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Astoria, Oregon-An interest attaches to a recurrence to the events of the early history of Astoria that is not perhaps connected with the history of any other place in the state. It was at this point that one of the first settlements was ever made on the coast. It was into the placid waters of the Columbia river that Captain Gray sailed his ship in 1792, the river now bearing the name of the vessel which safely carried Captain Gray's little party across the Columbia river bar more than 100 years ago, and it was near the mouth of the Columbia where Astoria is located that the famous Lewis and Clark expedition rested from their long journey across the continent in 1805. The party reached the present site of Astoria in November of the latter year and camped for several months on the shores of Young's Bay just south of Astoria. Close upon the heels of the Lewis & Clark party followed the first actual white settlement at Astoria. In 1810 the great fur trader and merchant price of New York, John Jacob Astor, who lent his name to the young city, established a trading point, and it was thus that Astoria was born, and it has been since the date of the selection of this point by the Astor emissaries as a trading point that the interesting events have occurred which make up Astoria's history.
     Between 1810 and 1844 the life of the residents of Astoria was made up of many vicissitudes and constant petty bickerings. The country at the mouth of the Columbia during that long period of 34 years being alternately under American and British domination, the ultimate destiny of the people here was shrouded in uncertainty. In 1844 John M. Shively, of Kentucky, a worthy successor of the earlier pioneers, took up a donation land claim where Astoria now stands and laid out the first townsite here. The subsequent history of Astoria is an oft-told tale. Between 1844 and the early 70's Astoria struggled along very much as did most of the small towns of the sparsely settled country of Oregon and Washington. The people here did a little trading, they caught a few fish from the waters of the Columbia here, which teemed with the rich salmon and other varieties of the finny tribe, they sawed enough lumber to meet the local demand, but business was handled in Astoria during this time in the same careless way that business was done in most of the small towns of the state, and it has only been within the past 15 or 20 years that Astoria has made any substantial growth.
     It was in 1875 that the people of the coast first made the discovery that the royal chinook salmon, which only frequents the fresh waters of the Columbia river, was one of the finest food fishes in the world, and that it was especially adapted to canning. Canneries at once sprung up all along the river for a distance of 50 to 75 miles above its mouth for handling this fish, and the headquarters for all this great fishing industry has always been at Astoria. In a very short time after the establishment of these canneries, Astoria sprung from a mere hamlet of a few hundred population to a metropolitan city of 6,000 people. The place has continued to grow steadily since that time up to the present time, when Astoria is now accredited with a population of 10,000 people. In population it is even the rival of the state capitol, Salem, which is the second largest city in Oregon.
     The salmon industry is today, as it has been for more than 15 years past, the main stay of Astoria's prosperity. While a number of important industries are now maintained in the city at the Columbia's mouth, it is the canning of salmon and the interests which salmon canning supports on which Astoria bases its hopes for good or bad business. The royal chinook, the steelhead and the silverside species of salmon must all pass Astoria in their annual migrations to the spawning grounds at the heads of the numerous small streams which empty into the Columbia. Astoria, as before stated, is the headquarters for the great canning interests of the river. In operation at Astoria are nine large canneries, in which are invested over $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. During the prosperous seasons among the cannerymen on the river, shipments from these canneries have reached over 2,000 carloads during a single season. The salmon canning interests of the lower Columbia river are fully described in a separate article of "The Handbook." Another great and constantly growing industry of Astoria is the sawing of lumber. Thousands of square miles of pine, hemlock, spruce and fir forests are found in the near vicinity of Astoria, and the quality of the timber here is of the same high character as is found on the best parts of Puget Sound country. Trees are found in these forests of over 250 feet in height, and measuring from 3 to 12 feet in diameter. The sawmills at and near Astoria have made shipments, principally to Mexico, South America, Australia, China and the ports of the United States, aggregating over 20,000,000 feet during a single year. Three large sawmills, in addition to several planing mills and a number of box factories, are now running at Astoria.
    J.O. Hanthorn, the subject of this sketch, who is the sole proprietor of the well known salmon cannery known as the J.O. Hanthorn & Co. cannery, was born in Westerville, Franklin county, Ohio, in 1851. He came to Oregon with his father, N.M. Hanthorn, in 1862. Young J.O. learned the tinsmith business in Portland, Oregon; starting out for himself when between fifteen and sixteen years old, then became interested in the salmon business by working for Hapgood & Hume, the oldest cannery on the coast. After working two seasons there, he engaged as superintendent for R.D. Hume, a well known salmon packer, and built his first cannery at Bay View, Washington, where Mr. Hanthorn was superintendent for four years. In 1876-77 J.O. Hanthorn formed the partnership of himself, Wm. Wadhams and Wesley Jackson, and built a large plant in Astoria, Oregon. Since then Messrs. Wadhams and Jackson have disposed of their interests and Mr. Hanthorn is now sold owner, although the business is known as J.O. Hanthorn & Co. Nothing but the choicest goods go out under the name Hanthorn & Co.; every can warranted AI. His annual pack of salmon is about 30,000 cases of various sizes. The Hanthorn brand of salmon has won for Mr. Hanthorn a reputation that he is proud of and is well known all over the world. Mr. Hanthorn has been successful in business and has many friends all over the United States, including a good number in Europe.

J.O. Hanthorn & Co. cannery pictures

     The finances of Astoria are looked after by four strong banks, which carry average deposits aggregating over $1,000,000. The city has the benefit of a finely equipped electric light plant, the street improvements are fully abreast of the times, a good water-works plant is maintained, and the city has a good volunteer fire department. The east and west extensions of the city are connected by an electric street-car line, which operates three miles of road. The city supports good schools, and 11 strong church organizations are maintained here. In public improvements Astoria is not behind any city of equal population on the coast, and the trade of Astoria, being principally with those industries the product of which finds a ready market for cash, the business here is generally in a very prosperous condition.
     Astoria has excellent connection, by steamship lines, with San Francisco and the other coast ports. Ships visit this point from all parts of the world, and numerous lines of steamers ply regularly between Astoria and Portland, as well as between Astoria and all river settlements. The seaside travel during the summer months from the interior to Long Beach and other parts on the Washington side, and to Clatsop on the Oregon shore, passes directly through Astoria, and adds directly to Astoria's volume of trade. Many of these pleasure seekers stop off for a few days at Astoria, while the principal part of the supplies for the seaside resorts spread along the coast for miles above and below this point, are purchased from Astoria storekeepers.
     The great jetty at the mouth of the Columbia river, a work that owes its inauguration to the efforts of Congressman M.C. George, in 1885, was practically completed in 1891, at a cost of $2,000,000. This jetty has proved of inestimable value to Astoria, as it changed an 18 foot channel (low water measurement) across the bar to a channel of a minimum depth during the lowest tides of 30 feet. The new channel is perfectly straight, three miles in width, and leads to a well sheltered and large harbor inside the bar. It is as a seaport that Astoria lays her chief and best founded claim for future greatness. It is worthy of note that there are really but three first class inlets of the Pacific coast shore-line of the United States. These are the Golden Gate, at San Francisco, the Columbia river, and the Straits of Fuca, leading into Puget sounds. The waters of none of these inlets drain as large or as rich a section of country as does the Columbia. Deep-draught ocean vessels now ascend this stream and the Willamette to Portland, 110 miles inland, without the least difficulty, at all seasons, and river steamers have a clear water course from Astoria to the Cascades, a distance of nearly 150 miles. From the Cascades to The Dalles, a distance of nearly 50 miles, the river is navigable for large steamers. Above The Dalles is a series of obstructions which can be easily overcome by the construction of a canal and locks. Above these obstructions, on the Columbia and Snake, the latter being the chief tributary of the Columbia, the river is navigable to Lewiston, in Idaho, a distance of over 400 miles from the Columbia's mouth. Boats ply, however, on the upper Snake hundreds of miles east of Lewiston, and the upper Columbia, even into the British possessions, carries a sufficient volume of water to float steamers of large tonnage, and this, too, at a distance of 1,000 miles or more from the point where the water so this noble stream join the salt waters of the Pacific ocean. It is at the gateway of this vast empire that Astoria is located, and it is the development of the varied resources of this wonderful region, comprising thousands of square miles of territory, that will some day make Astoria one of the large cities of the continent.

The great pressing need of Astoria at the present time is railroad connection with Portland and the interior cities of the state. Oft repeated efforts have been made by prominent citizens looking to the consummation of this great work, but although work has several times been commenced on railroad lines leading out from Astoria, that city is still denied the railroad connection she has so long sought. A line of road now runs from Astoria to Clatsop Beach points, a distace of 20 miles. It is the hope of Astoria's people that arrangements have at last been completed which will result in the city's securing the much coveted rail connection with Portland and the leading points of the Willamette valley. A land subsidy has been subscribed and this has been accepted by a gentleman representing a very wealthy syndicate. It is expected to have the line between Astoria and Portland in operation by October of the present year, [1894]. The completion of this road would mean much to both Astoria and Portland and it is gratifying to this connection to say that any steps looking to its early completion would receive the cordial support of the leading men in both cities.

The Oregonian's handbook of the Pacific Northwest c. 1894