Oregon North of the Columbia
Movements towards the creation of a Separate Territory
First Convention
Washington Standard
May 9, 1868

That memorial was adopted by the convention and signed by the members of the convention and is as follows; To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled; The memorial of the undersigned, delegates of the citizens of Northern Oregon in convention assembled, respectfully represents to your honorable bodies that it is the earnest desire of your petitioners and of said citizens that all that portion of Oregon Territory lying north of the Columbia river and west of the great northern branch thereof, should be organized as a separate Territory under the name and style of the "Territory of Columbia."

In support of the prayer of this memorial your petitioners would respectfully urge the following among many other reasons: 1. The present Territory of Oregon, containing an area of 341,000 square miles, is entirely too large an extent of territory to be embraced within the limits of one state. 2. The said Territory possesses a seacoast of 650 miles in extent; the country east of the Cascade mountains is bound to that on the coast by the strongest ties in interest, and, inasmuch as your petitioners believe that the Territory must inevitably be divided at no very distant day, they are of the opinion that it would be unjust that one state should possess so large a seaboard to the exclusion of that in the interior.

3. The territory embraced within the said boundaries of the proposed "Territory of Columbia," containing an area of about 32,000 square miles, is, in the opinion of your petitioners, about a fair and just medium of territorial extent to form one state. 4. The proposed "Territory of Columbia" presents natural resources capable of supporting a population at least as large as that of any state in the Union possessing an equal extent of the territory. 

5. Those portions of Oregon Territory lying north and south of the Columbia river must, from their geographical position, always rival each other in commercial advantages, and their respective citizens must, as they are now and always have been, be actuated by a spirit of opposition. 6. The southern part of Oregon Territory, having a majority of waters have controlled the Territorial Legislature and Northern Oregon has never received and benefit from the appropriations made by Congress for, said Territory which were subject to the disposition of said Legislature.

7. The seat of the Territorial Legislature is now situated, by the nearest practicable route, at a distance of 500 miles from a large portion of the citizens of Northern Oregon. 8. A great part of the legislation suitable to the south is, for the local reasons, opposed to the interests of the north and inasmuch as the south has a majority of voters and representatives are always bound to reflect the will of their constituents, your petitioners can entertain no hopes that their legislative wants will be properly regarded under the present organization.

9. Experience has, in the opinion of your petitioners, well established the principle that in states having a moderate sized territory the wants of the people are more easily made known to their representatives, there is less danger of a conflict between sectional interests, and more prompt and adequate legislation can always
be obtained. 

In conclusion, your petitioners would respectfully represent that Northern Oregon, with its great natural resources, presenting such unparalleled inducements to emigrants, and with its present large population, constantly and rapidly increasing by immigration, is of sufficient importance. in a national point of view, to permit the fostering care of Congress; and its interests are so numerous and so entirely distinct in their character as to demand the attention of a separate and independent legislature.

Wherefore your petitioners humbly pray that your honorable bodies will, at an early day, pass a law organizing the district of country before described under a territorial government to be named the "Territory of Columbia."

Done in convention assembled at the town of Monticello, Oregon territory, this 25th day of November, A. D. 1852. G N. McConaha, Seth Catlin, R. J White, J. N. Low, Q. A. Boroks. C. C. Terry, C S. Hathaway, A. J. Simmons, E. H. Winslow, S. Plamondon. A. F. Scott, G. Drew, W. N. Bell, M. T. Simmons A. A. Denny, H. C. Wilson, L. M. Collins, A. Cook, H. A. Goldsborough, L. B. Hastings, G. B. Roberts. S. S. Ford. Sr. N. Stone, B. C. Armstrong, L. H. Davis, J. Fowler, C. H. Hale, S D. Ruddell, A. Crawford, H. D. Huntington, E. J. Allen, W. A. R. McCorkle, A. B. Dillenbough, H. Ostrander, J. R. Jackson. C. F. Porter, D. S Maynard, E. L. Finch, F. A. Clarke. H. Miles. William W. Plumb, P. W. Crawford. A. Wylie, S. P. Moses.

At the convention Quincy A. Brooks made a good speech in advocacy of that memorial. We have not room to reprint it, but there are reasons in it eloquently set forth why so interesting a section should secure at least a decent effort to be afforded mail facilities commensurate with such valuable resources, and at this time we would commend it to his examination.

Were we memorializing that official on the mail deficiencies of the Puget Sound region we could draw extensively on that interesting document. The interests he then so faithfully portrayed are greater now, and while the speech ably vindicates his judgment as a prophet, how strong the rebuke it administers for neglect of such region. This officer cannot justify inefficiency under a plea of our ignorance of varied interests and resources, and what is needed to develop them.

The Oregon legislative assembly convened at Salem on the first Monday of December. The territory north of the river was without a representative, but Ebey and Chenoweth were in the house, able and zealous champions of our interests, and they derived valuable assistance from George E. Cole, John A. Anderson, Ben Harding and others.

On January 10, 1853, Hon. F. A. Chenoweth introduced a resolution in regard to organizing a territory north of the Columbia river, which was referred to a select committee of three, consisting of Messrs. F. A. Chenoweth (afterwards speaker of the first house of representatives of the new Territory, judge of its third judicial district and the speaker of the last Oregon house of representatives), George E. Cole (since delegate to congress and governor of the new Territory), and Isaac N. Ebey, whose tragic fate at the hands of northern Indians in August, 1857, is remembered by all.

On the 14th of January Ebey, from that select committee, reported a strong memorial as a substitute for the resolution. It came up the next day for final action and after a severe ordeal and strenuous efforts to emasculate it by Hon. Aaron E. Watt, who has always wanted and still believes that Oregon should include Puget Sound with the Cascade mountains as an eastern boundary, and Hon. Ben Stark, since U. S. senator, who desired to preserve leverage to bring the capital from Salem towards the Columbia river, it passed by the decisive vote of 20 ayes to 3 nays, with 2 absentees. Stark, however, on the final passage voted "aye," having failed to secure any amendment. 

In the council the memorial passed on January 18, without any resistance or amendment. General Lane. then Delegate in congress from Oregon, did not wait for the action of the Oregon legislature. On the receipt of the memorial and proceedings of the Monticello convention, he forthwith presented a bill which was referred to the committee on territories. 

On February 10, 1853, the United States house of representatives, by the decisive vote of 128 to 29, passed the organic act of the Territory of Washington. The bill as introduced ascribed the name "Columbia" to the new Territory, in accordance with the unanimous desire of its citizens. The committee on territories substituted the name of Washington. Colonel Richardson of Illinois moved to amend the bill so as to conform it with the body of the bill and the debate on that question is not the least interesting portion of this little history. C. E. Stuart of Michigan, the chairman of the committee on territories, who had the bill in charge, appealed to members not to hazard the passage of the bill at the late period of the session by discussing the name, and the title was agreed to. The U. S. senate acted with promptness, passing the bill without amendment on the March 2, 1853.

Among the last official acts of Millard Fillmore as president of the United States was the approval of the bill establishing the Territory of Washington.