Ewing Young Day 2021 is Going Digital!
Join up online February 8-12, 2021 for a Ewing Young Day celebration that will last all week. Throughout the week historical articles, photos, and challenges will be posted to help you engage with Ewing Young’s history. We invite you to meet of on our Facebook or Instagram pages to join in the fun. For those who are not on social media, the schedule of events is posted below! If you’d like to share your work, email it to us at newberghistory@gmail.com!
You may want to gather some supplies for the week in preparation:
- Paper, drawing materials, arts and crafts supplies
- Mini marshmallows
- Toothpicks or pretzel sticks
- Ingredients for Cowboy Beans
- Your favorite cocktail/mocktail ingredients (Try inventing something new!)
Calendar of Activities
Monday, February 8th:
Today is the beginning of our Ewing Young Day celebration! All week long we will be sharing information from Courtney Walker’s letter about Ewing Young’s life. Join us for blog posts, photos, and activities all related to Oregon’s early history!
You can read Courtney Walker’s letter here!
No images of Ewing Young exist today. We don’t know what he looks like! In order to have an idea of what Ewing Young might look likes artists have used images of his son Joaquin Young along with historical information to construct images. The image at the top of this post was commissioned by the Ewing Young Distillery.
What do you think Ewing Young looked like? Share your drawing, painting, or other rendition of Ewing Young with us! Don’t forget to tag it #ewingyoung2021
When Ewing Young arrived in Oregon in 1834, he was not coming to an uninhabited land. There were many people living in the Willamette Valley, the ancestral homeland of the Kalapuya was not empty land waiting to be settled. Learn more about the history of the Kalapuya and their forced removal from these lands from the Chachalu Museum of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.
Tuesday, February 9th (Official Ewing Young Day!)
Today officially marks Ewing Young Day in Oregon! We’ll share some history about Young’s time in Oregon, but first we wanted to showcase a local business that shares his name today. Ewing Young Distillery sits on a working thoroughbred farm and sells a variety of locally distilled spirits. Legend claims Ewing Young himself is buried on the site.
After his arrival in Oregon, Ewing Young found himself in tough straits. He had been accused of stealing horses by the Governor General of California. Because of this, he was blocked from trading with the Hudson’s Bay Fur Company, and was struggling to find a way to support himself. Ewing Young decided to establish a distilling operation to support himself. Learn more here!
While we don’t know the details of Ewing Young’s distilling career, we do know that you can join in the legend of Ewing Young by making your own drinks. Tonight, we encourage you to make a drink with a historic twist (alcohol optional) and share the recipe with us by using the hashtag #EwingYoungCocktail. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Wednesday, February 10th
Ewing Young’s planned distilling operation was not popular with Dr. John McLoughlin, factor of Fort Vancouver, or with the Methodist missionaries led by Jason Lee settled in French Prairie. They set about opposing the work. In the winter of 1836-1837 a solution was proposed by Lt Slocum. Funds were raised and Ewing Young was set off to bring cattle to Oregon with the Willamette Cattle Company. This drive would break the Hudson Bay Company’s monopoly on cattle in the area, and make Ewing Young very wealthy. Learn more here.
Cowboys got hungry on long cattle drives! Beans were a common food on drives like this. Today’s challenge is to try cooking a pot of cowboy beans. You can use our recipe, or share one of your own!
Have you enjoyed learning about Ewing Young this week? Learn more and support the work of the Newberg Area Historical Society by purchasing “Ewing Young’s Adventure with Destiny”, a documentary about his life and legacy.
Thursday, February 11th
One of Ewing Young’s ventures in an attempt to support himself was a sawmill on Chehalem Creek. The sawmill is believed to have been located within the bounds of the current Ewing Young Park in Newberg.
This image of Sutter’s Mill, a contemporary of Ewing Young’s mill, gives us an idea of what Ewing Young’s mill looked like.
Today’s challenge is to build a model of the Ewing Young sawmill out of marshmallows and toothpicks (or whatever you have! We hear that fruit snacks and pretzel sticks work well!). Use this photo as your guide and show us what you think the sawmill looked like!
If you need help, here is a handy video on marshmallow models!
The Spaulding Pulp and Paper Mill in Newberg was not founded by Ewing Young but did carry out one of his crafts. Recently, NAHS received a donation of artifacts from the last working employee of the mill. We look forward to sharing this collection with the community in upcoming months!
Friday, February 12th
We have one more day of Ewing Young history and activities for you today! Did you know you can visit the property where Ewing Young lived? Today a heritage tree stands in his honor at Oakhurst farms, home of the Ewing Young Distillery. You can even stop by and take a picture with the tree yourself. When you do, share your photos with us by using #EwingYoung2021.
Legend claims that Ewing Young is buried under the oak tree located at the Ewing Young Distillery. We want to see your artistic interpretations of an oak tree! Get creative, use paper, paint or whatever you have near you to make your own oak tree and share your creation with us! Don’t forget to tag us in your photos!
Looking for something to watch on a Friday movie night? You can check out the historic Champoeg Pageant on our YouTube page! The 1980s pageant commemorates the settlement of the Oregon Territory. You can watch all 10 parts on this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist…
Thank you for joining us to celebrate Ewing Young Day 2021! We look forward to celebrating and learning together in person next year!
What is Ewing Young Day?
In 2009, the Oregon State Legislature passed SB 625 which designates February 9 as Ewing Young Day. Ewing Young was an early Oregon settler who’s death indirectly lent to the creation of Oregon’s Provisional Government. Every year, various organizations in Newberg remember Ewing Young Day with events and pageants.
Ewing Young Day 2021 is going virtual! The third annual Ewing Young Day, hosted by the Newberg Area Historical Society, will be entirely online. The event will span a week of activities and information released through this website and our Facebook page. Activities for all ages will be announced on February 8th and throughout the week you will have a chance to engage in special challenges about Ewing Young. This year’s events will center around the description of Ewing Young written by Courtney Walker, a contemporary and friend of Young, in 1880 for the Oregon Pioneer Association.
History of Ewing Young Day in Newberg:
In 2019, the Newberg Area Historical Society (NAHS), in conjunction with the Friends of Historic Butteville, and the Newberg Public Library, held their first Ewing Young day with a series of speeches on topics.
On February 8th, 2020 from 1:00-5:00 p.m., the second annual Ewing Young day was held at the Newberg Public Library. This year, the event was intended to share the early history of Oregon from the 1830s and 1840s in a family friendly style. Participants hosted interactive stations for attendees to engage with their area of local history.
