Alvin T. Smith
Encyclopedia
Alvin Thompson Smith was an American
missionary and politician in what became the state of Oregon
. A native of Connecticut
, he lived in Illinois
before moving to the Oregon Country
to preach to the Native Americans in the Tualatin Valley
. There he served in both the Provisional Government of Oregon
and the government of the Oregon Territory
, as well as helping to establish Tualatin Academy
, later becoming Pacific University
. Smith’s former home, the Alvin T. Smith House
in Forest Grove
, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
, on November 17, 1802, to Thomas Smith. In the early 1830s he moved to Quincy, Illinois
, where he worked as a carpenter and where he married Abigail Raymond (born April 21, 1793) on March 19, 1840. In 1840, he and his new wife crossed the Great Plains
on what became the Oregon Trail
with P. B. Littlejohn and the Reverend Harvey L. Clark
and their wives, along with fur traders. They left in March after Smith had heard a speech about a group of Native Americans who had traveled to St. Louis, Missouri
, and asked to learn about Christianity. Clark and Littlejohn invited him to help establish a mission independent of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
.
, where they were joined by frontiersman Henry Black before heading west. Along the trail they caught up to a fur brigade of the American Fur Company
at Hickory Grove and joined the group that included Joel Walker, Pleasant Armstrong, and Robert Moore
among others. This larger group continued on to the Rocky Mountain Rendezvous where the Oregon bound missionaries continued on with guidance from Caleb Wilkins and Robert Newell
to Fort Hall
where they abandoned their wagons and traded their cattle for Mexican cattle to be delivered once in the Willamette Valley
. Smith and the group continued on to the Whitman Mission, arriving on August 14, 1840.
After arriving in the Oregon Country in September, the group wintered at Henry H. Spalding
’s mission in what is now Eastern Washington
. At the mission Smith assisted in building saw mills, a grist mill, and what was the first spinning wheel and loom in what became the Oregon Territory. He remained for nearly a year before leaving in September 1841 for the Willamette Valley.
Smith settled on the Tualatin Plains
near what became Forest Grove, Oregon. He and his wife were the first permanent Euro-American settlers at what would become Forest Grove. There he built a log cabin on his 643 acres (260 ha) farm and later donated to Tabitha Brown
's orphan school in 1845 that grew to become Tualatin Academy and then Pacific University. The couple's first cabin was lost to a flood, but they built a new log cabin on the farmstead.
where pioneers debated on whether to create an independent government for the Oregon Country prior to the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute
. At the meetings, Smith voted for the creation of the Provisional Government of Oregon and was elected as a magistrate for the Twality District
, now Washington County. Smith was appointed by the Provisional Legislature of Oregon
as a road viewer for a proposed road from the Willamette Falls
to the Tualatin Plains in 1844. In 1851, he was elected as the probate judge for Washington County and received his commission from Territorial Governor John P. Gaines
on July 3, 1851.
Smith volunteered in 1848 to fight in the Cayuse War
that broke out after the Whitman Massacre
, but was never called up for service. In 1851, Smith was appointed postmaster of West Tualatin, now Forest Grove, serving in that position until 1855, with his wife assisting. The post office was located in the Smith’s log cabin, and was the first post office in the county. In 1856, he completed building a new two-story frame home, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 8, 1974, as the Alvin T. Smith House.
On April 17, 1858, his wife Abigail died, and later that year Smith assisted in building the Forest Grove Congregational Meeting House in September. Smith remarried on October 19, 1869, eleven years after his first wife died. Smith traveled home where he married Jane Averill from his hometown of Branford, Connecticut, before returning to Oregon and his farm. He and Jane moved into Forest Grove proper in 1870, but continued to own the farm and old home. Alvin Thompson Smith died on January 22, 1888, in Forest Grove at the age of 85 and was buried at Mountain View Memorial Gardens in that city.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
missionary and politician in what became the state of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. A native of Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, he lived in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
before moving to the Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
to preach to the Native Americans in the Tualatin Valley
Tualatin Valley
The Tualatin Valley is a farming and suburban region southwest of Portland, Oregon in the United States. The valley is formed by the meandering Tualatin River, a tributary of the Willamette River at the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley, east of the Northern Oregon Coast Range...
. There he served in both the Provisional Government of Oregon
Provisional Government of Oregon
The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected government created in the Oregon Country, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It existed from May 2, 1843 until March 3, 1849. Created at a time when no country had sovereignty over the region, this independent government...
and the government of the Oregon Territory
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
, as well as helping to establish Tualatin Academy
Tualatin Academy
Tualatin Academy was a secondary school in the U.S. state of Oregon that eventually became Pacific University. Tualatin Academy also refers to the National Register of Historic Places-listed college building constructed in 1850 to house the academy, also known as Old College Hall...
, later becoming Pacific University
Pacific University
Pacific University is a private university located in Oregon, United States. The first campus began more than 160 years ago and is located about 38 km west of Portland in Forest Grove...
. Smith’s former home, the Alvin T. Smith House
Alvin T. Smith House
The Alvin T. Smith House is a two-story home on Elm Street in Forest Grove, Oregon, United States. Completed in 1856, it is the second oldest building in the city and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. A Greek Revival style house, it was built by pioneer Alvin T...
in Forest Grove
Forest Grove, Oregon
Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a bedroom suburb of Portland. Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in 1850 and then incorporated in 1872 and was the first city in Washington County...
, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Early years
Alvin Thompson Smith was born in Branford, ConnecticutBranford, Connecticut
-Landmarks and attractions:Branford has six historic districts that are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places . These include buildings in Federal, Arts and Crafts, and Queen Anne styles of architecture...
, on November 17, 1802, to Thomas Smith. In the early 1830s he moved to Quincy, Illinois
Quincy, Illinois
Quincy, known as Illinois' "Gem City," is a river city along the Mississippi River and the county seat of Adams County. As of the 2010 census the city held a population of 40,633. The city anchors its own micropolitan area and is the economic and regional hub of West-central Illinois, catering a...
, where he worked as a carpenter and where he married Abigail Raymond (born April 21, 1793) on March 19, 1840. In 1840, he and his new wife crossed the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
on what became the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
with P. B. Littlejohn and the Reverend Harvey L. Clark
Harvey L. Clark
Harvey L. Clark was an educator, missionary, and settler of what became Forest Grove, Oregon, United States. A native of Vermont, he moved to Oregon Country where he participated at the Champoeg Meetings and helped to found Tualatin Academy that later became Pacific University...
and their wives, along with fur traders. They left in March after Smith had heard a speech about a group of Native Americans who had traveled to St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, and asked to learn about Christianity. Clark and Littlejohn invited him to help establish a mission independent of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was the first American Christian foreign mission agency. It was proposed in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College and officially chartered in 1812. In 1961 it merged with other societies to form the United Church Board for World...
.
Oregon
The group traveled first to Independence, MissouriIndependence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
, where they were joined by frontiersman Henry Black before heading west. Along the trail they caught up to a fur brigade of the American Fur Company
American Fur Company
The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1808. The company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the United States by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts in American business...
at Hickory Grove and joined the group that included Joel Walker, Pleasant Armstrong, and Robert Moore
Robert Moore (Oregon pioneer)
Robert Moore was an American politician and pioneer in the Oregon Country. A Pennsylvania native and veteran of the War of 1812, he also participated in the early movements to form a government in Oregon Country and founded Linn City, Oregon...
among others. This larger group continued on to the Rocky Mountain Rendezvous where the Oregon bound missionaries continued on with guidance from Caleb Wilkins and Robert Newell
Robert Newell (Oregon politician)
Robert "Doc" Newell , was an American politician and fur trapper in the Oregon Country. He was a frontier doctor in what would become the U.S. state of Oregon. A native of Ohio, he served in the Provisional Government of Oregon and later was a member of the Oregon State Legislature...
to Fort Hall
Fort Hall
Fort Hall, sitting athwart the end of the common stretch shared by the three far west emigrant trails was a 19th century outpost in the eastern Oregon Country, which eventually became part of the present-day United States, and is located in southeastern Idaho near Fort Hall, Idaho...
where they abandoned their wagons and traded their cattle for Mexican cattle to be delivered once in the Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
. Smith and the group continued on to the Whitman Mission, arriving on August 14, 1840.
After arriving in the Oregon Country in September, the group wintered at Henry H. Spalding
Henry H. Spalding
Henry Harmon Spalding , and his wife Eliza Hart Spalding were prominent Presbyterian missionaries and educators working primarily with the Nez Perce in the U.S. Pacific Northwest...
’s mission in what is now Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington is the portion of the U.S. state of Washington east of the Cascade Range. The region contains the city of Spokane , the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the fertile farmlands of the Yakima Valley and the...
. At the mission Smith assisted in building saw mills, a grist mill, and what was the first spinning wheel and loom in what became the Oregon Territory. He remained for nearly a year before leaving in September 1841 for the Willamette Valley.
Smith settled on the Tualatin Plains
Tualatin Plains
The Tualatin Plains are a prairie area in central Washington County, Oregon, United States. Located around the Hillsboro and Forest Grove areas, the plains were first inhabited by the Atfalati band of the Kalapuya group of Native Americans. Euro-American settlement began in the...
near what became Forest Grove, Oregon. He and his wife were the first permanent Euro-American settlers at what would become Forest Grove. There he built a log cabin on his 643 acres (260 ha) farm and later donated to Tabitha Brown
Tabitha Brown
Tabitha Moffatt Brown was an American pioneer emigrant who traveled the Oregon Trail to the Oregon Country. There she assisted in the founding of Tualatin Academy, which would grow to become Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon...
's orphan school in 1845 that grew to become Tualatin Academy and then Pacific University. The couple's first cabin was lost to a flood, but they built a new log cabin on the farmstead.
Political career
In May 1843, he participated in the Champoeg MeetingsChampoeg Meetings
The Champoeg Meetings in Oregon Country were the first attempts at governing in the Pacific Northwest by United States European-American pioneers. Prior to this, the closest entity to a government was the Hudson's Bay Company, mainly through Dr...
where pioneers debated on whether to create an independent government for the Oregon Country prior to the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute
Oregon boundary dispute
The Oregon boundary dispute, or the Oregon Question, arose as a result of competing British and American claims to the Pacific Northwest of North America in the first half of the 19th century. Both the United Kingdom and the United States had territorial and commercial aspirations in the region...
. At the meetings, Smith voted for the creation of the Provisional Government of Oregon and was elected as a magistrate for the Twality District
Washington County, Oregon
- Major highways :* Interstate 5* Interstate 205* U.S. Route 26* Oregon Route 6* Oregon Route 8* Oregon Route 10* Oregon Route 47* Oregon Route 99W* Oregon Route 210* Oregon Route 217* Oregon Route 219-Demographics:...
, now Washington County. Smith was appointed by the Provisional Legislature of Oregon
Provisional Legislature of Oregon
The Provisional Legislature of Oregon was the single-chamber legislative body of the Provisional Government of Oregon. It served the Oregon Country of the Pacific Northwest of North America from 1843 until early 1849 at a time when no country had sovereignty over the region...
as a road viewer for a proposed road from the Willamette Falls
Willamette Falls
The Willamette Falls is a natural waterfall on the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon, in the United States. It is the largest waterfall in the Pacific Northwest and the eighteenth largest in the world by water volume. Horseshoe in shape, it is wide and high with a flow...
to the Tualatin Plains in 1844. In 1851, he was elected as the probate judge for Washington County and received his commission from Territorial Governor John P. Gaines
John P. Gaines
John Pollard Gaines was a U.S. military and political figure. He was a Whig member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Kentucky from 1847 to 1849, and he served as Governor of the Oregon Territory from 1850 to 1853, stepping down after a turbulent term in office.-Early...
on July 3, 1851.
Later years
Cayuse War
The Cayuse War was an armed conflict that took place in the Northwestern United States from 1847 to 1855 between the Cayuse people of the region and the United States Government and local Euro-American settlers...
that broke out after the Whitman Massacre
Whitman massacre
The Whitman massacre was the murder in the Oregon Country on November 29, 1847 of U.S. missionaries Dr. Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa Whitman, along with eleven others. They were killed by Cayuse and Umatilla Indians. The incident began the Cayuse War...
, but was never called up for service. In 1851, Smith was appointed postmaster of West Tualatin, now Forest Grove, serving in that position until 1855, with his wife assisting. The post office was located in the Smith’s log cabin, and was the first post office in the county. In 1856, he completed building a new two-story frame home, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 8, 1974, as the Alvin T. Smith House.
On April 17, 1858, his wife Abigail died, and later that year Smith assisted in building the Forest Grove Congregational Meeting House in September. Smith remarried on October 19, 1869, eleven years after his first wife died. Smith traveled home where he married Jane Averill from his hometown of Branford, Connecticut, before returning to Oregon and his farm. He and Jane moved into Forest Grove proper in 1870, but continued to own the farm and old home. Alvin Thompson Smith died on January 22, 1888, in Forest Grove at the age of 85 and was buried at Mountain View Memorial Gardens in that city.