The Belle of the Falls plies the waters of the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn. Since 2005, the paddle boat, which carries 60 passengers, has offered river excursions to the locks at Willamette Falls from June through September.

OREGON CITY —

He was a big man, this one they called the “Great White Eagle.” He stood about 6-foot-4 in an era when few men were much over 5-foot-8, and a mane of long white hair made him look even larger. He used his stature not to intimidate, but to encourage the settlement of the Pacific Northwest.

Today, Dr. John McLoughlin is remembered as “the Father of Oregon.”

Born in Quebec of Scottish parents, McLoughlin was trained in medicine as a teenager, then moved west with the Hudson’s Bay Company in the early 1820s. He rose in the ranks of the fur trade to become chief factor of the company’s most important stronghold, Fort Vancouver, on the north bank of the Columbia River in the Oregon Territory.

In 1829, he had also established a small settlement 25 miles south of the fort on the Willamette River, beside a 40-foot horseshoe falls that he saw as ideal for powering future industry.

By 1842, as demand for furs dwindled with supplies, a constant stream of wagon trains filled with American pioneers was arriving in the Oregon Territory. In direct opposition to the policy of the British Empire, which was fighting for possession of the territory, McLoughlin supported the newcomers. He provided extended credit for food, seed and farm tools, and steered the emigrants southward into the Willamette Valley.

The settlement that grew up beside the falls became known as Oregon City. It quickly became the goal of every traveler on the Oregon Trail, especially after 1850 when the federal Donation Land Act was passed. This assured every settler a 320-acre claim, which had to be filed at a federal land office; Oregon City had the only one west of the Rocky Mountains.

McLoughlin himself built a home in the valley and retired to it in 1846. Five years later, at the age of 67, he became an American citizen. By that time, he had established Oregon City as the first incorporated U.S. city west of the Rockies, and Oregon’s first territorial capital.

Rolling on the river

For anyone interested in Oregon history, from schoolchildren to grandparents, Oregon City is a “must see.” Thirteen miles south of Portland and 158 miles northwest of Bend, the working-class town of 30,000 sits beside Interstate 205 on the southeast bank of the Willamette River.

Willamette Falls — which the city claims are the 18th largest in the world — remain a landmark, although today they are hard to pick out among the mills and powerhouses that crowd the river. Beginning in 1844, they were the site of paper mills (two still operate here), a woolen mill, a flour mill and America’s first long-distance power-transmission line (to Portland) in 1889.

Perhaps the best way to glimpse Willamette Falls is from the deck of the Belle of the Falls, a refurbished 60-passenger paddle boat that’s been plying these waters for the past three summers. One-hour excursions leave the Jon Storm Dock near Clackamette Park at noon and 2 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through September. It’s fun not only to view the falls and the Willamette Falls Locks (an essential river-transport channel since 1873), but also many beautiful riverview homes.

The Belle is one of nine stops for the free Historic Oregon City Trolley, which meanders through the city two to three times an hour between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily (beginning at 10 a.m. weekends), through the summer. Other key stops are at museums, historic homes and downtown Oregon City. For $9, you can purchase a Historic Oregon City Pass, good for admission to several attractions and a discount off the cruise aboard the Belle, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find any free time during a day in this historical community.

Oregon Trail heritage

Start your exploration of Oregon City at the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, open daily. A series of three buildings, shaped like 50-foot-high covered wagons (without the canvas covers), circle the top of a low knoll known as Abernethy Green. In the mid-19th century, this was the main arrival area for Oregon Trail travelers.

Operated by the city of Oregon City, which maintains a visitor information center here, the interpretive center is just what it claims to be. There’s not much in the way of museum-style exhibits; rather, visitors are encouraged to invest a couple of hours watching films, listening to talks and viewing demonstrations.

A 45-minute presentation in the Missouri Provisioners’ Depot lets you know what travelers could, and could not, take with them on the trail. “Bound for Oregon” is a 30-minute multimedia dramatization of true pioneer adventures on the Oregon Trail journey. Demonstrations in the Willamette Trades and Craft Workshop, where children love packing (and unpacking) a covered wagon and grinding wheat seed into flour, are directed by interpreters in period costumes.

Oregon City’s best historical collection is housed on the other end of town, in the Museum of the Oregon Territory. It’s eclectic, covering a territory that in the early 19th century stretched from the Alaska panhandle to the California border. And it features not only early Oregon City, but also 10,000 years of American Indian history. My favorite exhibit is an early 20th-century pharmacy, stocked with a fascinating variety of make-you-wells like Karnak (“a stomachic tonic and system regulator”), Swamp Root (“for the kidneys”) and Dr. Pierce’s Smart Weed (“for the relief of acute pain and sudden development of the symptoms for which it is recommended”).

Historic homes

The McLoughlin Historic District is uptown, above the Singer Hill climb that leads from the downtown riverfront up a 90-foot basalt bluff. In 1915, supported by a $12,000 bond measure, the city built a water-powered elevator to connect its business district to its early residential neighborhood. A new elevator replaced it in 1955, and today the Oregon City Municipal Elevator is the only outdoor, city-owned elevator operating in the United States.

A five-block long promenade leads along the bluff top south of the elevator, affording views of the river and many historic homes.

The home of Dr. John McLoughlin was not originally among them. Built near the river in 1845, it was saved from demolition in 1909 and pulled up Singer Hill to its present Center Street location, on McLoughlin’s original city plat. The two-story home — simple in appearance today, but elegant for its time and location — is a national historic site that contains many of its original furnishings. It is administered by the National Park Service in conjunction with Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. Free tours begin at the adjacent Forbes Barclay House, where monthly exhibits focus on women’s arts of the mid-19th century.

A guide unlocks the door to the McLoughlin House. Assisted by historical photographs and paintings, he talks about McLoughlin and his times. Then he leads visitors through the first floor (a large parlor, dining room and the doctor’s office) and second floor (three bedrooms and a sitting room). Kitchens and toilets were in separate buildings.

McLoughlin was 73 when he died in 1857. His wife, Marguerite, followed three years later. Their ivy-covered graves today remain on the property, surrounded by a small fence.

Three blocks away on Sixth Street is the Francis Ermatinger House, the oldest in Clackamas County, predating McLoughlin’s by a few weeks. Here are vintage clothing and textile displays, as well as living-history tea events. According to legend, Oregon City lawyer Asa Lovejoy and businessman Francis Pettygrove flipped a coin in this house to decide who would name a land claim they had staked just north of Oregon City. Pettygrove won and named the claim after his hometown of Portland, Maine. Had Lovejoy won, it would have been called Boston.

Also in this neighborhood is the Stevens-Crawford Heritage House, built in 1908 by descendants of Medorem Crawford, an Oregon Trail wagonmaster. Like the other historic homes, it features original furniture. Nearby, the 1912 Carnegie Center has been redubbed “Fine Art Starts!” in its role as a multi-use arts center with a gallery, classrooms and coffee shop. The adjacent park is home to weekly Thursday-night concerts in summer.

Where to stay, dine

The best place to stay in Oregon City, which has a shortage of lodging options, is the Rivershore Inn. Facing the river by the public-boat launch where the Belle of the Falls docks, it has modern facilities and a full-service restaurant and lounge.

The best restaurant in town is the Black Point Inn, which serves lunch and dinner every day of the week. A handsome restaurant with fireside dining, it’s located in Oregon City’s historic Oddfellows Hall at the edge of the McLoughlin Historic District. I can recommend the blackened halibut with a cucumber crème friche served over buttered red potatoes.

Another good choice is the Highland Still House, a friendly Scottish pub next door to the Museum of the Oregon Territory. Order bangers and beans or a steak-and-mushroom pie, wash it down with a Guinness, and you’ll fill like you’ve been magically transported to Loch Lomond.

Dr. John McLoughlin, who was a full-blooded Scotsman himself, would have approved.

NEXT WEEK: FLORENCE AND THE OREGON DUNES

• Gas (325 miles @ $2.80/gallon) $36.40

• Lodging, 2 nights, Rivershore Hotel $171

• Dinner, Black Point Inn $41.75

• 2 breakfasts, Rivershore $20

• Historic Oregon City Pass $9

• Lunch, Weathervane House $8.50

• Cruise, Belle of the Falls $12

• Dinner, Highland Still House $17

TOTAL $315.65

• End of the Oregon Trail Visitor Information Center: 1726 Washington St., Oregon City; 503-657-9336 or 800-424-3002, www.historicoregoncity.com

• Oregon’s Mount Hood Territory: 888-622-4822, www.mthoodterritory.com

• Rivershore Hotel: 1900 Clackamette Drive, Oregon City; 503-655-7141 or 800-433-7777, www.rivershorehotel.com. Rates from $85.50.

• Black Point Inn: 602 Seventh St., Oregon City; 503-653-9797

• Highland Still House: 201 S. Second St., Oregon City; 503-723-6789

• Weathervane Coffee House: 13001 Clackamas River Drive, Oregon City; 503-655-7200

• Belle of the Falls: Jon Storm Dock, Clackamette Drive, Oregon City; 503-286-7673, www.belleofthefalls.com

• Carnegie Center Fine Art Starts!: 606 John Adams St., Oregon City; 503-557-9199, www.fineartstarts.com

• End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center: 1726 Washington St., Oregon City; 503-657-9336, www.endoftheoregontrail.org

• Francis Ermatinger House: 619 Sixth St., Oregon City; 503-650-1851

• McLoughlin House National Historic Site: 713 Center St., Oregon City; 503-656-5146, www.nps.gov/mcho

• Museum of the Oregon Territory: 211 Tumwater Drive, Oregon City; 503-655-5574, www.historicoregoncity.com

• Oregon City Municipal Elevator: 300 Seventh St., Oregon City; 503-657-0891

• Stevens-Crawford House: 603 Sixth St., Oregon City; 503-655-2866