PLSO The Oregon Surveyor May June 2020

24 Vol. 43, No. 3 The Oregon Surveyor  | The Lost Surveyor rescued by settlers from the Willamette Valley, who brought supplies and guided them to the end of the trail. By comparison with the main route of the Oregon Trail, the Applegate Trail brought far fewer emigrants into the Oregon coun- try than originally hoped. However, when goldwas discovered at Sutter’sMill in 1848, the California Gold Rush began and the Applegate Trail saw significant use by Or - egonians headed to the gold fields. The Applegate Trail was in use between 1846 and 1860 and forever solidified the Apple - gate family name in Oregon history and place names. The Applegate Trail was des- ignated a National Historic Trail in 1992. Jesse lost nearly everything in about 1865, after he signed a large surety bond for Samuel E. May, Oregon Secretary of State at the time. Apparently, based on news- paper accounts, the secretary was a thief and defaulted on the bond, leaving our Lost Surveyor to cover the default. The Eugene City Guard newspaper notes that, Jesse Applegate, “the honest man,” lost ev- erything including cash, notes, accounts, and approximately 1,000 acres of land to the State of Oregon as a result of a dis- honest politician. It was a blow he never truly recovered from. Jesse Applegate passed away in 1888 in Yoncalla, Oregon, but his life continued to be celebrated by Oregonians across the state. The Daily Capital Journal edito- rial page story headline from March 15, 1907, quotes from a presentation by Dr. Joseph Schafer at the University of Ore- gon entitled “Jesse Applegate, Prince of the Pioneers,” which hails him as the “Daniel Boone of Old Oregon.” Now that’s a rather fitting headline since Daniel Boone was a surveyor as well, but that’s a story to stay tuned for in a future issue. On February 7, 1911, The Polk County Observer published a biography of Jesse Applegate in preparation for celebration of the 100th anniversary of his birth on July 5. Numerous newspapers around Oregon carried stories of this celebration. Quoting from the Observer , a summary of notable events in Jesse Applegate’s life follows: • Pioneer lawmaker who was the real founder of the reorganized provi- sional government adopted in 1845 • Held a land claim in both Missouri and Oregon • Founder of Yoncalla, Oregon, in 1849 Photo 3: The Applegate Trail kiosk trail map through the Willamette Valley. Photo by Pat Gaylord.