PLSO The Oregon Surveyor May June 2020

25 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon  |  www.plso.org The Lost Surveyor • U.S. Deputy Surveyor in southern Oregon surveying Donation Land Claims and the Oregon Military Road • A statesman, a surveyor, a path-finder through the southern mountains, and in general a leader in all the varied activities of frontier life in the Northwest At some point, our Lost Surveyor became known as “Uncle Jesse” tomany Oregonians. His obituary in the Grant County News onMay 3, 1888, reads “Uncle Jesse Applegate…was one of Oregon’smost useful and remarkable men.” As can be said of many surveyors I know, it goes on to say, “He was eccentric and somewhat intolerant of the opinions of others if they differed from his own, but was withal honest, brave, and keen witted.” In closing it states, “Few among the hardy adventurous spirits who first penetrated the Oregon wilderness have left a nobler or better record than Jesse Applegate.” Many other newspapers and articles of the time echo these sentiments. Jesse Applegate and his brothers left a last- ing legacy on surveying in Oregon and the Northwest. While Jesse may be the most storied of the family, Jerry Olson’s research shows the Applegate’s were truly a survey- ing family. The General Land Office (GLO) surveyors of the Applegate family include Daniel Webster (son); Elisha L. (nephew); Pe- ter Skene Ogden Applegate (son); Charles Putnam (son-in-law); and M.L. McCall (son- in-law). Elisha ascended to Oregon Surveyor General in 1865. In addition to his time with the GLO, Peter held the position of Jackson County Surveyor between 1890 and 1892. Jerry has produced a detailed history of Jes- se Applegate’s life and surveying contracts which I highly recommend reading for a more detailed history. Jesse Applegate was truly one of our profession’s, and Oregon’s, finest souls.  x Photo 4: Tule Lake area near Klamath Falls, Oregon, at sunrise. Photo by Pat Gaylord. Photo 5: The trail map of the Applegate Trail. Photo by Pat Gaylord. References • Access Genealogy https://accessgenealogy.com/kentucky/biography-of-jesse-applegate.htm • The Oregon Blue Book https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Pages/explore/notable/applegate.aspx • End of the Oregon Trail https://historicoregoncity.org/2019/04/02/the-applegate-trail • Jesse Applegate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Applegate • Oregon Spectator, Thursday March 4, 1847, and August 5, 1851 • Polk County Observer, February 7, 1911 • Daily Capital Journal, March 15, 1907 • Grant County News, May 3, 1888 • Jerry Olson, Olson Engineering Inc. https://www.olsonengr.com/content/surveying-history/ general-land-office-surveyors-oregon