By: Stephen H. Williamson
This web site is to preserve the story of Asians and their contributions in Western Oregon. Often these immigrants could only come, work and then be forced to leave. Almost nothing has been written about them. Yet, their labor created the network of roads and railroads that made the timber industry grow. This website is to remember them.
The Japanese Colony at Shotgun Creek
1915-1925
The 1920 US Census shows almost thirty Japanese living in the area. A 1925 news article refers to an entire "Japanese Colony at Mabel". This photo shows one of the world's largest railroad trestles.
http://www.efn.org/~opal/coastrange.htm
This link has photos of two graves of Japanese in the Mabel Cemetery. These may be the oldest Asian graves in Lane County.
http://www.efn.org/~opal/mabelgraveyard.htm
This is a photo of Japanese tea sold in Marcola around 1900. The package reads it was “Imported by C. Cole, Isabel Oregon”. Columbus Cole was an important store owner and church leader. Note that the package says that he imported the tea, not just sold it. Cole had business connections with Japan and also Asian customers in the area.
The Ping Yang School Bombings 1895-1901
This is a true story of the bombing of a school called Ping Yang. It was destroyed from an explosive mix of social, religious and racial prejudices. Here is a picture of the man reportedly behind the three bombings. He used racist imagery and people's fears of Chinese to fight against the school.
http://www.efn.org/~opal/pingyang.htm
The Hayden Family with Two Japanese
Friends
Read about the Hayden family and their friendship with two Japanese men. Ella Hayden was a UofO graduate and a schoolteacher when the Ping Yang school was bombed. The Haydens lived very near the school.
http://www.efn.org/~opal/hayden.htm
Here are several very rare photos and the story of Punjab Sikhs from India working in a Crawfordsville Oregon lumber mill. Sikhs and Hindus also worked in other local mills. This photo is from about 1909.
Also, read the story of a young Sikh who in was a student at Berkeley and worked in a lumber mill to earn money for his tuition and PhD. His immigration case later set a legal precedent.
http://www.efn.org/~opal/indiamen.htm
Asian Culture in the Life and Writings of Opal Whiteley
http://www.efn.org/~opal/opalasia.htm
Oregon's best-selling author Opal Whiteley lived in the Marcola area as a small child in 1903. Much of the research on this site was originally done to understand her early life and writings. Opal and her mother (shown wearing a kimono) had a life long fascination with Asia. She even mentions kimonos in her child hood diary.
http://www.efn.org/~opal/asiannews.htm
Read a collection of newspaper articles that mention Asians or Japanese in the Mohawk Valley. You will find a 1917 World War I draft list with six Japanese men on it. Another article documents Ku Klux Klan activity in Oregon and Marcola in 1924. Note: some of these old articles use the slur word "Jap" - this is very offensive to Japanese people. These articles are from the collection of Marcola historian Curtis Irish. This website would not be possible without his newspaper research and collections of photographs. We are very indebted to him.
Many of the photographs and newspaper articles here came from the collection of Mr. Curtis Irish, a lifelong resident of Marcola Oregon. He has gathered thousands of historic pictures and news articles of the Mohawk Valley. He has also been a consultant to the UofO on its Opal Whiteley Project. Tracing the almost lost trail of these Asians pioneers would have been impossible without Curtis Irish and his eighty year passion for history. Below is a link to Curtis Irish's complete file of old newspaper articles. This is a very large text file, almost 400 pages! It covers the years 1891-1930. It is a priceless collection showing the development of East Lane County over the years.
Stephen was born in 1951 and grew up near Greenwood, Louisiana. He loved to read as a youth, often disappearing for hours into the woods with his dog and books. He worked railroad construction while attending Louisiana State University. In 1976 he moved to Cottage Grove, Oregon. Working as a "gandydancer" gave him an appreciation for the hard labor that the Asian railroad workers contributed.
In 1993, Stephen founded the Opal Whiteley Memorial in Cottage Grove. Opal Whiteley was a best-selling nature writer in 1921 and grew up near Cottage Grove. For the past ten years the Memorial has done community events and given high school scholarships in her memory. Opal Whiteley was fascinated with Asia.
In 2000 he was asked by Dr. Lynne Anderson-Inman of the University of Oregon to assist in publishing Opal Whiteley's best-selling diary online. He collected dozens of historical photographs of the people and places Opal wrote about. She lived in the Marcola area in as a small child in 1903 and attended the UofO. Many of the pictures and news articles here are from the collection of historian Curtis Irish.
Stephen has worked for over 15 years as a counselor for people with psychiatric disabilities. He has also been an advocate and lobbyist for the Association For Retarded Citizens (ARC), and the Oregon Mental Health Association. Stephen has also given numerous trainings in abuse reporting and client rights.
Stephen is also an avid outdoorsman and disappears into the woods with his dog and his books every chance he gets. He is married to Karen Williamson, a pubic school music teacher in Eugene Oregon. He is an active member of the Cottage Grove Historical Society and a frequent speaker to community groups and schools..
Email Stephen Williamson stevew@oregon.uoregon.edu or phone (541) 746-9625
Ping Yang on the Mohawk
all material on this website, except where noted is copyrighted 2003 by Stephen Williamson