Secrets of the Past: “The Tragic Case of a Frontier Oregon Woman”

Yamhill Valley Heritage Center 11275 SW Durham Lane, McMinnville

Many strong and sturdy women accompanied their husbands and children on the Oregon Trail in the 1840s and 1850s only to find themselves on isolated farms far from any neighbors once they arrived. What happened if the marriage was less than stable? If a handsome male drifter passed through offering a potential alternative path? If the wife simply could not take the pressures of frontier life? Join us to learn more about the unique and challenging conditions confronting Euro-American women in the early years of Oregon Territory’s history and how one woman took matters into her own hands.