Alanson Beers (August 19, 1808 – February 20, 1853) was an American pioneer and politician in the early days of the settlement of the

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, c ...

. A blacksmith by trade, he was a reinforcement for the Methodist Mission in what would become the state of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

. The

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

native helped found the Oregon Institute and participated in the

Champoeg Meetings The Champoeg Meetings were the first attempts at formal governance by European-American and French Canadian pioneers in the Oregon Country on the Pacific Northwest coast of North America. Between 1841 and 1843, a series of public councils was hel ...

where he was elected to serve on the Executive Committee in 1843.

Early life

Beers was born August 19, 1804 in Weston,

Fairfield County, Connecticut Fairfield County is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is the most populous county in the state and was also its fastest-growing from 2010 to 2020. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 957, ...

, the son of Isaac Beers, an

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

soldier and wife Jemima Rowell. There he was trained as a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

. Prior to immigrating to Oregon, Alanson married Rachel, with whom he had six children; Elenor, Benjamian, William, Oliver, Abigail, and Jonathan.Guardianship Case 0093, (1855). Oregon State Archives.

Oregon

Alanson Beers moved to Oregon in 1837, arriving on the ship ''Diana'' in May. He was part of the reinforcements for the Methodist Mission that Jason Lee had traveled back east to gather. After arriving with his wife, he brought the supplies for the mission from the ship by small boat on the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. Beers then built a home and blacksmith's shop at the Mission. Later, he worked for the Mission Manual Labor School for Indians and at the Oregon Institute, now Willamette University as a blacksmith making building products for the construction of homes and mills. In 1843 at the

he was chosen for the legislative committee to draft the original laws of the provisional government, and then chosen by the members to be the chairperson of the judiciary committee. Then on July 5, he was elected as one of the three members of the First Executive Committee along with David Hill and Joseph Gale. He was chosen to represent the interests of the Methodist Mission in the government. During his service on the executive committee Beers lead the organization of a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non- professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. This occurred in 1844 in response to an incident with the native populations in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east ...

Later life

In July 1844 Beers opted to receive a farm, equipment, a blacksmith shop, and $1,000 from the Methodist Mission in lieu of passage back to Connecticut. At this time the mission was re-organizing under the Reverend George Gary. In 1846 Alanson formed a partnership with

George Abernethy George Abernethy (October 7, 1807 – March 2, 1877) was an American politician, pioneer, notable entrepreneur, and first governor of Oregon under the provisional government based in the Willamette Valley, an area later a part of the American sta ...

to buy grist mills at the island mills near

Oregon City, Oregon ) , image_skyline = McLoughlin House.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = The McLoughlin House, est. 1845 , image_flag = , image_seal = Oregon City seal.png , image_map ...

, calling the enterprise the Oregon Milling Company. The company milled lumber and ground flour. Then prior to his death in 1853 he built a house to be used as a dormitory by the Oregon Institute, which the school then bought for $300 after his death and named Beers House. The school also offered each of his children a scholarship. Alanson Beers is buried at the Lee Mission Cemetery in Salem, Oregon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beers, Alanson Methodist Mission in Oregon Champoeg Meetings Members of the Provisional Government of Oregon 1853 deaths Politicians from Salem, Oregon Oregon pioneers 1808 births People from Weston, Connecticut American blacksmiths