"Past on twelve miles or more, took the (w)rong road and arrived at the Willammette bottoms about dark a little below the City." — Samuel Dexter Francis, October 14, 1852
In September and October, and early November the meadows at the junction of the Willamette and Clackamas rivers became the last stop for thousands of Oregon Trail emigrants. This site marked the end of their overland journey - 1,924 miles of travel from Independence, Missouri. Emigrants guided their teams and wagons down the western face of Holcomb Hill, crossing the claim of A.B. and Nancy S. Holcomb. They pitched camp on the claims of Hiram and Susan Straight and George and Ann Abernethy. Majestic cottonwoods, known to the pioneers as the Balm of Gilead Tree, willows, and meadows beckoned as a resting place. Emigrants went to the post office to look for letters, tried to find out about family and friends already in Oregon, and set about locating claims prior to moving out one last time. The banks of the Willamette marked the end of one of the most memorable sagas in their lives and the first chapter of a new beginning.
" We forded this stream and came about one mile further, which landed us in the heart of Oregon City and ended our journey acrosss the continent consuming five months and five days..." — E.W. Conyers, Diary, September
15, 1852
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