Mountain men camped along the banks of the Malheur River trade furs with the Native Americans.

Prior to the Oregon Trail migration, the English business known as The Hudson Bay Company controlled the Oregon Territory: Oregon, Washington, Montana, Western Canada and Alaska. The Hudson Bay Company employed French, English and American trappers including Jim Bridger to trap beaver, the furs of which were fashionable in the East and Europe and brought a high price. Many trappers married or lived with Indian women who knew about wilderness survival and preparing furs. Beaver pelts after drying on a stretcher were called plews, and these plews were often sold or traded at rendezvous.

By the 1840's, when the Oregon Trail came into use, the beaver were greatly reduced in numbers and styles had changed; thereby lowering the high demand for beaver furs. Many trappers were compelled to become buffalo hunters, army scouts, or guides for wagon trains. in 1848, Oregon was declared a federal territory by the United States.

Address: Washington and Longfellow (Farmers Insurance)

Artist: Norm Comp (painted in 1995)