for Native American settlements. The next available land for general settlement, Oregon, appeared to be free for the taking and had fertile lands, disease-free climate ( yellow fever and malaria were then prevalent in much of

2808-680: The British government pressured the two companies to merge. The newly reconfigured HBC had a near monopoly on trading (and most governing issues) in the Columbia District, or Oregon Country as it was referred to by the Americans, and also in Rupert's Land . That year the British parliament passed a statute applying the laws of Upper Canada to the district and giving the HBC power to enforce those laws. From 1813 to

2916-504: The California gold rush , and sex ratios did not reach essential equality in California (and other western states) until about 1950. The relative scarcity of women gave them many opportunities to do many more things that were not normally considered women's work of this era. After 1849, the California gold rush continued for several years as the miners continued to find about $ 50,000,000 worth of gold per year at $ 21 per ounce. Once California

3024-499: The Columbia River aboard the merchant ship Tonquin , the other dispatched overland under an expedition led by Wilson Price Hunt . Hunt and his party were to find possible supply routes and trapping territories for further fur trading posts. Upon arriving at the river in March 1811, the Tonquin crew began building what became Fort Astoria . The ship left supplies and men to continue work on

3132-587: The Father of Oregon. The York Factory Express , establishing another route to the Oregon territory, evolved from an earlier express brigade used by the North West Company between Fort Astoria and Fort William , Ontario on Lake Superior . By 1825 the HBC started using two brigades, each setting out from opposite ends of the express route—one from Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River and the other from York Factory on Hudson Bay—in spring and passing each other in

3240-558: The HBC, tried to discourage any U.S. trappers, traders, and settlers from work or settlement in the Pacific Northwest. By overland travel, American missionaries and early settlers (initially mostly ex-trappers) started showing up in Oregon in the late 1820s. Although officially the HBC discouraged settlement because it interfered with its lucrative fur trade, its manager at Fort Vancouver, John McLoughlin , gave substantial help, including employment, until they could get established. In

3348-525: The Hudson's Bay Company that they should abandon their wagons there and use pack animals the rest of the way, Whitman disagreed and volunteered to lead the wagons to Oregon. He believed the wagon trains were large enough that they could build whatever road improvements they needed to make the trip with their wagons. The biggest obstacle they faced was in the Blue Mountains of Oregon where they had to cut and clear

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3456-521: The Missouri River to The Dalles. Jesse Applegate's account of the emigration, " A Day with the Cow Column in 1843 ," has been described as "the best bit of literature left to us by any participant in the [Oregon] pioneer movement..." and has been republished several times from 1868 to 1990. In 1846, the Barlow Road was completed around Mount Hood, providing a rough but completely passable wagon trail from

3564-605: The Missouri River to the Willamette Valley: about 2,000 miles (3,200 km). In 1843, settlers of the Willamette Valley drafted the Organic Laws of Oregon organizing land claims within the Oregon Country. Married couples were granted at no cost (except for the requirement to work and improve the land) up to 640 acres (2.6 km ) (a section or square mile), and unmarried settlers could claim 320 acres (1.3 km ). As

3672-543: The Missouri River, finally arriving in St. Louis in the spring of 1813. The route they had used appeared to potentially be a practical wagon route, requiring minimal improvements, and Stuart's journals provided a meticulous account of most of the route. Because of the War of 1812 and the lack of U.S. fur trading posts in the Pacific Northwest, most of the route was unused for more than 10 years. In August 1811, three months after Fort Astoria

3780-655: The Missouri and Mississippi River drainage), extensive forests, big rivers, potential seaports, and only a few nominally British settlers. Fur trappers, often working for fur traders, followed nearly all possible streams looking for beaver in the years (1812–40) when the fur trade was active. Fur traders included Manuel Lisa , Robert Stuart, William Henry Ashley , Jedediah Smith , William Sublette , Andrew Henry , Thomas Fitzpatrick , Kit Carson , Jim Bridger , Peter Skene Ogden , David Thompson , James Douglas , Donald Mackenzie , Alexander Ross , James Sinclair , and other mountain men . Besides describing and naming many of

3888-605: The Mormon emigrants followed the main Oregon/California/Mormon Trail through Wyoming to Fort Bridger , where they split from the main trail and followed (and improved) the rough path known as Hastings Cutoff , used by the ill-fated Donner Party in 1846. Between 1847 and 1860, over 43,000 Mormon settlers and tens of thousands of travelers on the California Trail and Oregon Trail followed Young to Utah. After 1848,

3996-530: The North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 to the early 1840s. They usually traveled in small groups for mutual support and protection. Trapping took place in the fall when the fur became prime. Mountain men primarily trapped beaver and sold the skins. A good beaver skin could bring up to $ 4 at a time when a man's wage was often $ 1 per day. Some were more interested in exploring the West. In 1825,

4104-671: The Oregon Trail and wrote extensively about their explorations. Captain Benjamin Bonneville on his expedition of 1832 to 1834 explored much of the Oregon trail and brought wagons up the Platte, North Platte, Sweetwater route across South Pass to the Green River in Wyoming. He explored most of Idaho and the Oregon Trail to the Columbia. The account of his explorations in the West was published by Washington Irving in 1838. John C. Frémont of

4212-567: The PFC management at Fort Astoria of the destruction. The next day, the ship was blown up by surviving crew members. Under Hunt, fearing attack by the Niitsitapi , the overland expedition veered south of Lewis and Clark's route into what is now Wyoming and in the process passed across Union Pass and into Jackson Hole , Wyoming. From there they went over the Teton Range via Teton Pass and then down to

4320-604: The Rocky Mountains to the Hawaiian Islands , and from Russian Alaska into Mexican-controlled California. At its pinnacle in about 1840, the manager of Fort Vancouver watched over 34 outposts, 24 ports, 6 ships, and about 600 employees. When American emigration over the Oregon Trail began in earnest in the early 1840s, for many settlers the fort became the last stop on the Oregon Trail where they could get supplies, aid, and help before starting their homesteads. Fort Vancouver

4428-513: The Snake River into modern Idaho . They abandoned their horses at the Snake River, made dugout canoes, and attempted to use the river for transport. After a few days' travel, they soon discovered that steep canyons, waterfalls, and impassable rapids made travel by river impossible. Too far from their horses to retrieve them, they had to cache most of their goods and walk the rest of the way to the Columbia River where they made new boats and traveled to

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4536-607: The United States most of what it wanted, a "reasonable" boundary and a good anchorage on the West Coast in Puget Sound. While there were few United States settlers in the future state of Washington in 1846, the United States had already demonstrated it could induce thousands of settlers to go to the Oregon Territory, and it would be only a short time before they would vastly outnumber the few hundred HBC employees and retirees living in

4644-526: The United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory . The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what is now the states of Kansas , Nebraska , and Wyoming . The western half crossed the current states of Idaho and Oregon. The Oregon Trail was laid by fur traders and trappers from about 1811 to 1840 and was initially only passable on foot or horseback. By 1836, when

4752-498: The West and western migration in the same way. Whereas men might deem the dangers of the trial acceptable if there was a strong economic reward at the end, women viewed those dangers as threatening to the stability and survival of the family. Once they arrived at their new Western home, women's public role in building Western communities and participating in the Western economy gave them a greater authority than they had known back East. There

4860-537: The Willamette Valley, as well as various locations in the future states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. On May 1, 1839, a group of eighteen men from Peoria, Illinois , set out with the intention of colonizing the Oregon country on behalf of the United States of America and driving out the HBC operating there. The men of the Peoria Party were among the first pioneers to traverse most of the Oregon Trail. They were initially led by Thomas J. Farnham and called themselves

4968-530: The abundance of sand on its banks. The river had priorly been named the Barings River after Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet , an English merchant banker, by Lieutenant W.R. Broughton of the Fort Vancouver expedition on October 30, 1792. A second hotel was erected in Sandy in 1890 by Baron Otto Von Scholley, an Austrian immigrant who also served as the city's second postmaster and first notary . In 1894,

5076-405: The age of 13, mentioned the fascination she and other children felt for the graves and loose skulls they would find near their camps. Anna Maria King, like many other women, also advised family and friends back home of the realities of the trip and offered advice on how to prepare for the trip. Women also reacted and responded, often enthusiastically, to the landscape of the West. Betsey Bayley, in

5184-564: The annual Easter egg hunt, Movies at the Park and shows performed through the Library Summer Reading Program. Joe's Donuts is a nationally-acclaimed donut shop in Sandy that was established in 1974 and has now become a tourist destination in the northwest. Joe's Donuts sits on the corner of the two major highways that cross through Sandy and is recognized for its red and white checkered exterior, which has been recently retouched by

5292-402: The area known as Oregon and its surroundings, with traffic especially thick from 1846 to 1869. The eastern half of the trail was also used by travelers on the California Trail (from 1843), Mormon Trail (from 1847), and Bozeman Trail (from 1863) before turning off to their separate destinations. Use of the trail declined after the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, making

5400-464: The arrival of German immigrants in the late 19th century, and the city was formally incorporated in 1911. In the latter half of the 20th century, the city's population saw a significant increase in residents, concurrent with the growth of the Portland metropolitan area . As of the 2020 census , the city had a total population of 12,612. It is the home of Sandy High School , founded in 1914, which serves

5508-771: The assassination of their prophet Joseph Smith in 1844, Mormon leader Brigham Young led settlers in the Latter Day Saints (LDS) church west to the Salt Lake Valley in present-day Utah. In 1847 Young led a small, fast-moving group from their Winter Quarters encampments near Omaha , Nebraska, and their approximately 50 temporary settlements on the Missouri River in Iowa including Council Bluffs . About 2,200 LDS pioneers went that first year; they were charged with establishing farms, growing crops, building fences and herds, and establishing preliminary settlements to feed and support

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5616-469: The city completed its first church, St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church , established by Benedictine monks, which had its first service on December 18 that year. Though the original building was destroyed in a fire two decades later, it was relocated and reopened. In 1902, a Lutheran church was established in Sandy. On August 11, 1911, the city of was formally incorporated , and on November 14, 1913, city voters approved its charter. Friedrich Meinig,

5724-402: The city's Facade Improvement program. The Sandy Mountain Festival is also held at Meinig Memorial Park, a two-day bazaar with over 120 artisans and food booths. It is held on July 11–12 and managed by the Sandy Mountain Festival Association, a nonprofit organization of volunteers. U.S. Route 26 runs through the middle of Sandy, forming downtown Sandy's Pioneer and Proctor Boulevards. Sandy

5832-405: The city's main school for all grades, before a separate high school was established in 1917. As of the 21st century, Sandy's population has increased significantly with the growth of the Portland metropolitan area . Per a 2018 study completed by Portland State University and Clackamas County, it is the second-fastest-growing city in the state, and is estimated to reach a population of 18,980 by

5940-399: The cost of traveling the trail by roughly $ 30 per wagon but decreased the speed of the transit from about 160 to 170 days in 1843 to 120 to 140 days in 1860. Ferries also helped prevent death by drowning at river crossings. In April 1859, an expedition of U.S. Corps of Topographical Engineers led by Captain James H. Simpson left Camp Floyd, Utah , to establish an army supply route across

6048-413: The early 1840s the British, through the NWC and HBC, had nearly complete control of the Pacific Northwest and the western half of the Oregon Trail. In theory, the Treaty of Ghent , which ended the War of 1812, restored possession of U.S. property in Oregon territory to the United States. "Joint occupation" of the region was formally established by the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 . The British, through

6156-446: The early 1840s thousands of American settlers arrived and soon greatly outnumbered the British settlers in Oregon. McLoughlin, despite working for the HBC, gave help in the form of loans, medical care, shelter, clothing, food, supplies and seed to U.S. emigrants. These new emigrants often arrived in Oregon tired, worn out, nearly penniless, with insufficient food or supplies, just as winter was coming on. McLoughlin would later be hailed as

6264-559: The early Oregon Trail pioneers. When the fur trade slowed in the 1840s because of fashion changes in men's hats, the value of the Pacific Northwest to the British was seriously diminished. Canada had few potential settlers who were willing to move more than 2,500 miles (4,000 km) to the Pacific Northwest, although several hundred ex-trappers, British and American, and their families did start settling in what became Oregon and Washington. In 1841, James Sinclair , on orders from HBC Governor Sir George Simpson , guided nearly 200 settlers from

6372-431: The expedition confirmed that there was no "easy" route through the northern Rocky Mountains as Jefferson had hoped. Nonetheless, this famous expedition had mapped both the eastern and western river valleys (Platte and Snake Rivers) that bookend the route of the Oregon Trail (and other emigrant trails ) across the continental divide—they just had not located the South Pass or some of the interconnecting valleys later used in

6480-399: The first migrant wagon train was organized in Independence, Missouri , a wagon trail had been cleared to Fort Hall , Idaho. Wagon trails were cleared increasingly farther west and eventually reached the Willamette Valley in Oregon, at which point what came to be called the Oregon Trail was complete, though further improvements in the forms of bridges, cutoffs, ferries, and roads would make

6588-420: The first significant American Rendezvous occurred on the Henry's Fork of the Green River . The trading supplies were brought in by a large party using pack trains originating on the Missouri River. These pack trains were then used to haul out the fur bales. They normally used the north side of the Platte River—the same route used 20 years later by the Mormon Trail . For the next 15 years, the American rendezvous

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6696-455: The first to reach the Columbia River over land, and they opened the final leg of the Oregon Trail to wagon traffic. In 1841, the Bartleson-Bidwell Party was the first emigrant group credited with using the Oregon Trail to emigrate west. The group set out for California, but about half the party left the original group at Soda Springs , Idaho, and proceeded to the Willamette Valley in Oregon, leaving their wagons at Fort Hall. On May 16, 1842,

6804-406: The first wagons carrying his trading goods up the Platte, North Platte, and Sweetwater rivers before crossing over South Pass to a fur trade rendezvous on the Green River near the future town of Big Piney , Wyoming. He had a crew that dug out the gullies and river crossings and cleared the brush where needed. This established that the eastern part of most of the Oregon Trail was passable by wagons. In

6912-649: The formerly very popular beaver felt hats and prices for furs rapidly declined and the trapping almost ceased. Fur traders tried to use the Platte River, the main route of the eastern Oregon Trail, for transport but soon gave up in frustration as its many channels and islands combined with its muddy waters were too shallow, crooked, and unpredictable to use for water transport. The Platte proved to be unnavigable. The Platte River and North Platte River Valley, however, became an easy roadway for wagons, with its nearly flat plain sloping easily up and heading almost due west. Several U.S. government-sponsored explorers explored part of

7020-409: The future Canada–U.S. border). The fort quickly became the center of activity in the Pacific Northwest. Every year ships would come from London to the Pacific (via Cape Horn ) to drop off supplies and trade goods in its trading posts in the Pacific Northwest and pick up the accumulated furs used to pay for these supplies. It was the nexus for the fur trade on the Pacific Coast; its influence reached from

7128-405: The group was a provisional government with no authority, these claims were not valid under United States or British law, but they were eventually honored by the United States in the Donation Land Act of 1850. The Donation Land Act provided for married settlers to be granted 320 acres (1.3 km ) and unmarried settlers 160 acres (0.65 km ). Following the expiration of the act in 1854 the land

7236-409: The high country. They did show the way for the mountain men , who within a decade would find a better way across, even if it was not an easy way. Founded in 1810 by John Jacob Astor as a subsidiary of his American Fur Company (AFC), the Pacific Fur Company (PFC) operated in the Pacific Northwest in the North American fur trade . Two movements of PFC employees were planned by Astor: one sent to

7344-428: The land for Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a fort on the site. When the War of 1812 broke out, the managers at Fort Astoria were concerned the British navy would seize their forts and supplies, and in 1813 they sold out to the North West Company. By 1821, intense competition between the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and the North West Company reached the point of armed hostilities, and

7452-435: The land they had so long controlled. The new Canada–United States border was established at the 49th parallel to the Pacific Coast, then dipping south around Vancouver Island. The treaty granted the HBC navigation rights on the Columbia River for supplying their fur posts, clear titles to their trading post properties allowing them to be sold later if they wanted, and left the British with a good anchorage at Victoria. It gave

7560-419: The late 1830s, the HBC instituted a policy intended to destroy or weaken the American fur trade companies. The HBC's annual collection and re-supply Snake River Expedition was transformed into a trading enterprise. Beginning in 1834, it visited the American Rendezvous to undersell the American traders—losing money but undercutting the American fur traders. By 1840 the fashion in Europe and Britain shifted away from

7668-422: The limited springs and acceptable camping places on the trail. The much larger presence of women and children meant these wagon trains did not try to cover as much ground in a single day as Oregon and California-bound emigrants, typically taking about 100 days to cover the 1,000 miles (1,600 km) trip to Salt Lake City. (The Oregon and California emigrants averaged about 15 miles (24 km) per day.) In Wyoming,

7776-524: The many thousands of emigrants expected in the coming years. After ferrying across the Missouri River and establishing wagon trains near what became Omaha, the Mormons followed the northern bank of the Platte River in Nebraska to Fort Laramie in present-day Wyoming. They initially started in 1848 with trains of several thousand emigrants, which were rapidly split into smaller groups to be more easily accommodated at

7884-403: The middle of the continent. This established a "quick"— about 100 days for 2,600 miles (4,200 km) one way— to transport personnel and transmit messages between Fort Vancouver and York Factory on Hudson Bay. The HBC built a new much larger Fort Vancouver in 1825 about 90 miles upstream from Fort Astoria, on the north side of the Columbia River (they were hoping the Columbia would be

7992-424: The multiple deaths experienced by her traveling group: But listen to the deaths: Sally Chambers, John King, and his wife, their little daughter Electa and their babe, a son 9 months old, and Dulancy C. Norton's sister are gone. Mr. A. Fuller lost his wife and daughter Tabitha. Eight of our two families have gone to their long home. Similarly, emigrant Martha Gay Masterson , who traveled the trail with her family at

8100-485: The name Sandy after the Sandy River, named by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in 1805; the river and previously been named the Barings River, after Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet , following a 1792 expedition in the region. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Sandy's local economy was mainly based on logging and the sawmill industry due to the abundance of timber in the area. The city continued to grow with

8208-580: The nearby Sandy River . Located in the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range , the city serves as the western gateway to the Mount Hood Corridor , and is located approximately 27 miles (43 km) east of Portland . The city of Sandy was originally settled by travelers passing along Barlow Road , one of the final sections of the Oregon Trail , and initially known as Revenue, after settlers Francis and Lydia Revenue. The city subsequently took

8316-458: The newly established Fort Astoria. The expedition demonstrated that much of the route along the Snake River plain and across to the Columbia was passable by pack train or with minimal improvements, even wagons. This knowledge would be incorporated into the concatenated trail segments as the Oregon Trail took its early shape. Pacific Fur Company partner Robert Stuart led a small group of men back east to report to Astor. The group planned to retrace

8424-610: The party accompanied American fur traders going to the 1836 rendezvous on the Green River in Wyoming and then joined Hudson's Bay Company fur traders traveling west to Fort Nez Perce (also called Fort Walla Walla ). The group was the first to travel in wagons to Fort Hall, where the wagons were abandoned at the urging of their guides. They used pack animals for the rest of the trip to Fort Walla Walla and then floated by boat to Fort Vancouver to get supplies before returning to start their missions. Other missionaries, mostly husband and wife teams using wagon and pack trains, established missions in

8532-537: The path followed by the overland expedition back up to the east following the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Fear of a Native American attack near Union Pass in Wyoming forced the group further south where they discovered South Pass, a wide and easy pass over the Continental Divide. The party continued east via the Sweetwater River , North Platte River (where they spent the winter of 1812–13), and Platte River to

8640-525: The population of Sandy as well as outlying communities, such as Boring and the Villages of Mount Hood . Sandy was founded after pioneer Sam Barlow passed through the area in 1845 and formed Barlow Road , the most widely-used final portion of the Oregon Trail . The first people to settle the area were Francis and Lydia Revenue, c. 1853. The abundance of natural resources in the area, ranging from fish, deer, elk, berries and roots, attracted them to build

8748-443: The population. There were 3,567 households, of which 40.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.3% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size

8856-546: The region. Reports from expeditions in 1806 by Lieutenant Zebulon Pike and in 1819 by Major Stephen Long described the Great Plains as "unfit for human habitation" and as "The Great American Desert ". These descriptions were mainly based on the relative lack of timber and surface water. The images of sandy wastelands conjured up by terms like "desert" were tempered by the many reports of vast herds of millions of Plains Bison that somehow managed to live in this "desert". In

8964-542: The regional Oregon Trail School District . Meinig Memorial Park is the largest park in Sandy. It has a variety of features, including the Dale Nicholls stage, a log gazebo and an amphitheater. There are also many picnic benches and trails that run through the trees surrounding the area. The entirety of the park structures are constructed from wood. Many reoccurring events take place in Meinig Memorial Park, such as

9072-491: The rivers and mountains in the Intermountain West and Pacific Northwest, they often kept diaries of their travels and were available as guides and consultants when the trail started to become open for general travel. The fur trade business wound down to a very low level just as the Oregon trail traffic seriously began around 1840. In the fall of 1823, Jedediah Smith and Thomas Fitzpatrick led their trapping crew south from

9180-428: The second organized wagon train set out from Elm Grove, Missouri, with more than 100 pioneers. The party was led by Elijah White . The group broke up after passing Fort Hall with most of the single men hurrying ahead and the families following later. In what was dubbed "The Great Migration of 1843" or the "Wagon Train of 1843", an estimated 700 to 1,000 emigrants left for Oregon. They were led initially by John Gantt,

9288-602: The ski resorts and reducing traffic safety concerns on the steep, twisting mountain roads. From 2004 to 2013, the Mountain Express provided transportation service along Highway 26 between Sandy and Rhododendron, funded through Oregon's business energy tax credits, a program which ended in 2013. In 2013, the newly-renamed Mount Hood Express formed a public-private partnership with Timberline Lodge , Mount Hood Skibowl , and The Resort at The Mountain, which provided matching funds for federal lands access program grants, enabling

9396-424: The station and ventured north up the coast to Clayoquot Sound for a trading expedition. While anchored there, Jonathan Thorn insulted an elder Tla-o-qui-aht who was previously elected by the natives to negotiate a mutually satisfactory price for animal pelts. Soon after, the vessel was attacked and overwhelmed by the indigenous Clayoquot, killing many of the crew. Its Quinault interpreter survived and later told

9504-610: The system to expand bus service up the mountain to Government Camp and Timberline Lodge. Also in 2013, the system received funding from the Paul Sarbanes Transit In Parks grant program to purchase new vehicles featuring specialized equipment for transporting skis and snow boards, mountain bikes and other types of recreational equipment. Sandy, Oregon Sandy is a city located in Clackamas County , Oregon , United States, settled c. 1853 and named after

9612-575: The trail for use by wagons and stagecoaches in 1859 and 1860. Starting in 1860, the American Civil War closed the heavily subsidized Butterfield Overland Mail stage Southern Route through the deserts of the American Southwest. In 1860–1861, the Pony Express , employing riders traveling on horseback day and night with relay stations about every 10 miles (16 km) to supply fresh horses,

9720-533: The trail, the trail was also a place for women to take on roles they had previously not been allowed to take on back east. Women started to use their journals on the trails to express themselves as “reporters, guides, poets, and historians.” They would jot down botany and different species on the trail to help feed their family. Women used their resourcefulness and creativity on the trail. Following persecution and mob action in Missouri , Illinois , and other states, and

9828-667: The travelers headed to California or Oregon resupplied at the Salt Lake Valley, and then went back over the Salt Lake Cutoff , rejoining the trail near the future Idaho–Utah border at the City of Rocks in Idaho. Along the Mormon Trail, the Mormon pioneers established several ferries and made trail improvements to help later travelers and earn much-needed money. One of the better-known ferries

9936-462: The trip faster and safer. From various starting points in Iowa, Missouri, or Nebraska Territory , the routes converged along the lower Platte River Valley near Fort Kearny , Nebraska Territory. They led to fertile farmlands west of the Rocky Mountains . The Oregon Trail and its many offshoots were used by about 400,000 settlers, farmers, miners, ranchers, and business owners and their families to get to

10044-577: The trip west substantially faster, cheaper, and safer. Since the mid-20th century, modern highways, such as Interstate 80 and Interstate 84 , follow parts of the same course westward and pass through towns originally established to serve those using the Oregon Trail. The first land route across the present-day contiguous United States was mapped by the Lewis and Clark Expedition between 1804 and 1806, following these 1803 instructions from President Thomas Jefferson to Meriwether Lewis : "The object of your mission

10152-697: The while upholding the virtues of the Culture of Domesticity . Some of the additional tasks women had on the wagon trail included collecting "buffalo chips" for fire fuel, unloading and loading up the wagons, driving teams of oxen, pouring bullets to help in Indian attacks, and striving to keep their men and children at peace. They were the backbones of life on the wagon trail and took up not only their regular duties but many duties of men as well. However, feminist scholarship, by historians such as Lillian Schlissel, Sandra Myres, and Glenda Riley, suggests men and women did not view

10260-550: The year 2034. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 3.14 square miles (8.13 km ), consisting almost entirely of land. Its elevation is 967 feet (295 m). This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F (22.0 °C). According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Sandy has

10368-659: The years many ferries were established to help get across the many rivers on the path of the Oregon Trail. Multiple ferries were established on the Missouri River, Kansas River , Little Blue River , Elkhorn River , Loup River , Platte River, South Platte River , North Platte River, Laramie River , Green River, Bear River , two crossings of the Snake River, John Day River , Deschutes River , Columbia River, as well as many other smaller streams. During peak immigration periods several ferries on any given river often competed for pioneer dollars. These ferries significantly increased speed and safety for Oregon Trail travelers. They increased

10476-492: Was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.17. The median age in the city was 32.8 years. 29% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.5% were from 25 to 44; 22.6% were from 45 to 64; and 10.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.9% male and 51.1% female. There are three schools within Sandy's city limits: Sandy Grade School, Cedar Ridge Middle School and Sandy High School . Those schools are administered by

10584-473: Was a "female frontier" that was distinct and different from that experienced by men. Women's diaries kept during their travels or the letters they wrote home once they arrived at their destination support these contentions. Women wrote with sadness and concern about the numerous deaths along the trail. Anna Maria King wrote to her family in 1845 about her trip to the Luckiamute Valley Oregon and of

10692-412: Was an annual event moving to different locations, usually somewhere on the Green River in the future state of Wyoming . Each rendezvous, occurring during the slack summer period, allowed the fur traders to trade for and collect the furs from the trappers and their Native American allies without having the expense of building or maintaining a fort or wintering over in the cold Rockies. In only a few weeks at

10800-620: Was erected in 1843 and became the headquarters of operations in British Columbia, eventually growing into modern-day Victoria , the capital city of British Columbia. By 1840, the HBC had three forts: Fort Hall (purchased from Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth in 1837), Fort Boise and Fort Nez Perce on the western end of the Oregon Trail route as well as Fort Vancouver near its terminus in the Willamette Valley . With minor exceptions, they all gave substantial and often desperately needed aid to

10908-707: Was established as a prosperous state, many thousands more emigrated there each year for the opportunities. The trail was still in use during the Civil War , but traffic declined after 1855 when the Panama Railroad across the Isthmus of Panama was completed. Paddle wheel steamships and sailing ships, often heavily subsidized to carry the mail, provided rapid transport to and from the East Coast and New Orleans , Louisiana, to and from Panama to ports in California and Oregon. Over

11016-402: Was established, David Thompson and his team of North West Company explorers came floating down the Columbia to Fort Astoria. He had just completed a journey through much of western Canada and most of the Columbia River drainage system. He was mapping the country for possible fur trading posts. Along the way, he camped at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers and posted a notice claiming

11124-518: Was founded by Reverend Jason Lee just east of Mount Hood on the Columbia River . In 1836, Henry H. Spalding and Marcus Whitman traveled west to establish the Whitman Mission near modern-day Walla Walla , Washington. The party included the wives of the two men, Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Hart Spalding , who became the first European-American women to cross the Rocky Mountains. En route,

11232-573: Was no longer free but cost $ 1.25 per acre ($ 3.09/hectare) with a limit of 320 acres (1.3 km )—the same as most other unimproved government land. Consensus interpretations, as found in John Faragher's book, Women and Men on the Overland Trail (1979), held that men's and women's power within marriage was uneven. This meant that women did not experience the trail as liberating, but instead only found harder work than they had handled back east, all

11340-695: Was the Mormon Ferry across the North Platte near the future site of Fort Caspar in Wyoming which operated between 1848 and 1852 and the Green River ferry near Fort Bridger which operated from 1847 to 1856. The ferries were free for Mormon settlers while all others were charged a toll ranging from $ 3 to $ 8. In January 1848, James Marshall found gold in the Sierra Nevada portion of the American River , sparking

11448-474: Was the first year of large scale cholera epidemics in the United States, and thousands are thought to have died along the trail on their way to California—most buried in unmarked graves in Kansas and Nebraska. The adjusted 1850 U.S. census of California showed this rush was overwhelmingly male with about 112,000 males to 8,000 females (with about 5,500 women over age 15). Women were significantly underrepresented in

11556-402: Was the main re-supply point for nearly all Oregon trail travelers until U.S. towns could be established. The HBC established Fort Colvile in 1825 on the Columbia River near Kettle Falls as a good site to collect furs and control the upper Columbia River fur trade. Fort Nisqually was built near the present town of DuPont , Washington, and was the first HBC fort on Puget Sound. Fort Victoria

11664-461: Was ultimately a shorter and faster route than the one they followed west. This route had the disadvantages of being much too rough for wagons and controlled by the Blackfoot tribes. Even though Lewis and Clark had only traveled a narrow portion of the upper Missouri River drainage and part of the Columbia River drainage, these were considered the two major rivers draining most of the Rocky Mountains, and

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