Archives West Finding Aid

Addison Crandall Gibbs, known as the Wartime Governor of Oregon, was born in East Otto, New York, July 9, 1825. He came to Oregon in 1852 and promptly secured a donation land claim at the mouth of the Umpqua River. In 1853, he volunteered for service in the Rogue River Indian War, later serving as a commissioner for the Rogue River Indian Claims. From 1853-1857, Addison served the Umpqua district as a representative in the territorial legislature and as a customs collector.

Gibbs married Margaret M. Wilkins in 1854, while on a trip to New York, then returned to the Umpqua area in 1858. In that year, the Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs made their home in Portland, where Addison began his law practice with George H. Williams. In 1860 he was elected to the state legislature representing Multnomah County. When the Union Republican Party was formed, Gibbs was one of the first to join. He was the party's nominee for governor in 1862 and won the election. He was a strong Union supporter who raised volunteers from around the state for the Union army and was also instrumental in founding the Union League, which opposed the pro-southern Knights of the Golden Circle.

When his term of office ended in 1866, Governor Gibbs returned to his private law practice until 1872, when, by order of President Ulysses S. Grant, he became the U. S. Attorney for the state of Oregon. Returning again to private life and business, he served on the board of Willamette University and traveled throughout the U.S. and Europe. While on a business trip to London, the Governor fell ill with pneumonia and died on December 29, 1886.