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The Ezra Meeker legacy to America extends far beyond the 1890 era Victorian Home now under restoration. He platted and named the town of Puyallup (means generous people), was the towns first mayor and brought electricity and water to the town. Ezra realized the value of marketing and built a fortune selling hops. He and his father introduced hops to the Puyallup Valley in the 1880's. By 1885 Meeker was recognized as the "Hop King of the World"! Imagine from a humble farmer to a person who was recognized worldwide. This prominence lasted until 1891 when the "Hop Louse" decimated the crops. Hops as a cash crop disappeared in western Washington and so did the Meeker fortune.

Ezra dabbled in a number of enterprises from gold mining in Dawson, dehydrating fruits and vegetables, proposing milk be placed in paper cartons, and many other interests. He tried to replace hops with sugar beets but could not convince his peers that they would produce as the hops did.

He began writing with gusto and published a romance novel about coming west. He was a great friend of the Northwestern Indians. He wrote about one of the major tragedies of the era. The Tragedy of Leschi was a book written in sympathy towards the plight of the Indians. He wrote in particular about the much publicized trial of Indian Chief Leschi. Meekers other books are Pioneer Reminiscences, Ezra's Short Stories for Children and the The Ox Team and the Old Oregon Trail.

In 1906 Ezra started at Camp 1 (the front lawn of the Meeker Mansion) to retrace the Oregon Trail and to erect markers along the way. With very little money he lectured and raised money as he went. His diaries of that journey are transcribed and will eventually be published by the Ezra Meeker Historical Society scheduled to coincide with the 100th Anniversary of his journey in 2006. Ezra is the only known pioneer who originally came west and then retraced the Oregon Trail two more times by ox-drawn wagon. He also retraced portions of the Oregon Trail in a specially built automobile. He was 94 years young when an opportunity to fly in an open cockpit airplane was presented to him. He was amazed that he could fly over the trail in less than seven days and it originally took him seven months to come from Independence to Portland. He is recognized as the Champion of the Oregon Trail, and without his unwavering pursuit to preserve the trail, it would have been obliterated.

Two years before his death a statue was erected in Pioneer Park in his hometown of Puyallup to recognize all pioneers who traveled across the Oregon Trail. Meeker died just short of his 98th birthday in December 1928. Few can match Meeker's accomplishments as a pioneer, historian, author and entrepreneur.

---www.meekermansion.org

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