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Description

One of the earliest maps of Oregon Territory.

Important early map of Oregon Territory by Samuel Parker, the first Presbyterian Missionary in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.

Parker's map of Oregon Territory as a landmark map in the mapping of the region. Wheat notes that the map represented a real advance, and was made from personal observation. Wagner-Camp notes that the map was the earliest to obtain any circulation which contains reliable information as to the interior of the Oregon Territory.

The North Fork of the Platte is shown, with the Sweetwater flowing into it. South Pass is not named, but the sources of the Sweetwater and the Big Sandy (shown flowing into the Colorado), are close together. The Green River is a headwater of the Colorado. Bear River is shown inaccurately. Ft. Hall is shown, one of its earliest appearances. The Yellowstone River is shown, but Lewis & Clark's Biddle River is omitted. Jackson Lake is shown, feeding Henry's Fork and the Snake River. The Salmon and Clark's Fork are correctly shown, with Coeur d'Alene Indians near the lake, whose waters reach the Columbia by the Spokane River, near Ft. Okanogon. Fort W(alla) W(alla) is at the mouth of the Snake. West of Salt Lake is Ogden's River, and the Clamet (Klamath), with the Umbiqua (Umpqua) to the north and the Willamette shown. North of the upper Clamet is Mt. Shasty, with Mt. McLoughlin, Mt. Vancouver and Mt. Hood.

Samuel Parker was an early missionary in the West. Parker answered the call for missionaries to move to the American West in 1834. In 1835, he traveled with fellow missionary Marcus Whitman. After preaching at the Green River rendezvous of the American Fur Company, Parker continued west while Whitman returned east.

During the winter of 1835 to 1836, Parker was a guest at the Hudson's Bay Company's fur trade outpost on the Columbia River, Fort Vancouver. He was then the first Presbyterian missionary in what would become the state of Oregon. Parker would then seek out locations for the establishment of missions in the region. He traveled through the Willamette Valley and Lower Columbia Valley, to select sites that were later used by the missionaries of the American Board for Foreign Missions, including what became the Waiilatpu Mission.

Samuel Parker then left the region by ship, sailing first to the Sandwich Islands and then around Cape Horn to the Eastern Seaboard.

An essential map for Oregon Territory collectors.

Condition Description
Minor loss at several intersections and several minor tears, expertly restored on verso.
Reference
Wheat 438 (Illustrated) and Wagner-Camp 70.