Peggy Sigler, the Volunteer Project Manager overseeing the Mark Prairie School Restoration, is recognized in the article for her achievement in winning the biannual Oregon Heritage Excellence Award.

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Mark Prairie Historical Society is thrilled to celebrate the recent news that Peggy Sigler, our volunteer manager of the Mark Prairie Schoolhouse Restoration Project, will be receiving the Oregon Heritage Excellence Award and will be recognized at the 2024 Oregon Heritage Conference Award Dinner on April 18^th in Hillsboro. Locally, she will be honored at the May 1 Canby City Council meeting as part of the kick-off to May Historic Preservation Program. 

Thank you Peggy! You are amazing!! We are very proud of you and thankful for all that you do!!!

Join us in celebrating Peggy’s well-deserved accomplishment!

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But from the wreckage emerged a beacon of hope, fueled by the love and dedication of our community. Since that fateful day, our dedicated team of volunteers has poured thousands of hours into the restoration effort, fueled by a passion to preserve history, and uphold the legacy of the Mark Prairie Schoolhouse. Through their tireless dedication and the generosity of supporters like you, we’ve raised over $700,000 towards rebuilding this beloved landmark.

As we commemorate the 3rd anniversary of that ice storm, we’re filled with gratitude for how far we’ve come. With just $100,000 left to raise, we’re on the brink of completing our mission. The exterior stands proudly restored, a symbol of our community’s resilience. Now, our focus shifts to the interior – repairing, restoring, and updating to ensure the schoolhouse continues its tradition as a vibrant hub for community gatherings and events.

Soon, the doors of the Mark Prairie Schoolhouse will once again open to the public to use and to rent, welcoming all to create new memories and celebrate special moments.  Let’s rejoice in the progress we’ve made and the bright future ahead!

Join us in this final push to complete our restoration journey. Together, let’s ensure that the Mark Prairie Schoolhouse continues to stand as a beacon of community spirit, and as testament to the enduring spirit of love and resilience for generations to come. 

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INDIGENOUS HOMELANDS 

Since time immemorial, the land south of Canby, now known as Mark’s Prairie, was home to the Ahantchuyuk (or “Pudding River”) band of the Central Kalapuyan tribe. Their homelands stretched from Willamette Falls south to now-Salem, hemmed by the Cascade Range to the east and the Willamette River to the west.  In the 1830s, explorers and trappers unknowingly brought malaria to the region. Without immunity, the Pudding River bands were depleted by the epidemic. People of the Molalla tribe from the foothills to the east moved into the established but vacant villages in the region surrounding the Molalla River, while the few remaining Ahantchuyuk people banded together close to the Pudding River and nearby Champoeg. 

The Kalapuyans were a “wealthy” people. They used controlled burns to maintain Mark’s Prairie, nearby Gribble Prairie, Baker’s Prairie (the current site of Canby) and other areas as open meadows for easier hunting of game and harvesting of their local foods, including acorns from the Oregon white oaks on this site, wild strawberries, and camas near the creeks. Because the creeks and nearby rivers, along with the wetlands, oak savannahs, and dense fir forests, provided a moderate climate and good life for the people, Ahantchuyuk were a non-nomadic tribe.  To the east of Marks Prairie, the creeks are at their closest until they meander and merge to the northwest, then drop down the bluff to the Molalla River.

Mark Prairie is sandwiched between the later (Barlow-Monitor) Market Road 9 and (Canby-Marquam) Market Road 10 with (Gribble-Macksburg) Market Road 26 connecting the two across Gribble and Dove Creeks.  These roads were likely Native American trails for thousands of years, making this a “high-traffic” location even then.  From discovery of artifacts, it is believed that at least two permanent villages were located nearby, although no artifacts are known to have been found at the Mark Prairie Schoolhouse site.

In the 1830s, trappers released from service by the Hudson’s Bay Company and other mountain men who had come west were settling on the fertile lands of the Willamette Valley. Missionaries from the east were establishing churches and schools to convert and “save” the indigenous people. Settlers arrived in greater numbers as the Oregon Trail enticed more to head west to the Land of Eden, with the Barlow Trail over the Cascades opening in 1846.  The Mark family arrived in 1847. By 1850, tracts of 160 and 320 acres were settled as Donation Land Claims by American emigrants. On Jan 22, 1855, the Kalapuya ceded the entire Willamette River drainage in treaty. By 1900, their once-abundant population was estimated at less than 300 people.

Today, people of Kalapuyan and Molalla descent are part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.

By Peggy Sigler

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What are you doing on Tuesday, November 28? That day is GivingTuesday—a global day of giving where people all over the world come together to support their favorite nonprofits.

This year, Mark Prairie Historical Society is participating in GivingTuesday! Our goal is to raise the additional funds needed to complete the repair of the schoolhouse—but we’ll only reach that goal through the kindness and generosity of people like you. Will you help?

Here’s how you can get involved:

• Add GivingTuesday to your calendar!
• Donate to Mark Prairie Historical Society https://markprairiehistoricalsociety.org/donate/. Your donation will be the spark that lights up this historical gem, preserving it for generations to come. Every dollar takes us one step closer to our goal, and we’re deeply grateful for your support.
• Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MarkPrairieHistoricalSociety/! We’ll share updates and stories throughout theday about how much you and others in our community are making a difference.
• Spread the word by telling your friends, family, and coworkers why you’re passionate about restoring the schoolhouse. Then, invite them to join you in making a difference. We’re only able to complete the restoration because of the generosity of supporters like you!

I hope you’ll join us on GivingTuesday!

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The exterior of the Mark Prairie Schoolhouse was recently power washed, in preparation for painting. The transformation has been nothing short of amazing, even at this stage! More coming soon

If you would like to donate to the restoration, you can visit our donate page here, or our GoFund Me here.

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May is National Preservation Month! Help us restore the Mark Prairie Schoolhouse!

Please visit our GoFundMe to donate and help us reach our goal at: https://gofund.me/61ad3453

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Please see flyer below for details!

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