| Title | A History of Benton County, Oregon Including Its Geology, Topography, Soil and Productions |
| Publication Type | Book |
| Year of Publication | 1885 |
| Authors | Fagan, David D. |
| Publisher | A.G. Walling |
| City | Portland, Or. |
| Call Number | OSU Libraries: Valley F882.B4 F2 |
| Keywords | agriculture, Alsea Bay, Alsea River, demographics, historical, navigation, Olympia oyster=Ostrea lurida (Ostrea conchaphila), Siletz Reservation, Siletz River, Yachats River, Yaquina Bay, Yaquina River |
| Notes | Written just a few years after the central Oregon Coast was opened for settlement, and when the Siletz watershed was still part of Benton County, Fagan's history gives a good look at the beginnings of villages and commerce in the area. Although the author's ethnocentrism may make the reader cringe, there is an honest expression of contemporary sentiments. Chapter 35 (geography) and 43 (The Siletz Indian Reservation) are of particular interest. "A few miles north of Yaquina bay is the Siletz Reservation, a tract of one hundred and seventy-five thousand acres of fine open country upon which about six hundred Indians are located. This territory is looked upon with longing and covetous eyes by settlers, who hope for the removal of the aboriginal with keen expectancy." (p.300) |
