Dye family photographs collection, circa 1855-1945

Eva Lucinda Emery Dye (1855-1947) popularized Oregon Country history for children and adults, and in the process, she made Sacagawea a heroine of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the eyes of the public. She was born in Prophetstown, Ill., to Cyrus Emery and Caroline Trafton Emery. In 1882, she graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio and married Charles Henry Dye (1856-1929), a fellow Oberlin student from Fort Madison, Ia. In 1890, the family moved to Oregon City, Or., where Charles practiced law and Eva obtained a teaching position. They built a home at 902 Jefferson Street, where they spent the rest of their lives.

Eva was a nationally renowned author of historical fiction and produced a book for children and three historical novels set in the Oregon Country which went into multiple printings and remained popular for decades. During her lifetime she published: Stories of Oregon, (1900); McLoughlin and Old Oregon (1900); The Conquest: The True Story of Lewis and Clark (1902); McDonald of Oregon, A Tale of Two Shores (1906); and The Soul of America: An Oregon Iliad (1934).

Eva's books were the result of intensive research. She made four trips across the United States tracing the steps of Lewis and Clark, spoke with people about the explorers, and examined journals, letters and documents during her research for The Conquest, her most significant work. The Conquest, written for the Lewis and Clark Centennial, portrayed Sacagawea as a model of 19th century true womanhood.

In addition to writing books, numerous articles, and other shorter pieces, Dye was in demand as a speaker by local, regional, and national organizations. The Willamette Valley Chautauqua, which had its first meeting in the summer of 1893 at Gladstone Park, was jointly founded by Eva and her husband, Charles, and evolved from a Chautauqua circle that met in the Dye's home. She was also active in the Oregon Woman's Suffrage Association. As president of the Sacajawea Statute Association, Eva was instrumental in hiring Alice Cooper to sculpt the copper statute of Sacagawea exhibited at the Lewis and Clark Exposition in 1905. The statue became a permanent fixture in Washington Park at Portland, Oregon.

Eva Emery Dye and Charles Henry Dye had four children, Emery Charles Dye (b. 1884), Trafton Mickelwaite Dye (1886-1974), Everett Willoughby Dye (1896-1988), and Charlotte Evangeline (Eva) Dye Hutchinson (1897-1972). Emery and Trafton graduated from Oberlin College. Emery was admitted to the Oregon bar in 1908; however, he suffered a mental breakdown in young manhood which resulted in his commitment to a state institution for much of his life. Trafton moved to Cleveland, Oh., where he practiced law. Everett graduated from Oregon Agricultural College with a degree in mechanical engineering and settled near Trafton in Cleveland, Ohio. Charlotte graduated from Oregon Agricultural College with a degree in home economics. She married Richard Earl Hutchinson and settled in Los Angeles.