The Oregon Lyceum or Pioneer Lyceum and Literary Club was founded in

Oregon City Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 ...

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

around 1840. The forum was a prominent fixture for the leading pioneer settlers during its brief existence. It would begin publishing the first American newspaper west of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

in 1846 and had several names during its existence.

Founding

One source lists the founding of the institution as 1844, but this is unlikely as there are many references to debates regarding forming a government in 1842. The forum was likely started at that time with the goal of producing a newspaper in the region. That paper, the '' Oregon Spectator'', began publishing in 1846. The Lyceum's first meeting was held at the home of Sidney Moss who had purchased his land in Oregon City from Dr.

John McLoughlin John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, (October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857) was a French-Canadian, later American, Chief Factor and Superintendent of the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver from 1 ...

of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

(HBC).

Frederick Prigg Frederick Prigg (1812–1849) was an American physician and pharmacist. He served as Secretary for the Provisional Government of Oregon, a position that eventually became the Oregon Secretary of State, which is now the second-highest office in t ...

was another member of the Lyceum that assisted in building the organization. So was Portland co-founder Francis Pettygrove. In addition to debates on government and the creation of a press, the group discussed literary items, scientific pursuits, and other local issues. Literary works of the group were published in the ''Spectator''.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. The group as also known as ''The Willamette Falls Debating Society'' or ''The Falls Association''. Other notable members during its existence include:Bancroft, Hubert Howe. 1882. The works of Hubert Howe Bancroft. San Francisco: A.L. Bancroft & Co. p. 297 Henry A. G. Lee, William H. Gray, Lansford W. Hastings, Elisha Applegate,

Jesse Applegate Jesse Applegate (July 5, 1811 – April 22, 1888) was an American pioneer who led a large group of settlers along the Oregon Trail to the Oregon Country. He was an influential member of the early government of Oregon, and helped establish the ...

, Asa Lovejoy, Sidney W. Moss, Robert Newell, James W. Nesmith, William C. Dement, Medorem Crawford, Hiram Straight, William Cushing, Philip Foster, Theophilus Magruder,

Daniel Waldo Daniel Waldo (September 10, 1762 – July 30, 1864) was an American clergyman, born in Windham, Connecticut. He served in the American Revolutionary War and later became a missionary and clergyman. In 1856 at age 94, Waldo was named Chaplai ...

, Peter G. Stewart, Isaac W. Smith, Joseph Watt, Frank Ermatinger, Albert E. Wilson, Jacob Hoover, John Minto, Barton Lee, and John P. Brooks.

Government debate

Beginning in the fall and winter of 1840-1841 the members of the Lyceum debated the future of the region. At the time neither the United States nor

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could claim the Oregon Country under the terms of the

Treaty of 1818 The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary and the restoration of slaves, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, is an international treaty signed in 1818 betw ...

signed at the conclusion of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. During these debates in Oregon City the European settlers argued about whether an independent country should be formed, or if a

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

should be formed. Those lyceum members advocating an independent country were mainly

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

, including Dr. McLoughlin and his HBC employees. Although many former fur trappers (predominantly

French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

s) and the region's

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

sided with McLoughlin on this issue. Both groups viewed the formation of an independent country as preventing the territory from eventually becoming a part of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. McLoughlin's attorney L. W. Hastings, introduced a resolution on his behalf to the Lyceum as follows:

Resolved, That it is expedient for the settlers of the coast to organize an independent government.

The resolution was adopted but at that same meeting

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 ...

of the

Methodist Mission The Methodist Mission was the Methodist Episcopal Church's 19th-century conversion efforts in the Pacific Northwest. Local Indigenous cultures were introduced to western culture and Christianity. Superintendent Jason Lee (missionary), Jason Lee was ...

introduced a competing issue following the vote to be discussed the next week. This new resolution was in essence in favor of waiting for the United States to annex the territory instead:

Resolved, That if the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
extends its jurisdiction over this country during the next four years it will not be expedient to form an independent government.

After debate of the issues, (which by now, according to later observers, included the option of ''no'' provisional government if an independent nation was not formed) the resolution in favor of a four-year delay passed and ultimately the side favoring America prevailed.

Later years

It is not known when the Oregon Lyceum disbanded, but the

Lyceum movement The lyceum movement was a loose collection of adult education programs that flourished in the mid-19th century in the United States, particularly in the Northeast and Midwest, that were inspired by the classical Lyceum. Some of these organizati ...

in the United States died out around the turn of the Twentieth Century.

References

External links

End of the Oregon Trail.org
{{Oregon Pioneer History Champoeg Meetings Oregon Country Pre-statehood history of Oregon Lyceum movement 1840s establishments in Oregon Territory