Skookum: An Oregon Pioneer Family's History and Lore

In 1843, brothers Jesse, Lindsay, and Charley Applegate--accompanied by their wives and twenty-two children--led the first wagon train from Missouri to Oregon. By the end of the decade, the restless clan had left the "crowded" Willamette Valley and pointed their wagons toward Yoncalla in southern Oregon's Umpqua Valley. There, Charley built an immense two-story frame home--with one side for men, the other for women. A single fireplace, which opened toward both sides of the house, ensured th...