Asa Lovejoy

Asa Lawrence Lovejoy (March 14, 1808 – September 10, 1882) was an American pioneer and politician in the region that would become the U.S. state of Oregon. He is best remembered as a founder of the city of Portland, Oregon. He was an attorney in Boston, Massachusetts before traveling by land to Oregon; he was a legislator in the Provisional Government of Oregon, mayor of Oregon City, and a general during the Cayuse War that followed the Whitman massacre in 1847. He was also a candidate for Provisional Governor in 1847, before the Oregon Territory was founded, but lost that election.

Lovejoy continued his political career during territorial period as a member of both chambers of the Oregon Territorial Legislature; he served as the first Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives in 1849. He was also a delegate to the Oregon Constitutional Convention held in 1857 that paved the way for Oregon's entry into the Union. He was part owner of the Oregon Telegraph newspaper, and worked on railroad development in the Willamette Valley after leaving politics. Lovejoy Street in Northwest Portland and the Lovejoy Fountain in Downtown Portland are named in his honor.

Early life Lovejoy was born in Groton, Massachusetts, on March 14, 1808. His parents were Betsy Lovejoy (née Lawrence) and Doctor Samuel Lovejoy. In the Eastern United States, he attended college at both Cambridge College and Amherst College, before studying law and passing the Maine bar to become an attorney. he moved west to Missouri, but left the bottom lands of that state for the unorganized Oregon Country due to poor health.

Oregon Country Lovejoy first traveled to the Oregon Country in 1842 over the Oregon Trail. He was part of a wagon train led by Elijah White In 1843, Lovejoy and traveling companion William Overton split a claim to a tract along the Willamette River. This site would later become part of downtown Portland. Overton held the land, as Lovejoy settled elsewhere. In 1846, he was the last administrator of the Ewing Young estate, whose death had precipitated the formation of the Provisional Government of Oregon.

Political career

In 1844, Asa Lovejoy was elected to the Provisional Legislature of Oregon to represent Clackamas District. Lovejoy ran for the newly created office of governor that replaced the Executive Committee in 1845 with the adoption of the Second Organic Laws of Oregon. George Abernethy won the election after he received the most votes with 228, followed by Osbourne Russell with 130, William J. Bailey with 75, and finally Lovejoy with 71 votes. In 1847, Lovejoy ran against Abernethy for governor a second time. Lovejoy lost the election 536 to 520. In September 1848, he traveled with a group to California during the California Gold Rush, but returned aboard the brig Undine in January 1849 after six weeks in California.

Once the government of the Oregon Territory arrived in March 1849, a new legislature with two chambers was established. Representing Clackamas District again, he also became the first Speaker of the Oregon Territorial Legislature. The following year, he remained in the Council, but now elected as a Whig Party politician. In 1854, he was back in the House of Representatives, and in 1856 he served in one final session, now as a Democratic Party member.

In 1857, Lovejoy represented Clackamas County at the Oregon Constitutional Convention in Salem. The convention created the Oregon Constitution in preparation for the territory becoming a U.S. state. Lovejoy, still a Democrat, served as the chairperson of the boundaries committee and also served on the committee responsible for matters concerning the legislature. and submitted the finished document to a vote of the public on November 9. This vote approved the Constitution and on February 14, 1859, Oregon entered the Union as the 33rd state.

Later life and legacy

In his later years he was involved in a variety of business ventures in Oregon, including as a major shareholder in the Oregon Telegraph newspaper and vice-president of the Willamette Steam Navigation Company. He served on the Portland Public Schools board from 1868-1871. Lovejoy died on September 10, 1882, at the age of 74 and was buried in the Masonic section at Lone Fir Cemetery in Portland. Lovejoy Street in Portland is named after him, The fountain at Lovejoy Fountain Park in downtown Portland is named in his honor.