Sons of the American Revolution
Brief History of the Oregon State Society
The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution was organized April 30, 1889, and incorporated by an
act of the United States Congress, June 9, 1906. The corporate charter states the purposes and objectives of the
society as:
"...patriotic, historical, and educational, and shall include those intended or designed to perpetuate the memory of
the men who, by their services or sacrifices during the war of the American Revolution, achieved the independence
of the American people; to unite and promote fellowship among their descendants; to inspire them and the
community at large with a more profound reverence for the principles of the Government founded by our
forefathers; to encourage historical research in relation to the American Revolution; to acquire and preserve the
records of the individual services of the patriots of the war, as well as the documents, relics, and landmarks; to
mark the scenes of the Revolution by appropriate memorials; to celebrate the anniversaries of the prominent
events of the war and of the revolutionary period; to foster true patriotism; to maintain and extend the institutions
of American freedom; and to carry out the purposes expressed in the preamble to the Constitution of our country
and the injunctions of Washington in his farewell address to the American people."
The Oregon and Washington Society was organized June 6, 1891, at Portland, Oregon, mainly through the efforts
of General Thomas M. Anderson, then Colonel of the 14th Infantry stationed at Vancouver Barracks. There were
fifteen charter members. When membership increased, members residing in Washington organized the
Washington Society at Seattle, June 17, 1895. Thirty-four of the fifty-nine Washington Society members demitted
from the Oregon Society which left the Oregon Society with one hundred four members. The present name, "The
Oregon Society of the Sons of the American Revolution," was adopted at the fifth annual meeting on February 22,
1896.
The Oregon Society functioned as a single Chapter until the Southern Oregon and Portland Chapters were
formed, June 14, 1935. The Eugene Chapter was formed in 1970 and the Republic Chapter (Salem) in 1973. The
Central Coast chapter was formed in 1991, and the Portland Chapter changed its name to the William Cannon
Chapter in 1991 in honor of the only Revolutionary War Veteran known to be buried in Oregon. The Lewis &
Clark Chapter was formed in 1992, bringing the total number of chapters in Oregon to six. Two national
congresses have been hosted by the Oregon Society: in 1915 and in 1982. Judge Wallace McCament was President
General of the National Society, 1921-22.
This page sponsored by the Oregon Society Sons of the American Revolution, Inc.
Updated 11/11/99. Inquiries go to the sitemaster.
Send corrections, etc for this page to James H. Ives Sitemaster.