The Great Columbia Plain : a historical geography, 1805-1910

Book

The Great Columbia Plain : a historical geography, 1805-1910 / by D.W. Meinig ; with a foreword by William Cronon, and new preface by the author.

Meinig, D. W. (Donald William), 1924- (Author).

Summary:

Dismissed in early years as a wasteland, the rolling open country that covers the interior parts of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho is today one of the richest farmlands in the nation. This work is the story of its transformation. Meinig traces all of the aspects of its development by combining geographic description with historical narrative.

Record details

ISBN: 0295974850 (alk. paper)
ISBN: 9780295974859 (alk. paper)
Physical Description: xxiv, 576 pages, [1] folded leaf : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.
Publisher: Seattle : University of Washington Press, 1995.

Content descriptions

General Note:: Originally published: 1968. (The Emil and Kathleen Sick lecture-book series in western history and biography).
Bibliography, etc. Note:: Includes bibliographical references (p. 519-551) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:: Setting : landscapes, seasons, and people, ca. 1800 -- Entry : by East and by North -- Competition : by land and by sea -- Monopoly : London rules the Columbia -- Matrix : American visions and ventures -- Missions : Protestants and priests -- Preparation : clearing, organizing, and evaluating the land -- Colonization : gold, grass, and grain -- Strategy : settlers and railroads, 1870-90 -- Conquest : some patterns, methods, and ideas, 1870-90 -- Empire : town and country, ca. 1890 -- Elaboration : some patterns and methods -- Inquiry : the farmer and the scientist, ca. 1890-1910 -- Culmination : the Great Columbia Plain, ca. 1910 -- Perspectives : history, geography, and culture -- Appendix : Populations and facilities of towns, 1890 and 1910 [table].