The Jason Lee House, constructed in 1841, is the oldest frame structure still standing in the Pacific Northwest. In 1965, the structure was moved to the Willamette Heritage Center in Salem where it was used as a museum.
Jason Lee (1803-1845) was select in 1833 by the Methodist Episcopal Church to convert the Flathead Indians to Protestant Christianity. The Flatheads had sent a delegation to St. Louis requesting the Blackrobes (the Catholic Jesuits) and the Protestants wanted to prevent the hated Catholics from establishing a mission in the area. Lee arrived in Wyoming in 1834 and met with the Flatheads and the Nez Perce at the Green River Rendezvous. He found the Indians deeply unsettling. He concluded that the Indians were slaves to Satan and to alcohol. Instead of establishing an Indian mission, he continued his journey west to Fort Vancouver, a Hudson Bay Company trading post on the Columbia River. From here he went to the Willamette Valley to work among the Kalapuyas and establish a non-Indian colony. For the next few years, he actively promoted Methodist settlement in the area. By 1843, the Oregon Trail was bringing in thousands of non-Indian settlers into Oregon’s Willamette Valley. According to the display:
“As American settlers began pouring into the Northwest, these newcomers viewed Native Americans as obstacles to be dealt with and removed.”
In the 1840s, the common American view of Indians was that they were destined for extinction and that they should not stand in the way of America’s God-given Manifest Destiny. From the viewpoint of the missionaries, it was felt that the American settlers needed the gospel more than the Indians.
In his book Who Was Who in Native American History, Carl Waldman reports:
“In 1843, Lee’s missionary work ended when he lost the support of the Methodist authorities in New York, who believed he was neglecting missionary work in favor of promoting white settlement in the region.”
Jason Lee returned to New England where he died in 1845. The mission closed in 1844.
According to the display:
“Jason Lee has been characterized differently over the years, but whether he was a visionary leader or a religious zealot with grandiose plans, there is little doubt that Lee had an impact in shaping education, settlement and government in early Oregon.”
Displays
The house is filled with displays about the early history of the Salem area.
According to the display:
“When the lesson was over, students would wipe their slates clean with a rag or the edge of their shirt sleeves, hence the expression ‘starting with a clean slate.’”
Rooms
Judson Apartment
In 1841, Lewis Hubbell Judson, his wife Elmira, and their three children lived in the two rooms of this apartment.
According to the display:
“A wheelwright by trade, he used his carpentry skills to build things for the mission and his family, including the highchair and smaller chair on display in this room.”
More museum photo tours
Willamette Heritage Center: The Boon House (photo diary)
Museums 101: The Gordon House by Frank Lloyd Wright (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: The Butterfield Cottage (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: A Trapper's Cabin (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: The Maki Homestead Cabin (Photo Diary)
Fort Missoula: Homestead cabin (photo diary)
Museums 101: Homestead Cabin and Barn (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: The Sedman House in Nevada City (Photo Diary)