01Summary
Trail's end. Emigrants filed for free 320-acre claims under the 1850 Donation Land Claim Act and began the work of homesteading.
02History
Oregon City sits at the falls of the Willamette River, about 20 miles south of present-day Portland. The HBC's John McLoughlin claimed the falls in 1829 for their water power; American settlers founded the town in 1842 on his original plat. From 1844 to 1849 it was the capital of the Oregon provisional government, and from 1849 to 1851 the territorial capital.
Oregon City was where the Oregon Trail officially ended. Emigrants who had walked 2,170 miles arrived at the federal land office and filed their claim, under the 1843 Provisional Government rules at first, and from 1850 under the Donation Land Claim Act, which gave 320 acres to a single white settler and 640 to a married couple. Filing was free. The only requirement was four years' residence and cultivation.
By 1855 the wave had crested. The Donation Land Claim Act expired that year, and from 1862 the federal Homestead Act applied uniformly across the West. Oregon City lost its singular role in the trail story.
03Today
The End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center stands at the trail's terminus. The McLoughlin House (1846), John McLoughlin's retirement home and the oldest standing building in the city, is part of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.
04People connected here
05Stops nearby
The Oregon Trail ran roughly 2,170 miles from Independence, Missouri to Oregon City. The stops immediately before and after this one are linked below; show Oregon City on the interactive map for the full route.