Eminent Astorians

Eminent Astorians marks the bicentennial of Astoria in 2011. Each of nine essays presents a literary biography of a figure who looms large in Astoria's history, from Comcomly, the powerful, one-eyed leader of the Chinook Tribe when Lewis and Clark arrived at the mouth of the Columbia River in 1805, to the Salmon Kings who capitalized on the region's natural bounty from the 1870s to the 1910s. Modeled after Lytton Strachey's literary portraits in Eminent Victorians, these essays are interpretive, engaging, and rich in context. The authors are among the best known and most respected writers and scholars in the Northwest. Stephen Dow Beckham, distinguished historian at Lewis and Clark College, contributed a comprehensive introduction and served as the book's historical advisor. Scholars as well as travelers and lay readers interested in the Pacific Northwest will enjoy the biographical storytelling and gain insights into Astoria's history as they trace the lives of these quintessential Oregonians. Essays include Comcomly: Chinook Nation CEO by John Terry; John Jacob Astor I: 'A Most Excellent Man?' by Robert Michael Pyle; George Gibbs by Stephen Dow Beckham; Ranald MacDonald and Astoria by Frederik L. Schodt; Captain George Flavel and the Building of Astoria by William F. Willingham; Bethenia Angelina Owens Adair by Jean M. Ward; Silas Bryant Smith by Stephen Dow Beckham; Molding Astoria--The Role of Two Editors by Sandra Haarsager; and The Salmon Kings by Liisa Penner.