154 Lesue M. Scott
River mines, beginning in 1860. Umatilla Landing, where the "freighting" road to and from the Boise and Owyhee mines joined the 0)lumbia River, became a large town.*® Helena, which was founded in 1864, had trade connections with both the Missouri and the Columbia rivers.
The earlier gold activities that began in California in 1848, likewise had stimulated affairs of the North Pacific Coast. The Willamette V^ley and Puget Sound then found the markets opening for farm products and lumber. Money be- came abundant and prices soared. The coins were stamped by private firms in California, or by the Oregon Exchange Company, of Oregon City, which coined "Beaver money" in 1849. A local commerce sprang up. Prosperity then visited the Old Oregon Country for the first time. There was then a market for the products that never before had had an outlet. But the second prosperity, coming with the local gold move- ment in 1860, far exceeded that of ten years before.
Fertile areas in the interior grew in usefulness and pro- ductivity, with mining development. The valley of the Walla Walla was one of the earliest localities in this work, beginning in 1858-59. Grand Ronde River valley in Oregon, a very productive district, was first settled probably in 1861.'* Powder River also became a farming district. Payette and Boise River valleys in Idaho, the Bitter Root and Gallatin valleys, in Montana, contributed farm products and livestock to the growth of the country. Such products could not be supplied locally to meet the demand, and commanded high prices, so that, for many persons, farming was more profitable than mining. Woolen manufacture started at Salem in 1857,*^ at Oregon City in 1864,*^ and at Brownville in 1866.^. Agriculture be-
38 The town of Umatilla was laid out in i86^ (Th^ Oregonian, May i6, i86j) as a landing; place for steamboats to connect with the road to Boise and Owyhee. For descriotion of the town, see Thg Oregonian, June 23, 24, 1863; I'ebruary 9, June 24, 1864; March 23, i86<.
39 The town of La Grande began to grow in i86a and had rapid progress in 1863 (Tht Oregonian, November 27, 1862; December 25, 1863).
40 The Willamette Woolen Manufacturing Company was promoted by Joseph Watt. See Transactions of Oregon Pioneer Association for 1875, p. 38; Thi Ore- gonian. May 6, 1876, p. 3.
41 The Oregon Citv Woolen Manufacturing Company. See T^e Oregonian, August o, 1873. p. 3; November 25, 1872. p. 3; November 11, 1865, p. 2.
42 See Himes and Lang's History of the WUlamettg Valley, pp. 579-80; The Oregokian, May 19, 1875* p. 2; June 28, i87Sf P* >•
