Eastern Oregon Land Company Records, 1884-1953

To finance the building of wagon roads, the U.S. Government (as with the railways) granted to builders parcels of land on either side of the proposed route. These lands were then often re-sold to investors or speculators. One such route was a military wagon road from Fort Boise to Fort Dalles on the Columbia River, planned in 1867. In 1876, over 500,000 acres formerly granted as part of this project to the Dalles Military Road Company were sold for $125,000 to Edward Martin of San Francisco, who formed the Eastern Oregon Land Company . Through this transaction Martin and his company became one of the largest land owners in the state.

A native of Ennescorthy, Ireland, Martin was born in 1819. He came to California in 1848 and entered real estate and banking, founding the Hibernia Savings and Loan Society in 1859, and later E. Martin & Company, a wholesale liquor distributor.

William MacKenzie served throughout the 1910s, 20s, and 30s as General Agent in the company's Portland Office. Among the Ontario office agents were Thomas W. Clagett, P. Hetherton, and Charles P. Flegel.