Early Oregon ~ Postcards to Litha #4: The Willamette River at Oregon City, Oregon

This post card is the fourth one in a series of some post cards that belonged to my Great Grandmother Litha Letsom of Yoncalla, Oregon.  They were mailed to her around 1909; one had a message, and a couple of them were unused.  If you enjoy this post, you might also enjoy seeing the other post cards in this series @  Postcards to Litha Series: #1-4.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Oregon City is now a city next to Portland, Oregon.  But, back in the 1850's, Oregon City was where you landed at the end of your 2,000 mile cross country Oregon Trail journey.  It is, in fact, where some of my pioneer ancestors landed.  They later settled in Yoncalla and Drain, in southern Oregon.

When this postcard was made, some sixty years later, Oregon City was a prospering place to live.  Shown above is a mill with neatly organized logs on the Willamette River, with a steam ship trying to navigate past those darn logs. 

The Willamette River has its beginning with four different forks.  The North Fork begins at Waldo Lake and merges into the Middle Fork above Oakridge.  The South Fork begins at Cougar Reservoir on the McKenzie River.  The final fork of the Willamette is the Coast Fork, and it begins in Cottage Grove.  The Willamette flows through Eugene to Portland, and then merges with the mighty Columbia.  The Columbia River eventually flows into the Pacific Ocean at Astoria.

I copied and pasted a brief summary of the route of the Willamette below from the website Online Highways.com: 

"The Willamette River is a vital, multi-purpose waterway that touches the lives of millions of people along its banks and throughout the Pacific Northwest. An important historical and cultural resource, the Willamette today still abounds with great natural beauty, abundant wildlife, and varied recreational opportunities.

Rising in the mountains of west central Oregon, it joins the McKenzie River at Eugene and flows past Harrisburg, Corvallis, and Albany (where it is fed by the Calapooia River, it flows on through the broad and fertile Willamette Valley. After being joined by the Santiam River, it continues past Independence and Salem. At Oregon City, it tumbles over the Willamette Falls and passes through Portland before joining the Columbia River to the Pacific."

For more info on the Willamette River and Oregon City, here are a few links to check out:

 Map is courtesy of the Wikipedia link below.

Wikipedia: The Willamette River
The Oregon Encylopedia: The Willamette River

Stamps were only a penny for postcards back in 1909: 

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This postcard says "Pacific Novelty Company, Publishers, San Francisco, Cal.  Made in Germany." 

I decided to do a little research on the Pacific Novelty Company, and am listing a few links that I found.  Because I am brand new to the world of postcard collecting and their values, I am adding a variety of resources here to remind me where to begin.  I hope that they will be helpful to you also:

I Buy Postcards Home Page

I Buy Postcards: Slide Show of Pacific Novelty Co. Postcards

Oregon State University Archives Library Info on PNC

Postal Treasures Website: PNC Postcards for Sale  -This website shows actual cards similar to mine and their values.  Most seem to be worth between $5.00 and $10.00


Have a wonderful Friday!

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