Joseph S. Ruckle

Colonel Joseph S. Ruckle (or Ruckel) was a businessman who moved to Oregon in 1855.[1]

In Oregon, he captained Van Bergen's Oregon Steam Navigation Company steamship named the Fashion on the Columbia River.[1][2] He then built his own boat, the Mountain Buck, and then a railroad portage.[1] The rail portage, which was the Oregon Portage Railroad, was around the Cascades on the Columbia, and was the first railroad in Oregon.[3]

Ruckle was elected state senator in 1858 over Clackamas and Wasco counties.[4] A Democrat, he represented District 2, but as Oregon had not yet entered the Union, there was no official session in 1858.[5] He only served during the 1859 special session, the first meeting of the state legislature.[6]

In 1864 and 1865, he and George Thomas built the Thomas and Ruckle Road over the Blue Mountains.[1] He also developed a quartz mine near Powder River that became known as the Virtue Mine.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1888). History of Oregon. Vol. II. San Francisco, California: History Company. p. 481. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  2. ^ Deumling, Dietrich (May 1972). The roles of the railroad in the development of the Grande Ronde Valley (masters thesis). Flagstaff, Arizona: Northern Arizona University. pp. 13–15, 27–28. OCLC 4383986.
  3. ^ Worker's of the Writers Program of the Works Progress Administration (1940). Oregon, End of the Trail. American Guide Series. US History Publishers. p. 71. ISBN 1-60354-036-9.
  4. ^ Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1888). History of Oregon. Vol. II. San Francisco, California: History Company. p. 432. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  5. ^ "1858 Regular Session (1st Pre-Admission)". Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide. Oregon State Archives. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
  6. ^ "1859 Special Session". Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide. Oregon State Archives. Retrieved 18 January 2010.