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Newberg History
Prior to Oregon' s settlement by immigrants and trappers, more than 14,000 indigenous Kalapuya people lived in the Willamette Valley and called the Newberg area Che'halem. They were hunters and gatherers; living on the prairies in the summers and on the forest edges in the winters. They managed the landscape for over 10,000 years utilizing controlled fire and harvesting abundant in tarweed, hazelnuts, camas, acorns, berries and abundant fish and game. Many Yamhill (Yamel) County places use the area names originally given by the the Kalapuya tribes. Today 4000 Oregonians 1 identify as descendents of Kalapuya. Learn more about the Kalapuya from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde website HERE or visit the Kalapuyan history site HERE.
Hudson Bay Company trappers frequented the area in the early 1700's especially in Champoeg which is now a State park located seven miles southeast of Newberg. Champoeg was the site where Oregon's provisional government was established by a narrow vote in 1843. An large influx of settlers established themselves in the area and began clearing land for farming. In 1869, Newberg was given its name by its first postmaster, Sebastian Brutscher, who named the town after his Bavarian hometown of Newburgh.
The early years of Newberg were heavily influenced by the Friends Church. In the 1870's, William Hobson, a Quaker minister from Iowa, visited Oregon. After determining that the rainfall, temperature and agricultural productivity was suitable, he settled in Chehalem Valley and began preaching. He attracted a sizable number of Quakers to the valley, mainly from Indiana and Iowa. In 1885, the Quakers started the Pacific Academy (now George Fox University), with Dr. Henry Minthorn assuming the position of superintendent of the Academy.
In 1885, at the age of 9 Herbert Hoover, future president of the United States, came to Newberg to live with his aunt and uncle, the Minthorns. The young man remained in Newberg and made it his boyhood home.
Records show that by 1887, the population of the Newberg area had grown to around 200. Newberg became incorporated as a town in 1889 and as a city in 1893. The Oregon Historical Society is a valuable resource for information regarding Oregon history.
