Up the hill behind this marker was the home of Jesse Applegate, a captain of the first major wagon train to Oregon in 1843, traveling from Missouri with his brothers Lindsay and Charles. Jesse was a major force behind the Provisional Government of 1845, which held Oregon for the United States until admission as a territory in 1848. As a delegate to Oregon’s Constitutional Convention of 1857, he was a vocal opponent to slavery in Oregon. Jesse also helped develop a new wagon road into southern Oregon known as the Applegate Trail. He befriended Indians, but also sided with settlers in the Modoc War of 1872-73. He and his wife Cynthia are buried in a nearby family cemetery. 

Location: 2 1/2 miles north of Yoncalla on the west side of Eagle Valley Road

Installed: 2024

For more information about Jesse Applegate visit the Oregon Encyclopedia.