The New Student's Reference Work/Astoria
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Astoria (as-to′ ri-a), originally a fur-trading station in Oregon, on the left bank of the Columbia River, founded by the Pacific Fur Company in 1811 and named from its chief proprietor, John Jacob Astor. It was a main issue in the American claim to Oregon. It is now very extensively engaged in the canning of salmon, there being about fifty large salmon-tinning establishments in the neighborhood, in which thousands of men are employed in the fishing and packing season. Washington Irving has told the story of the beginnings of Astoria, in his book of that name. Population 9,599.