Ezra Meeker Centennial collection

Ezra Meeker was born in Ohio in 1830. In 1852, Meeker traveled the Oregon Trail to Washington with his wife and son. He served as the first mayor of Puyallup, Washington, and became a successful farmer and exporter.

Near the turn of the century, Meeker became alarmed that the historic Oregon Trail was being paved and plowed over. In 1906, he began a wagon journey to locate and mark the entire Oregon Trail, back to its source at Independence, Missouri. In each town he visited he solicited money for a monument to commemorate the trail and his journey.

After this initial successful journey, Meeker traveled the Oregon Trail several more times by wagon, automobile, and airplane. Meeker died in 1928, at the age of 97.

The Ezra Meeker Centennial Celebration commemorated Meeker's 1906 journey on the Oregon Trail through Boise, Idaho. Events at the celebration included a dramatization of Meeker's life, speeches by Idaho's Governor Risch, Boise's Mayor Beiter, and descendents of Ezra Meeker, as well as the burial of a time capsule to be opened in 2106.

This collection includes photos, newsclippings, essays and ephemra related to the 2006 Centennial Celebration of Ezra Meeker's 1906 journey across the United States on the Oregon Trail. Also includes geneological information about the Meeker family.