OregonScape

Abstract

Oregonscape Though people have lived in the lower Willamette Valley for millennia, few identified sites remain from the times before the arrival of newcomers in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centureis.One such place is The Pow Wow Tree,a big leaf maple tree (Acer macrophyllum ) that grows near the Clackamas River.Near this tree,the Clackamas and Multnomah tribes would meet with other people to conduct business and settle affairs. The tree is now the emblem of the city of Gladstone. Located on Clackamas Boulevard, the area around the tree has been the site of many events. Local Indians had a racetrack next to the tree. Peter Rinearson, whose donation land claim included the tree, used the track to train his racehorses. In 1861, the first Oregon State Fair was held on the site with the racetrack serving as the parade ring and the Pow Wow Tree standing at the fair’s entrance. With a trunk circumference of seven feet, in 2004, it became an Oregon Heritage Tree. — Mikki Tint, former special collections librarian, OHS Research Library Learn more about the Pow Wow Tree at www.ohs.org/research/quarterly/oregonscape.cfm. The Pow Wow Tree, located in Gladstone, Oregon, was recognized in 1979 as a Bicentennial Tree (having been alive at the time of the American Revolution). It stands today as a piece of history that one can still touch. OHS Research Library, OrHi 51917 ...