{{short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox person |name = Lot Whitcomb |image = Lot Whitcomb portrait.jpg |image_size = 200px |caption = Lot Whitcomb |birth_name = |birth_date = April 24, 1807 |birth_place = Vermont |death_date = March 31, 1857 |death_place = Oregon |body_discovered = |death_cause = |resting_place = River View Cemetery |resting_place_coordinates = {{coord|45|27|50.25|N|122|40|26.50|W}} |citizenship = U.S. |alma_mater = |occupation = |party = |spouse = Irene Chamberlain |children = 4 }}
'''Lot Whitcomb''' (1807–1857) was an American commercial entrepreneur and politician who established the city of Milwaukie, Oregon. After making a fortune milling and shipping lumber and timber for California gold miners, Whitcomb launched the first steamship in the U.S. state of Oregon.<ref name="Friedman">Ralph Friedman, ''In Search of Western Oregon.'' Caldwell, ID: Caxton Printers, 1990; pp. 433–434.</ref>
==Biography==
===Early years===
Lot Whitcomb was born in Vermont on April 24, 1807.<ref name="Corning">Howard McKinley Corning (ed.), ''Dictionary of Oregon History.'' [1956] Second Edition. Portland, OR: Binford & Mort, 1989; pg. 263.</ref> He married the former Irene Chamberlain in 1828, and together they would have four children, all daughters.<ref name="Corning"/> Around 1830 Whitcomb moved to Michigan, where he began work as a contractor.<ref name=Snyder56>Eugene E. Snyder, ''Early Portland: Stump-Town Triumphant: Rival Townsites on the Willamette, 1831-1854.'' Portland, OR: Binford & Mort, 1951; pg. 56.</ref> He subsequently moved to Illinois, where he served a term in the Illinois House of Representatives.<ref>"History of Illinois, Legislative Roster," in ''Illinois Blue Book 2011-2012,'' pg. 409.</ref>
In the spring of 1847 Whitcomb and his family were part of a party of 13 families leaving Illinois for Missouri in order to take the Oregon Trail to the Oregon Territory, a location which was then receiving considerable attention in the contemporary press.<ref name=Snyder57>Snyder, ''Early Portland: Stump-Town Triumphant,'' pg. 57.</ref> This group met up with others seeking to pioneer in Oregon and a massive train of 114 animal-drawn wagons ensued.<ref name=Snyder57 /> The party reached Oregon City in November 1847, where Whitcomb would remain for the rest of the year.<ref name=Snyder58>Snyder, ''Early Portland: Stump-Town Triumphant,'' pg. 58.</ref>
===Establishment of Milwaukie===
Early in 1848 Whitcomb made a donation land claim and made use of parts brought with him on the journey to establish a water-powered sawmill at the confluence of Johnson Creek with the Willamette River.<ref name=Snyder57 /> On his claim he platted the town of Milwaukie in 1848.<ref name="Corning"/>
In the summer of 1848 news that gold had been discovered in California made its way to the Willamette Valley and an exodus of fortune-seekers from Oregon ensued.<ref name=Snyder59>Snyder, ''Early Portland: Stump-Town Triumphant,'' pg. 59.</ref> Whitcomb decided that a surer path to fortune lay with the manufacture and supply of lumber to the boomtowns of Northern California, however, and he built a schooner, the ''Milwaukie,'' and bought a brig, the ''Forest,'' to carry lumber and other goods to markets in California.<ref name="Corning"/> Whitcomb's mill turned out 6,000 board feet of rough 3-inch planks every day in two 12-hour shifts — material which brought $300 per thousand board feet in San Francisco, triple the prevailing price in Oregon.<ref name=Snyder61>Snyder, ''Early Portland: Stump-Town Triumphant,'' pg. 61.</ref>
Whitcomb's fortunes were further enhanced by a flood during the winter of 1849–50, in which many of his competitors in the lumber industry saw their mills washed away or badly damaged by floodwaters.<ref name=Snyder59 /> Whitcomb similarly enriched himself with establishment of a flour mill, with which he was able to provide flour to miners at extremely profitable prices.<ref name=Snyder59 />
The milling and shipping business proved lucrative and other ships were added to Whitcomb's fleet, including the barks ''Louisville,'' ''Ocean Bird,'' and ''Keoka,'' all added by 1851.<ref name=Snyder62>Snyder, ''Early Portland: Stump-Town Triumphant,'' pg. 62.</ref> Whitcomb used some of his profits to launch a newspaper, the ''Western Star,'' based in Milwaukie.<ref name="Carey 486">Charles H. Carey, ''General History of Oregon Through Early Statehood'' [1922]. Second Edition. Portland, OR: Binfords & Mort, 1971; pg. 486.</ref> This paper would be moved to Portland In 1851 and its name changed to the ''Oregon Weekly Times.''<ref name="Carey 486"/>
===Steamship operator===
In the same year he started his newspaper, Whitcomb built his steamship, ''Lot Whitcomb''.<ref name="Friedman"/> John C. Ainsworth captained the vessel, which was {{convert|160|ft|m}} long and had side wheels that were {{convert|18|ft|m}} in diameter.<ref name=Carey741>Carey, ''General History of Oregon Through Early Statehood,'' pg. 741.</ref> Jacob Kamm, who installed the steamship's machinery, was the engineer.<ref name=Carey741 />
Whitcomb, in a ''Western Star'' editorial on November 21, 1850, promoted the steamboat, meant for "river navigation between Oregon City and Pacific City, touching at every point where there is business."<ref name="Carey 651-52">Carey, ''General History of Oregon Through Early Statehood,'' pp. 651–652.</ref> After the ship was launched, it made regular trips between Oregon City and Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia River.<ref name="Carey 651-52"/> However, river shoals between Milwaukie and Portland made the latter more accessible to large vessels, and Portland soon won the competition for sea-going commerce.<ref>Howard McKinley Corning, ''Willamette Landings'' [1947]. Third Edition. Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society, 2004; pg. 16.</ref>
Whitcomb sold the ship to an Oregon City group, which in turn sold it to the California Steam Navigation Company in 1853 for use on the Sacramento River.<ref name=Carey741 />
===Political career===
Whitcomb's other activities included a term (1852–53) as Clackamas County representative to the House chamber of the Oregon Territorial Legislature.<ref>{{cite web|title=Oregon State Archive: Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide |url=https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/Pages/records/legislators_guide.aspx|publisher=Oregon Secretary of State|year=2010|accessdate=January 15, 2012}}</ref> He served as postmaster at Milwaukie from 1851 through 1857.<ref name="Corning"/>
=== Death and legacy ===
Lot Whitcomb died March 31, 1857. He was 49 years old at the time of his death.
After their deaths, Lot and Irene Whitcomb were buried in the private Whitcomb cemetery in Milwaukie but were later moved to River View Cemetery in Portland.<ref name="Friedman"/>
Lot Whitcomb Elementary School in Milwaukie is named after Whitcomb.<ref>{{cite web|title=Whitcomb Elementary|publisher=Schoolwires|url=http://www.nclack.k12.or.us/whitcomb|accessdate=January 11, 2012}}</ref> In Oregon City, Lot Whitcomb Drive bears his name.<ref>{{cite web|title=Meeting and Reception Facilities|publisher=Oregon City Chamber of Commerce|url=http://www.oregoncity.org/Meeting_Reception_Facilities.html|year=2009|accessdate=January 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305005447/http://www.oregoncity.org/Meeting_Reception_Facilities.html|archive-date=March 5, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Liberty Ship 1594, ''SS Lot Whitcomb'', was also named after him.<ref>{{cite web|title=Liberty Ships built by the United States Maritime Commission in World War II |url=http://www.usmm.org/libertyships.html|publisher=T. Horodysky |date=May 4, 2002|accessdate=January 15, 2012}}</ref>
==Footnotes== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitcomb, Lot}} Category:1807 births Category:1857 deaths Category:American businesspeople in shipping Category:Businesspeople from Oregon Category:Businesspeople from Vermont Category:Members of the Illinois House of Representatives Category:Members of the Oregon Territorial Legislature Category:People from Milwaukie, Oregon Category:19th-century American businesspeople Category:19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly Category:Founders of populated places in Oregon