HCJ Governor and His indian First Lady Densley Nov 2012

Reading historical accounts of America’s fascinating men and women who were so influential in the building of American often instills a curiosity to go see where they lived, where they worked and opportunities to walk in their footsteps. There are innumerable markers and historical monuments throughout the where one can do just that and the Interpretive Center about an hour's drive from is a place that has ensured the preservation of pioneer history in this area. However, there is far more history than even that affords that needs to be preserved.

Joseph Gale was one of the earliest settlers in Eagle Valley. He lived in New Bridge where he built the first frame house of sawed lumber. Gale was Eagle Valley's first Post Master being appointed in 1877. Gale is the one who officially named the post office, New Bridge. Gale was also responsible for getting Eagle Valley surveyed in the year 1889. Joseph Gale loved Eagle Valley in Eastern , where he engaged in farming and other business activities related to the gold strikes in the Eagle Cap Mountains.

Joseph Gale was born and educated in Washington, D.C., he was an entrepreneur, a mountain man, a gold miner, an explorer, a politician and was highly influential in the early development of Oregon.

Gale and his wife Eliza who was a daughter of Old of the Wallowa and a Walla Walla mother moved to the in 1830 where they farmed. Gale was a master builder and captain of the first American seafaring vessel ever built in Oregon which he named the Star of Oregon. Gale sailed to in 1842 where he traded the ship for 350 cows. In 1842, he gathered forty two new Oregon emigrants to drive nearly five thousand head of livestock from California to Oregon.

Joseph Gale worked for the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, primarily in the with a group of thirty four men including such renowned men as , , Robert Newell, William Craig and Joe Meek.

Partly in recognition for his many accomplishments, Joseph Gale was named to the First Executive Committee of the Provisional . This was Oregon’s first form of government, as implemented by the citizens’ meeting at Champoeg on July 5, 1843, which favored an Executive Committee instead of a single executive.

Before the in 1877 Young Chief Joseph and the Wallowa Nez Perce would often come and stay with Joseph and Eliza Gale during visits to Eagle Valley, a traditional Nez Perce hunting and fishing territory. Gale died at his home in New Bridge on December 13, 1881 and is buried in the Eagle Valley Cemetery.

Joseph Gale authored his own epitaph which was published in the Baker City Bedrock Democrat (March 17, 1880 issue) “Nic Jacet (here lies) beneath this rough hewn stone the mortal remains of Joseph Gale, Oregon’s First Governor. And who was a member of the band of primitive hunters by whose indomitable will, enterprising spirit and love of adventure, were explored those vast regions out of which have been taken five States and nine Territories, and would have extended their discoveries still farther had there been more country open for them to explore; but finding themselves face to face with old Ocean—And saw it lashing the Northwestern short; There with sorrowing hearts retraced their steps, because it was seen, that, there were no more!” —Joseph Gale. In 1931, the Daughters of the American Revolution had a bronze plaque affixed to his headstone. Walking through the gates at the entrance to the Eagle Valley Cemetery and continuing straight back to the end of the road, there is a small, worn white marker on the right where Governor Gale is buried.

With a keen awareness of the value of local history and a dedication that supersedes most, Lillian Densley and her son Aaron Densley formerly of New Bridge, Oregon set out on a journey to preserve the history of and pay honor to not only an Oregon hero but to an Eagle Valley hero, Oregon’s first provincial Governor, Joseph Gale. Lillian Cummings Densely was born and raised in New Bridge, Oregon where she and her husband Glenn Densely raised their family. She loves Eagle Valley and she deeply appreciates the rich history that abides there. Lillian’s husband Glenn Densely was a strong inspiration to his wife as he also had a deep appreciation of history and was especially fascinated with the life of Joseph Gale. Glenn started collecting information over thirty years ago and during that time he met and became good friends with Ina Contreras, the last living granddaughter of Joseph Gale. Ina provided a wealth of family information about Joseph Gale and their family. She was supportive and enthusiastic about the project. But when Glenn became ill, the collection of historical information was set aside and the gathering of facts had to be set aside as well.

After Glenn’s death, Lillian started working on research of Joseph Gale’s life again and with renewed dedication. The job was enormous as the information available was endless but the accuracy of most of it was in question. The goal was to write a book telling the life history of Joseph Gale with honor and pristine in its accuracy. Lillian talked to her son Aaron about getting involved and he protested at first, eventually being drawn in and soon was as dedicated as his mother. “At first, | didn’t want to work on this. | knew it was not going to be an easy project. The more | read and researched, the more | wanted to learn. You can’t work on this without getting attached,” said Aaron. “And the hard part is not getting sidetracked with all of the fascinating history that is abundant in Eagle Valley. When you are talking to people, more and more stories surface about other things and it’s really hard not to get caught up ina hundred other subjects. They’re all interesting but we had to keep our focus on the life of Governor Gale. That took a lot of time and energy as it was.” Aaron said that there are still quite a few living relatives of Joseph Gale who live on the Umatilla Indian Reservation and other areas in the west as well. Lillian emphasized that the information from the Gale relatives and also documents that could not be undeniably validated were not included in the book. “We didn’t depend on word of mouth. Stories shared and passed forward word of mouth, can be interesting but somehow facts get lost or slightly altered so we only included in this book, facts that could be substantiated.”

Now published, ‘Governor Joseph Gale and His Indian First Lady’ by Lillain Cummings Densley and Aaron G. Densley, it is more than a book and more than a compilation of accurate history; it is a priceless gift for generations to come. It is a dedication to the pioneers who came before him, to Joseph Gale and those people who “dreamed of a state where people are governed fairly, treated with dignity and protected by the law who formed the foundation of the Oregon that we enjoy today. To them we owe a debt of gratitude which we can never repay.” The Densleys did not stop with the publication of the book however. Today, Lillian is working with the Daughters of the American Revolution to organize an official dedication of the memorial sign which the Densley’s recently had erected near the entrance at the Eagle Valley Cemetery. “We aren’t sure just when that will happen as yet,” said Lillian but we hope in the late spring or early summer when the weather is nice. Aaron might not be able to attend as his work in construction takes him around the United States but hopefully he will be here.” Aaron said that there had been several attempts to gather funding to erect a memorial or commemoration of Joseph Gale in Eagle Valley over the span of the last one hundred years. “He’s one of our lost heroes who lived, worked, dedicated himself to the betterment of mankind, died here and is buried in Eagle Valley but there’s been hardly a trace of his existence. After the book was published, we were contacted by historians from different areas who felt a sign or memorial needed to be created,” said Aaron. “They suggested grants and ideas that were good but took too much time. That’s how the project got lost 100 years ago; talking. The idea gets lost in paperwork. We wanted to see the memorial plaque erected and so we just decided to make it happen.”

There are two daughters, two sons-in-law and a grandchild of Joseph Gale buried in the Eagle Valley Cemetery. Some of the graves are unmarked and one is incorrect. However, the Densleys have already addressed that issue and have markers that will be placed in the cemetery. “We need to make arrangements to get that project accomplished,” said Densley. “There are a lot of Gale relatives that live in the west who are very interested in the book and also a memorial sign,” added Aaron. “I know that they will want to come. We used accurate historical information in the creation and contracted with Sea Reach LTD which is the same company that builds all the historical signs for the State of Oregon. We think it looks nice and hope people will drive over to the cemetery and read it.”

Densely said that he and his family enjoy working on projects that bring positive attention to Eagle Valley and they have especially enjoyed working on their book about the life of Joseph Gale. “He is one of our forgotten heroes and that’s just not right. He gave so much and his legacy deserves so much more. He lived and worked in Eagle Valley; it’s only right that we record his life and honor his memory.” Asa side, Aaron encourages checking out photographs at www.baker-lib.org and click on Historic Photos. “There is an amazing collection of historic photographs from this area, far more than about Governor Gale. It is impressive.” You can purchase a copy of the Densley’s book at www.JosephGaleBook.com or at Betty’s Books in Baker City.

There are hundreds of fascinating men and women who were influential in the building of America. Learning about them often instills a curiosity to go see where they lived, where they worked and opportunities to walk in their footsteps. Often, unbeknownst to us, those historical footsteps can be in our own backyard.