Pleasant M. Armstrong (1810 – August 24, 1853) was an American pioneer in

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 ...

in an area that would become the state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, United States. He helped build a ship that was sailed to California to exchange for cattle, and voted at the May 2, 1843, Champoeg Meeting.

Oregon Country

Armstrong immigrated to the Oregon Country in 1840.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''.

Binfords & Mort Publishing Binford & Mort Publishing is a book publishing company located in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1930, the company was previously known as Metropolitan Press and Binfords & Mort. At one time they were the largest book publisher in th ...

, 1956. In 1842, he settled a farm in the Yamhill Valley, in what is now

Yamhill County, Oregon Yamhill County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 107,722. The county seat is McMinnville. Yamhill County was named after the Yamhelas, members of the Kalapuya Tribe. Yamhill Co ...

. During this time he helped build the '' Star of Oregon'' along with Felix Hathaway, John Canan, Ralph Kilbourne, Henry Woods, George Davis, Jacob Green, and later

Joseph Gale Joseph Goff Gale (April 29, 1807 – December 13, 1881) was an American pioneer, trapper, entrepreneur, and politician who contributed to the early settlement of the Oregon Country. There he assisted in the construction of the first sailing vesse ...

. The ship was then sailed to California where it was sold in a three-way deal where the Oregon pioneers received cattle. Armstrong and the others then drove 1,250 head of cattle, 600 horses and mules, and 3,000 sheep overland back to Oregon, arriving in early 1843. On May 2, 1843, Pleasant Armstrong attended the meetings held at

Champoeg, Oregon Champoeg ( , historically Horner, John B. (1919). ''Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature''. The J.K. Gill Co.: Portland. p. 398.) is a former town in the U.S. state of Oregon. Now a ghost town, it was an important settlement in t ...

, where the pioneer settlers voted on whether to form a government. Armstrong voted for the creation of a government, and that faction won with a vote of 52–50, creating the

Provisional Government of Oregon The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected settler government created in the Oregon Country (1818-1846), in the Pacific Northwest region of the western portion of the continent of North America. Its formation had been advanced ...

. In 1845, he married fellow Champoeg participant Alvin T. Smith’s daughter, Jane Smith. When troubles in

Southern Oregon Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia thr ...

led to the

Rogue River Wars The Rogue River Wars were an armed conflict in 1855–1856 between the U.S. Army, local militias and volunteers, and the Native American tribes commonly grouped under the designation of Rogue River Indians, in the Rogue Valley area of wha ...

, Armstrong volunteered. On August 24, 1853, he was killed in action at Pleasant Creek in Jackson County, which now is named in his memory. His body was never recovered.

References

External links

Pleasant Armstrong memorial at Findagrave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Pleasant M. Champoeg Meetings 1810 births 1853 deaths People from Oregon Country Rogue River Wars People from Oregon Territory