Jason Lee

     Charles Ludwig wrote about Jason Lee’s interesting life in his biography entitled Jason Lee: Winner of the Northwest. Mountain men and Indians were some of Jason Lee’s neighbors. He was the first missionary in what is now known as Oregon.


     Although when Jason was young he didn’t want anything to do with Christian matters, that changed when he was twenty-three. There was a revival meeting going on in his town and his brother and sister were going to it. Jason went too and it was then that he became a Christian. He had a strong desire to be a missionary to the Indians in the Northwest.

     Jason went to a Methodist Academy when he was twenty-six and studied to be a circuit rider. He learned that it was a hard life but he was ready to do whatever God called him to do. In 1833 Jason received a letter from Bishop Hedding. It informed him that he was to be the first Methodist missionary assigned to the Northwest. A few days later he was ordained by Bishop Elijah Hedding. He was now Reverend Jason Lee.

     Now Jason started raising money to start the mission. This was an easy job because everybody wanted to help him. He also had to find a good guide. This was a problem; however, Jason was speaking with a man who was going to Oregon with a group of people. Jason met with him and decided to go with. They were going to board a steamer at Pittsburgh and follow the rivers to St. Louis. Then they would set out on mules or horses and be careful not to be ambushed by the Blackfoot. It would take about eight months to get there.

     Jason arrived in Oregon after many hardships. He built the mission on the Willamette in 1835. He started conducting services and a few Indians were coming. The mission grew quickly and in 1841 he moved the mission to Chemeketa. A famous mountain man named Joe Meek was converted at a revival meeting. Joe was known for his evil deeds. In 1844 Jason Lee was dismissed by his missionary board because some jealous people were spreading false rumors. A year later, Jason Lee died on March 2, 1845.

     About 50 years after he died people realized that he was the first missionary to the Indians in the Northwest. He had successfully built a mission and a school for the Indians and white people that lived around there. He had also taught the Indians how to work the ground and plant crops. In 1906 his remains were moved and reburied in Salem. In 1947 a statue of Jason Lee was placed in Washington’s Statuary Hall of Fame.

     This book was very interesting. It was easy to read because it was full of adventure. I enjoyed the stories about mountain men and Indians.