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Dr. John McLoughlin (pronounced mc-lock-lin, October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857), the "Father of Oregon", was a fur trader and early settler in the Oregon Country in the Pacific Northwest. In the late 1840s his general store in Oregon City was famous as the last stop on the Oregon Trail.

1 Biography

McLoughlin was born in La Rivière du Loup, Quebec, of Scottish and French Canadian descent . Though baptized Roman Catholic, he was raised Anglican. In 1798Events February- October Irish Rebellion of 1798 April 7 The Mississippi Territory is organized from territory ceded by Georgia and South Carolina and is later twice expanded to include disputed territory claimed by both the U. and Spain April 26 France a, he began to study medicine with Sir James Fisher of Quebec. After studying for 4 1/2 years he was granted a license to practice medicine on April 30, 1803Events January 30 Monroe and Livingston sail for Paris to discuss, and possibly buy, New Orleans. They end completing the Louisiana Purchase. February 24 The Supreme Court of the United States, in Marbury v. Madison establishes the principle of judicial r. He was hired as a physician at Fort William, OntarioFort William, Ontario was a city in Northern Ontario which amalgamated with Port Arthur, Ontario and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the City of Thunder Bay in January 1970. At that time it was the largest city in Northwestern Ontario. Histo (now Thunder BayThunder Bay (48° 23N, 89° 15W, time zone EST) is a city in Thunder Bay District, Northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest city in Northern Ontario ( 2001 population 109,016; CMA 121,986). The city takes its name from the immense bay at the h, OntarioOntario ( In Detail) ( In Detail) Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Loyal she began, loyal she remains Capital Toronto Largest City Toronto Area Total % fresh water 4th largest(2nd lgst prov. 1 076 395 km² 14. 7% Population Total (2001) Density Rank), a fur-gathering post of the North West CompanyThe North West Company was a major fur trading firm from about 1783 until 1821, formed by a combination of Scottish immigrants to Lower Canada and the French fur traders who had already spread widely through the west of what is now Canada. Their traders, on Lake SuperiorLake Superior is the largest of North America's Great Lakes. It is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area with Lake Baikal in Siberia having more volume. The Caspian Sea is larger, but contains salt water. Lake Superior has a surface are; there he became a trader and mastered the Indian languages.

In 1814 he became a partner in the company. In 1816 McLoughlin was arrested for the murder of Robert Semple, the governor of the Red River Colony, though it is often claimed he stood in proxy for some Indians who were blamed. He was tried on October 30, 1818, with the charges being dismissed. McLoughlin was instrumental in the negotiations leading to the North West Company's 1821 merger with the Hudson's Bay Company.

In 1824 the Hudson's Bay Company appointed McLoughlin as Chief Factor of the Columbia District in the Oregon Country, which comprised 600,000 square miles between Spanish California and Russian Alaska, with Peter Skein Ogden appointed to assist him. At the time, the Oregon Country was under cooperative settlement of both the United States and Britain. Upon his arrival, he determined that the present headquarters of the company at Fort Astoria (now Astoria, Oregon) at the mouth of the Columbia River was unfit. As a replacement he built Fort Vancouver (now Vancouver, Washington) across the Columbia from the mouth of the Willamette River. The post was opened for business on March 19, 1825. From his headquarters in Fort Vancouver he supervised trade and kept peace with the Indians, inaugurated salmon and timber trade with California and Hawaii, and supplied Russian Alaska with produce. Under McLoughlin's management, the Columbia District remained highly profitable, in part due to the ongoing high demand for beaver hats in Europe.

McLoughlin was generally known for his fair treatment of the people with whom he dealt, whether they were British citizens, U.S. citizens, or Native Americans. At the time, the wives of many Hudson's Bay field employees were Native Americans, including McLoughlin's wife Marguerite.

In 1841, with the arrival of the first wagon train, McLoughlin disobeyed company orders and extended aid to the American settlers. By that time, relations between Britain and the United States had become very strained at that time, and many expected war to break out any time. McLoughlin's aid probably prevented an armed attack on his outpost by the American settlers. The settlers understood that his motives were not purely altruistic, and some resented the assistance, working against him for the rest of his life. The Hudson's Bay Company eventually realized that the increasing numbers of American settlers would result in Ft. Vancouver becoming part of U.S. territory. In response they ordered McLoughlin to move their operation north to Vancouver Island where he constructed Fort Adelaide (now Victoria, British Columbia, Canada).

After retiring from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1846, McLoughlin moved his family back south to Oregon City in the fertile Willamette Valley. The valley was the destination of choice for settlers streaming in over the Oregon Trail and had become officially U.S. territory in the Oregon Treaty. At his Oregon City store he sold food and farming tools to settlers, became the last stop on the Trail. In 1847, McLoughlin was given the Knighthood of St. Gregory , bestowed on him by Pope Gregory XVI. He became a U.S. citizen in 1849. McLoughlin's opponents succeeded in inserting a clause forfeiting his land claim in the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850. Although it was never enforced, it embittered the elderly McLoughlin. He served as mayor of Oregon City in 1851, winning 44 of 66 votes. He died of natural causes in 1857.

In 1953, the state of Oregon donated a bronze statue of McLoughlin to the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection. The title "Father of Oregon" was officially bestowed on him by the Oregon Legislature in 1957, on the centennial of his death.