determined through international diplomacy, culminating with the Oregon Treaty of 1846, the results of which had nothing to do with popular voting of residents or the existence or non-existence of a provisional territorial government. Oregon pioneer Matthieu settled on French Prairie and owned a general merchandising business in Butteville, a small town which he founded located in rural Marion County. On April 12, 1844, he married Rosalie Aussant, and the couple would have 15 children. In 1846 Matthieu filed a provisional land claim on 640 acres nearby, later refiling as a Donation Land Claim in 1850. Butteville post office was established in 1850 with name of Champoeg, and with Matthieu as the first postmaster. During the California Gold Rush Matthieu attempted to make his fortune transporting provisions and mercantile goods to the mines. Matthieu unfortunately fell ill on the way and wound up losing all 14 mules and the goods they were packing during his sickness, thereby dealing him a heavy financial blow. He also schemed on making use of Native Americans as mineworkers, but scurvy and diarrhea lead to massive deaths among the first party accompanying him to California and the plan fell to nothing. In 1873 Matthieu was elected the first president of the newly reorganized Oregon Pioneer Association. He would remain a stalwart member of that organization, attending virtually every one of the group's annual meetings up to the time of his death. He was also a Mason from 1855, helping to organize the first Masonic lodge in Oregon. Political career In 1874, he was elected as a Democrat to the Oregon House of Representatives to represent Marion County. Matthieu returned to the legislature in 1878, again representing Marion County. Death and legacy In his later years, Matthieu made his home in Portland in a house located at 351 NE Eugene Street on the city's East side. Matthieu died on February 4, 1914, at a daughter's home in Butteville. He was the longest-surviving member of the 102 participants at the 1843 Champoeg Meetings. Footnotes Further reading John A. Hussey, Champoeg, Place of Transition: A Disputed History. Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society, 1967. H.S. Lyman, "Reminiscences of F. X. Matthieu," Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society, vol. 1, no. 1 (March 1900), pp. 73–104. Oswald West, "Oregon's First White Settlers on French Prairie," Oregon Historical Quarterly,'' vol. 43, no. 3 (Sept. 1942), pp. 198–209. In JSTOR External links