Welcome to the Dorris Ranch Living History Program!

Transcription

1 Welcome to the Dorris Ranch Living History Program! We strive to give you a valuable educational experience on the history of Oregon and its early inhabitants. On the following pages you will find all the information you need to make your next field trip experience to Dorris Ranch a memorable one. If you have any questions feel free to call us at (541) Planning a Field Trip to Dorris Ranch We welcome school groups from K-12th grade coming to Dorris Ranch for an educational visit. Home school groups, scout troops, and other youth organizations qualify for the school programs field trip. College students and other groups can be accommodated please call (541) for further information. Arrival and Departure The educational component of the program begins at 9:30 and ends at 11:20. We ask that you arrive no later than 9:15. Buses can be loaded and unloaded in front of the Tomseth house (please follow the signs), a living history guide will be there to meet your group. After the program is complete you are welcome to stay and have lunch at the ranch. Weather Conditions The living history program is conducted outdoors and runs rain or shine. Please remind all participants to dress appropriately for the weather. Living History Behavior and Expectations Please keep students on the paths and in areas directed by the living history instructors. Please remind students to raise their hands and be courteous to all participants, artifacts, and wildlife. Please no running or roughhousing on any of the structures. Out of respect for our instructors we ask that you silence your cell phones and refrain from texting during the program. Changes and Cancellations If you must alter your reservation in any way please call (541) as soon as possible. Please note that some cancellations could result in administrative fees. Please be aware that as a working filbert orchard cancellations can occur due to orchard maintenance, in these situations alternate dates are provided. Contact Us: (541) / 250 South 32nd Street Springfield, Oregon 97478

2 Getting the Most Out of Your Field Trip Information On the following pages we have provided you basic information regarding the different historical groups you will experience on your trip as well as fun activities that allow children to become better acquainted with new vocabulary. Name Tags Please have children separated into three groups with one chaperone per group, using the name tags provided on the following pages. Teachers and Chaperones Teachers and chaperones are a valuable part of the living history experience. By allowing children the opportunity to engage through interactions with the living history guide you are providing them a tangible view of the past inhabitants of Oregon. We ask that you allow children the opportunity to answer the questions posed to them without judgement or criticism of their answer. During the program their will be times when our living history guides will be dispelling historical myths as well as introducing the children to items that by todays standards can be deemed controversial. Be aware that while we do not dwell on these topics or items to ignore them would be doing a disservice to the historical record. Interpreters All of our living history interpreters are paid employees of Willamalane Park and Recreation District and are trained and certified to all company standards. All interpreters hold degrees and/ or training in topics directly related to the living history program. As well as education and training many of our interpreters have special interests in related fields such as ecology, biology and archaeology and therefore your experience with each interpreter will be different. Feel free to ask you interpreter questions at any time, but please make them age appropriate in front of the children. Payment Cost for attending the field trip is $2.50 for children in the Springfield School District and $3 for all others. Payment can be made at the time of the field trip, please make checks payable to Willamalane Park and Recreation District. Free bus transportation is provided to all Springfield school, please call (541) for further information. Contact Us: (541) / 250 South 32nd Street Springfield, Oregon 97478

3 The Kalapuya The Kalapuya people have existed for thousands of years in and around the area that encompasses Dorris Ranch. The Kalapuya primarily inhabited the Willamette valley and were made up of individual bands. These bands consisted of clusters of closely related villages sharing common territory (usually a river basin) and speaking a similar dialect. The band that inhabited the area around Dorris Ranch was known as the Winfelly, and the village was located in the confluence of the Coast Fork and South Fork of the Willamette River. A thousand years ago the area around Dorris Ranch was much different than it is today. Most of the Willamette valley was made up of six foot tall bunch grasses which the Kalapuya annually burned to increase plant production and improve animal habitat. Open camas meadows, oak groves, and meandering streams flowed through vast wetlands. These varying ecosystems supported a variety of food sources and materials for manufacturing goods. In the tall bunch grasses, basket materials were harvested. In the open meadows, camas bulbs were dug and tar weed seeds (a type of wild sunflower) were collected, and in the oak groves the acorns were gathered. The river provided waterfowl, fish, and eels. Small and large game were also taken. In the summer and early fall the Kalapuya lived on mounds located along small streams. On these mounds, temporary huts were built out of bent willow poles covered by grass mats of rule and cattail. In the late fall and early winter the bands would move upland areas to more permanent semi-subterranean structures called plank houses. These houses were made of split cedar planks and usually contained a number of families and cooking fires. During the long winter months the Kalapuya relied mainly on stored food supplies, manufactured and repaired their gear, and entertained themselves with stories and games. Storytelling was an important part of the Kalapuyas way of life, for it passed on knowledge and values. The Kalapuya lived a relatively peaceful existence for thousands of years until the introduction of european diseases in the 1780 s. Diseases like smallpox and malaria devastated the population from 3,500 to less than 100 in the 1870 s. In the mid 1870 s the Kalapuya were forced by the United States government onto the Grand Ronde and Siletz reservations where many still live today. Currently the Kalapuya are building an active tribal life. Locally at east Alton Baker Park in Eugene one can visit the renamed Whilamut Natural Area and view the talking stone exhibit, which reintroduces the Kalapuya words into the environment in a beautiful way. Contact Us: (541) / 250 South 32nd Street Springfield, Oregon 97478

4 The Hudson s Bay Company Trapper The business of trapping animals for their fur in and around Dorris Ranch took place from the early 1800 s up to the late 1840 s. Although a wide variety of fur bearing animals were trapped, beaver was the most sought after animal. Beaver pelts were in high demand in Europe primarily for the production of fashionable hats. Two types of trapping groups sought after this highly prized commodity-the freeman and the company trapper. The freeman were self employed, and the company trapper was an employee of a particular company like the Pacific, Astorian, Northwest, or Hudson s Bay. The earliest trapping by non natives in the vicinity of Dorris Ranch was in 1812 by the Pacific Fur Company s Donald Mckenzie, for whom the Mckenzie River is named. In November of the same year Astorians William Wallace and JC Halsey made their way to the headwaters of the Willamette River. In 1819 several temporary trading posts established by Thomas McKay were set up at the junction of the Mckenzie and Willamette Rivers (north of present Eugene) to trade with the local Indians. In 1821 the British Hudson s Bay company built Fort Vancouver on the north bank of the Columbia River, near present day Vancouver, Washington, and monopolized the fur trade on the pacific slope covering present day British Columbia, Washington. Oregon, and Idaho. This large commerce headquarters stocked supplies for trappers, the Indians and settler trade, and for 20 to 30 other company posts. The trapping of furs by the Hudson s Bay company was done in a brigade of people including men, women, and children of many nationalities including French-Canadians, Metis (mixed native and white), Hawaiians, Scots, and English. The brigade that traveled in the vicinity of Dorris Ranch was known as the Bonaventura party. This brigade originated out of Fort Vancouver and headed south picking up horses and traveling down the Willamette Valley and into Northern California, trapping along the way. The brigades would leave in late June and trap all year returning the following June. By the late 1830 s and 40 s the fur trade was in decline and beaver fur hats were being replaced with silk hats. As a result of the heavy trapping, the beaver populations were in decline. American settlers began moving into Oregon and the era of profitable company trapping came to an end. Americans pushed the British out, Oregon became a state, and some of the trappers settled into a life of farming. At Dorris Ranch we interpret the Hudson s Bay Company trapper. Contact Us: (541) / 250 South 32nd Street Springfield, Oregon 97478

5 The Pioneer Homesteader On September 27, 1850 the United States Congress passed the Donation Land Claim Act. The law granted 320 acres to every unmarried white male citizen over the age of eighteen and 640 acres to every married couple arriving in the Oregon Territory (present day Oregon, Washington and Idaho) before December 1,1850. Those arriving after December 1, 1850 but before December1, 1853 were granted half the amount. A married couple each owned half of the property under their own name. This was the first time in the history of the U.S that a women was able to own her own parcel of land. Half-blood Native Americans were also eligible under this grant. Those claiming land in the Oregon territory were required to live on the land and cultivate it for four years before they could own it outright. This law brought thousands of settlers into the new territory, swelling the ranks of emigrants traveling across the Oregon Trail. The men, women, children that made this journey were typically referred to as pioneers or homesteaders. At the time of the laws expiration in 1854 almost 8,000 patents were issued for land. After 1854 land was still available in the Oregon territory, but it now came at a price. One acre could be purchased for $1.25 with no more than 320 acres purchased under one claim. Subsequent land claim acts such as the Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged people to continue to populate sparsely populated areas. The journey to the Oregon territory was long and hard. Most emigrants would travel over 2,000 miles carrying everything they owned in a wagon. The journey to the new territory was just the beginning, after securing a land claim emigrant families needed to build a permanent shelter and retain a sustainable food source for their family. Many of these emigrants would spend their first winter in the Oregon territory living in a temporary shelter like a tent or living with extending family or friends. Once established on their land homesteaders would set to building log cabins and plowing fields for crops and animals. Contact Us: (541) / 250 South 32nd Street Springfield, Oregon 97478

6 Name Tags (choose three) Contact Us: (541) / 250 South 32nd Street Springfield, Oregon 97478

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