Author Description

"History has played out in grand design in astoria oregon. The first permanent Euro-American settlement in the Pacific Northwest. The community vaulted to symbolic importance in 1811. Within months of its founding by the Pacific Fur Company. International rivalries revolved around this site at the mouth of the Columbia River and, between 1812 and 1846. Brought Great Britain and the United States to confrontation and the brink of war. Ultimately diplomacy prevailed, and astoria became a pivotal bargaining chip in the emergence of the United States as a continental nation. Forces of history sometimes inspire the development of symbols. The Astoria Column, atop Coxcomb Hill, is one of the largest and most potent symbols of American presence in the Pacific Northwest. It is a remarkable structure drawing on the imagery of classical Rome, stories of Native Americans and early Euro-American adventurers at the mouth of the Columbia, technology of 20th-century construction, and the talents of a remarkable artist. The column is also the product of the ardent promotion of commerce and travel by the Great Northern Railway, the aspirations of a town that wanted to become a world port, and the desire to affirm in a symbolic monument the course of history....." [from book of page 1]