20 September 2023 The Charbonneau Villager
Early history of the Charbonneau district
By DAVE MAUK Charbonneau Country Club
This is the second episode in the regional history series being published in The Villager . The foundation for these articles are the essays and research of Charbonneau resident Rosemary Ricken , who has made them available to the CCC Communications Committee . Look for future episodes over the next several months .
The history of Charbonneau and Wilsonville begins with Daniel Boone , the legendary frontiersman . His grandson , Alphonso Daniel Boone , migrated to the Oregon Territory in
George and Chloe Curry
COURTESY PHOTO
1846 with his children . Setting off with more than 100 wagons , they journeyed 2,200 miles over the Oregon Trail . The group separated in Idaho , where his brother-in-law , former Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs , took the southern route to California . That journey ended as the infamous Donner party , where only 48 members of the 87 survived to their final destination .
In 1846 the Boones claimed 1,000 acres on the south bank of the Willamette River between Oregon City and Champoeg , settling on it a year later . They went on to build land routes linking towns north and south of the river , and the ferry connecting them , which was just west of where the Boone Bridge is today .
In 1848 , Alphonso ’ s daughter Chloe married George Law Curry , a newspaper publisher . They started farming in an area known as French Prairie due to the French-Canadians living there . The Currys ’ two-story home was built in 1853 . It was considered a mansion in its day , with four fireplaces , five bedrooms , living room , dining room , parlor and library . Chloe Boone Curry was the first female teacher in Wilsonville , while George Law Curry would become Oregon ’ s final territorial governor before statehood . They had five children .
The Currys called their home and property Hazelglade , because of its abundance of hazelnuts . While George Curry was governor , Hazelglade was the local post office and official seat of the territorial government .
Charbonneau was developed on this property 119 years later .
In 1857 the Currys sold off an acre to Dr . William Keil , approximately 1 / 2 mile east of their home . Dr . Keil lived in the colony of Aurora , named after his daughter . The purpose of the purchase was for a dock where steamboats could deliver goods for the colony . A house was built there in 1865 .
After several years farming hops on the Curry ’ s Landing property , Jacob and Elizabeth Miley purchased it in 1881 . With Jacob ’ s death in 1907 , their sons took it over in succession , one of whom operated a dry goods store in Wilsonville . He was a bachelor and died in 1930 at the age of 86 . After being vacant for years , in 1980 the building was used for construction and real estate offices during Charbonneau ’ s development . In 1990 , the Miley house was moved to Aurora , where it was restored and is an antique shop today .
Hazelglade , with 4,100 feet of river frontage , was sold on April 1 , 1874 to Jonathan Wagner , a friend of the Currys and bookkeeper for the Aurora Colony . The $ 2,500 price was paid in
This is a map of the Oregon Trail .
COURTESY PHOTO
gold coins . Wagner ’ s siblings farmed the land and raised Holstein cows on it . Two sisters farmed it until their deaths in 1924-25 , when their nephew Fred Wagner , a dairyman who also raised turkeys , became owner .
In 1926 a well house was built as a water supply for the farm . An electric motor pumped water from the 43-foot-deep well to a thousand-gallon tank at the top of the tower , where gravity fed it to the farm . Neighbors were invited to draw from the well when their supplies were low . In 1939 water from the well was used to fight a fire at a local railroad bridge . A Wagner relative said the well never ran dry during its years of use . The nearly 100-yearold well house on French Prairie Road in Charbonneau is commemorated with a historical marker . The Curry House was demolished in 1950 , when Fred Wagner built another home where the original one stood .
NEED NEW WINDOWS & DOORS ?
TASTING ROOM
& RESTAURANT
21338 Oak Lane NE Aurora , OR 97002
Hours !
Thurs-Sat , 12-8pm Sun , 12-6pm
Fri , Sept 1 Fri , Sept 15
UPCOMING EVENT AND LIVE MUSIC INFO AND ONLINE RESERVATIONS AT acvwine . com
September Events
Dinner & Concert - Whip Wilson Dinner & Concert - Sunny Pache
Every Thursday Half-Price Glasses of Wine !
• Family Owned & Operated
• Lifetime Warranties , including labor
• 100,000 windows installed since 1977
OR CCB # 180882
Julia and Mike Werner
ADVANCED ENERGY SERVICES FREE ESTIMATES www . advancedenergyoregon . com
$
500 off Purchase of 5 or more windows
New estimates only . Must mention this promotion . Some restrictions apply . Not valid with any other offer . Call for details . Expires 9 / 30 / 23
503-563-6866