European settlement and the seed corn that grew to became Oregon sprouted 200 years ago at the mouth of the Columbia River.

Astoria threw a birthday party this weekend to celebrate.

It was near Astoria that Captain Rober Gray discovered the river and gave the United States is first claim to the territory. 

Explorers Lewis and Clark passed the winter of 1805-06 at Fort Clatsop near Astoria after stopping by what would become Umatilla County on their way downriver.

The first commercial settlement of Americans came in 1811 as a result of the organization of the Pacific Fur Company in 1810 by John Jacob Astor of New York. 

Washington Irvings book, Astoria, published in 1836,  gives a good general account of Astors enterprise. 

The Astor party on the ship Tonquin arrived off the mouth of the Columbia River on March 22, 1811, and after two disastrous days of strenuous effort, succeeded in landing in the estuary. Three weeks later, April 12, the party began to build a fort and bestowed upon it the name of the originator and chief owner of the enterprise. 

The place was called Astoria until the fall of 1813, when it was taken over by the British, and rechristened Fort George. Fort George it remained until it was nominally returned to the United States in 1818. The name Astoria was gradually restored with pioneer settlement.

Interestingly, a land party had also been dispatched by Astor to the mouth of the Columbia.

Wilson Price Hunt, leader of the Astor party of 1812, and his group camped along the Umatilla River about where Pendleton is now.

Quoting Irving, the Hunt party crossed the Blue Mountains on Jan. 6, 1812. The party was cheered, as we are today, as they descended out of the snow and caught sight of what appeared to be a plain stretching to the west.

They camped on the banks of a river that, …was called by the natives Eu-tal-la, or Umatalla, and abounded with beaver. 

It was this beaver that Astor was after and is, in part, why a commercial post was established in Astoria. 

Oregons leading politicians gathered this weekend to mark these historical events with a bicentennial party. The guests included Gov. John Kitzhaber, U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Rep. David Wu.

This is huge history were a part of, Kitzhaber said at the party as reported in The Daily Astorian. This is exciting to be here on the 200th anniversary of the community that is really the cradle of the American West. If it werent for Astoria, Oregon and Washington and Idaho would probably be part of Canada today.

Kitzhaber credited Astoria for being a community of firsts, introducing the first post office in the west, the first customs officer, the first public school district in Oregon and the first to introduce the all-American tuna fish sandwich.

We join our governor in congratulating Astoria and noting this important landmark in our states history. 

We also offer cheers to the staff or our sister newspaper, The Daily Astorian, who are at work recording the current history of that region.

All Oregonians might enjoy a summer trip to Astoria to visit the many historical sites and learn a little more about our regions history.

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Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of Publisher and Editor Tom Brown, Associate Publisher Kathryn Brown, Managing Editor Skip Nichols, News Editor Daniel Wattenburger and Senior Reporter Dean Brickey. EO Publishing Co. Board Chairman Mike Forrester also contributes editorial content. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian.