Looking Back, the 1850's to 1860's in Portland, Oregon For Any Anti-Semitism Or Racial Prejudices Developing?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                         
                                                                         

                        Inside a general store in the 1850's 

                          Incidents of anti-Semitism in Portland, Oregon, between 1850 and 1860 were extremely rare. During this pioneer era, Central European Jewish merchants experienced high levels of economic integration, social acceptance, and civic inclusion without facing widespread systemic prejudice. Merchants and Founders: By 1860, roughly one-third of all merchants in Portland were Jewish, contributing actively to trade, town-building, and local commerce. Social Acceptance: English-speaking and Central European Jewish settlers were generally viewed by other white pioneers as fellow community builders rather than outsiders. Civic Participation: Jewish pioneers engaged in local civic life, shared middle-class mercantile values with their neighbors, and moved comfortably within early Portland society.   Lack of Organized Hostility: Formal or institutional anti-Semitic rhetoric did not characterize early Portland's public sphere during this specific decade, setting it apart from later periods in Pacific Northwest history.                     

Contrasting Prejudices: While the broader Oregon Territory and the state following its 1859 admission harbored severe systemic racism—including Black exclusion laws and violent displacement of Indigenous populations—these discriminatory legal frameworks and social hostilities were not directed at the small Jewish merchant class of the 1850s. During the 1850–1860 decade, Portland and the wider Oregon region enforced severe anti-Black prejudice through Oregon black exclusion laws, constitutional bans, and systemic deterrence intended to create a white-only settlement. Territorial and State Laws: The provisional and territorial governments passed strict laws starting in 1844 and 1849 making it illegal for free Black people to enter, reside in, or own property in Oregon. The 1857 Constitution: When delegates drafted the state constitution in 1857 (prior to 1859 statehood), they embedded an exclusion clause explicitly forbidding any free Black person not already living in the state from coming, residing, owning real estate, or making contracts. The "Free State" Paradox: While white settlers voted against allowing slavery to avoid economic competition and political conflict with plantation owners, they simultaneously held strong white supremacist views and rejected free Black people, making Oregon the only state admitted to the Union with an explicit anti-Black exclusion clause in its foundational constitution.

Extreme Isolation: Because the hostile legal framework served as an active deterrent, very few African Americans lived in the area. By the 1860 U.S. Census, out of a total population of 52,465 in Oregon, only 128 Black residents were recorded. 

Daily Oppression: Black individuals who did reside in the region faced constant legal vulnerability, lack of civil rights, denial of access to the court system for contracts, and the ongoing threat of forced removal or harassment.

1840-1850s Blacks Arriving in Portland, Oregon

 Nadene Goldfoot                 

A small number of Jewish pioneers began arriving in the Oregon region during the late 1840s, with general Jewish settlement in Portland specifically taking root starting around 1849. 1840: Herman Ehrenberg, noted as one of the earliest known Jewish immigrants to the broader Oregon territory, arrived around this time, though not yet settled directly in Portland.1848–1849: The first wave of Jewish settlers—predominantly young single merchants of Central European/German descent—began arriving directly in Portland and the Willamette Valley.

Notable Pioneers: Early recorded regional trailblazers included the Fleischner brothers (Jacob and Louis), Dr. Israel Moses, a Civil War surgeon, and Herman Ehrenberg.


Moses was tried by court martial in 1864 for "Conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline" and "Disrespect to his superior officer" after having an ongoing disagreement with his commanding officer over whether a wounded patient should be discharged for disability or transferred to the Invalid Corps. He was ultimately found guilty and sentenced to be dismissed from the service; General George Henry Thomas approved the court's findings, but recommended, "in consideration of the long services" provided by Moses that his sentence be remitted and he instead "be reprimanded in General Order." 
 Following his resignation, per the Mount Sinai archives catalogue, Moses “was appointed Attending Surgeon"  in the "newly-opened Jews' Hospital in New York,” which later became Mount Sinai.
The Judge Advocate General concurred with General Thomas, stating "It appears that the contumacy and insubordination of Surgeon Moses grew out of a mistaken notion of his duty, rather than from any purpose to disobey orders or treat his superior officer with disrespect." Moses was therefore allowed to continue in his service and was eventually honorably discharged. (The existence of a court martial file for Moses was discovered in the Papers of Abraham Lincoln.)  I guess he was famous for the period, not for being in Portland.  I don't think he ever made it out here.  

The very existence of these photographs is evidence of Black love and community care. Each of these photographic types were carefully placed in protective cases lined with velvet or silk. These cases functioned like tender keepsakes that would have been gifted, caressed, and lovingly gazed upon. While the names and identities of many of the people pictured in these portraits are lost, we know that they were beloved. 

It was in the 1840s- to 1850s that Blacks started arriving in Portland, Oregon. A small number of free and enslaved Black pioneers arrived via overland wagon trains, despite strict territorial exclusion laws passed by Oregon's provisional and state governments attempting to bar Black settlement. By 1851 (Portland's incorporation year), about 55 African Americans managed to live and settle in the area.

Oregon passed laws to ban Black people from living, owning land, or making contracts in the territory. Because of these harsh rules, Black pioneers like George Washington Bush moved north across the Columbia River into the area that became Washington.  

The 1844 Lash Law: The provisional government made it illegal for Black people to live in the territory, punishing violators with public whippings of 20 to 39 stripes every six months until they left.
The 1849 and 1857 Laws: Later territorial laws and the 1857 state constitution banned African Americans from entering the state, suing in court, making contracts, or owning real estate. 



On August 26, 1851 Thomas Nelson ruled that:The above-named Jacob Vanderpool, having been brought before me on a warrant based upon the complaint of the above named Theophilus Magruder, and I being satisfied, that the said Jacob Vanderpool is a mulatto, and that he is remaining in the territory of Oregon contrary to the statutes and laws of the territory. I therefore order that the said Jacob Vanderpool remove from the said territory within thirty days from and after the service of this order.  Just like that, Jacob Vanderpool was expelled from the state of Oregon, never to return. An article would run in the Oregon Statesman the following week that praised Thomas Nelson’s ruling as a “reaffirmation of a well-settled doctrine.”

Enforcement: Oregon entered the Union in 1859 as a "free state" but explicitly as a white-only state, banishing residents like Jacob Vanderpool in 1851. Blacks coming to the territory had to move to Washington.  
 Bush and his allies established a successful agricultural settlement and farm at Bush Prairie near modern-day Tumwater and Olympia. Their support network and local friends successfully petitioned Congress to protect his land. Bush and his allies established a successful agricultural settlement and farm at Bush Prairie near modern-day Tumwater and Olympia. Their support network and local friends successfully petitioned Congress to protect his land. George Washington namesake settles in Oregon after Civil War.It’s is lovely to have an ancestor with the first 2 names of George Washington. Terrible photo . 
When he arrived in Oregon after the Civil War, only 10000 Europeans were in the Willamette Valley.

The most prominent Black pioneer family to arrive in the Pacific Northwest via covered wagon on the Oregon Trail was led by George Washington Bush. 1844 Migration: George Washington Bush, a free Black man of mixed-race heritage, left Missouri in a covered wagon with his white wife, Isabella, and their children. They traveled alongside several white families in a group known as the Simmons Party.  Bush financed much of the wagon train and helped other families along the Oregon Trail to escape harsh anti-Black exclusion laws in the Midwest.     When the group reached The Dalles and learned of repressive racial laws in the Oregon Territory, they moved north of the Columbia River into present-day Washington State.  Bush Prairie: Bush and his allies established a successful agricultural settlement and farm at Bush Prairie near modern-day Tumwater and Olympia. Their support network and local friends successfully petitioned Congress to protect his land rights.

America Waldo Bogle (June 2, 1844 – December 28, 1903) was a pioneer in the Oregon Territory. She and her husband, Richard Arthur Bogle, were among the first Black settlers in Walla Walla, Washington..Yes, this is an ancestor of Portland's well-known Dick Bogle of Portland's police, government and TV fame.  I did his genealogy with him!  Waldo was a well-known name we were following. America Waldo was born in Missouri on June 2, 1844. Her mother is believed to have been a slave of Missouri farmer John Waldo (1796–1849), and her father was a white man, probably either John Waldo or his brother Joseph (1805–1871). In 1854 America traveled by wagon train to Oregon with John Waldo's widow, Avarilla, and several other African Americans.   This black family originated in the Caribbean.  

1880-1890s Portland, Oregon and The Jewish and Black Communities

 Nadene Goldfoot                                           

During the 1880–1890 decade, Portland's Jewish community was well-established, prosperous, and culturally integrated, transitioning from pioneer German-Jewish merchants to welcoming early Eastern European arrivals. Prominent community features included established institutions, downtown commerce, and civic leadership.

Civic Power: Pioneer Jewish leaders like attorney Joseph Simon dominated local and state Republican politics, serving prominently in the Oregon State Senate throughout the 1880s.

 Joseph Simon (February 7, 1851 – February 14, 1935) was a German-born politician and attorney in the U.S. state of Oregon. He was born in Bechtheim, Hesse, and his family  (David Simon (1819–1901) and Elise née Leopold (1829–1890).) immigrated to the United States when he was one year old, settling in Portland, Oregon. Also of Reformed persuasion, he attended Beth Israel.  A Republican, Simon served on the city council before election to the Oregon State Senate. He was later elected to the United States Senate for one partial term, 1898 to 1903. He later served as mayor of Portland for one term, 1909 to 1911. He was also the first Jewish Republican senator. He never married.  

Institutions: Formed the Young Men's Hebrew Association (YMHA) in 1880 and maintained Temple Beth Israel as a central religious hub, which held Reform Judaism.  

Social Split: Wealthy German-Jewish elite formed separate social circles like the Concordia Club in the 1880s, though the overall community remained closely tied to broader civic life.  In the 1880s, the Concordia Club was an elite social organization founded by and for German-Jewish merchant elites in various U.S. cities like San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and Little Rock, serving as a Jewish counterpart to restricted gentile gentlemen's clubs. 

In the 1880s, the restriction of Jews from gentile social life was driven by the rise of racial pseudo-science, economic anxiety from recessions, and rapid social integration. This backlash manifested as elite social exclusion in private clubs, hotels, and resorts.  Merchants and Traders: Many worked as owners, importers, and workers in retail and wholesale storefronts downtown near Fourth and Washington Streets.  

Professionals: Individuals found roles in law, politics, and civic leadership, such as future U.S. Senator and state Republican chairman Joseph Simon, who practiced law in Portland during this period. 

General Labor: As the decade progressed into the late 1880s and 1890s, newly arriving Eastern European immigrants also engaged in trade and local labor.               

In 1883, African Americans march in a parade celebrating the Northern Pacific Railway’s arrival, the first transcontinental link to Portland. For the town’s fledgling black residents, trains bring two things: more African Americans, and many jobs for waiters, cooks, porters, and laborers.. yet other reference says: Pioneer Courthouse Square did not exist during the 1880–1890s; the site was instead occupied by Central School and later the construction of the grand Portland Hotel.

Students pose in front of Central School in 1865. The school was built in 1858. The Portland Hotel replaced this school… then Meier & Frank garage…and today Pioneer Square.

 In 1890, the Portland Hotel opens on today’s Pioneer Courthouse Square, employing 75 more African Americans to wait tables—while striking an informal agreement with other downtown employers to not hire any black waiter who quits. Nevertheless, this quasi-indentured servitude pays well, and a black middle class emerges.

Black individuals first arrived in the Portland area during the early-to-mid 19th century, led by explorers like York (with the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805) followed by early pioneer settlers and small community builders ahead of Portland's official incorporation in 1851.  

Mount Tabor Park Bust: A prominent temporary and later bronze portrait bust by sculptor Todd McGrain was installed in Portland's Mt. Tabor Park to honor York.

1805: York, an enslaved man traveling with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, reached the lower Columbia River and Clatsop Plains area, becoming the first Black person to explore the region that later became Portland.

Between 1880 and 1890, Portland's Black community grew due to the arrival of transcontinental railroads, leading to new jobs and the rise of a small Black middle class.  Black workers found jobs as cooks, waiters, porters, and laborers. The Portland Hotel: Opened in 1890 near Pioneer Courthouse Square, it hired 75 Black waiters, creating notable employment despite strict workplace rules.  Between 1880 and 1890, 699 African Americans moved into Oregon. It can be inferred that because of the development of railroads through Portland at the time, most of the 699 who moved to Oregon found their way to Portland. Subsequently, it can also be inferred that a large majority of the new inhabitants of the city settled in Albina because of the pre-existing African American communities there to welcome them. However, Albina was certainly not the only place where African Americans took up residency in the city. In fact, a growing population of African Americans began to emerge in Western Portland. However, the growth of African American communities outside of the Albina district proved to be rather short-lived.  Strict unwritten rules: Rigid social codes required Black individuals to show constant deference to whites, such as stepping off the sidewalk to let a white person pass or avoiding direct eye contact. 

Denial of titles: Whites refused to use respectful titles like "Mr.," "Mrs.," or "Miss" when addressing Black people, instead using first names or derogatory terms.Forced separation: Everyday social mix ing  was actively discouraged or barred, setting the stage for formal segregation.  

Resource:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1787272385367494897/1898426569189217017  from Portland Monthly

https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1147&context=younghistorians