Portrait of Henry Pittock with Two Babies

Henry Pittock, shown here near the turn of the twentieth century, arrived in Portland in 1853.  Thomas J. Dryer, publisher of the Oregonian, hired him, and he worked long, often unpaid, hours for the paper.  For his effort, Pittock earned a partnership in 1856, and in 1860, when Dryer left Portland, Pittock assumed full control of the paper. 

Pittock moderated the abrasive editorial tone Dryer had established and decided that, in order to become profitable, the weekly journal needed to publish daily.  At the time, Portland’s newspapers received information dispatched from San Francisco on a weekly basis.   Pittock bought a new printing press and arranged for the national news to be telegraphed to a town in northern California.  From there, it was sent via stagecoach and messenger to Portland each day.  The Daily Oregonian began production in 1861 and rapidly out-sold its competitors as people sought up-to-date news of the Civil War.  As the first daily paper in the region, the Oregonian extended its influence throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Financial difficulties caused Pittock to lose control of the paper during the 1870s.  By 1877, he regained a controlling interest, however, and his former editor, Harvey W. Scott, assumed a minority interest.  Pittock retained control of the Oregonian for the next forty-two years until his death in 1919.  He was able to do so despite heavy economic losses during the depression of 1893, when he nearly declared bankruptcy.  In 1909, Pittock began to build the 45-room mansion that bears his name.

Further Reading:
MacColl, E. Kimbark. The Growth of a City: Power and Politics in Portland, Oregon, 1915-1950. Portland, Oreg., 1979.

MacColl, E. Kimbark. Merchants, Money and Power: The Portland Establishment 1843-1913. Portland, Oreg. 1988.

Written by Trudy Flores, Sarah Griffith, © Oregon Historical Society, 2002.