Eugene Franklin Skinner was born September 13, 1809 in
Essex, Essex County, New York, son of Major John Joseph Skinner. His
mother died in his infancy. His father moved the family to Green County,
Wisconsin when Eugene was about 14 years old. He moved back to Plattsburg,
New York for a short time, but settled in Hennepin, Putnam County, Illinois
where he served as county sheriff. In May, 1845, he and his wife,
Mary Cook (whom he married in November 28, 1839), journeyed overland to
California, hoping to regain his health. They traveled with
Elijah Bristow and Wesley Shannon.
The party wintered at Sutter's Fort. In 1846 Skinners came north
to Oregon, stopping briefly in Polk County, near Dallas. That summer Skinner
joined the Bristow party in exploring the valley to the
south, and
took up a claim
downriver some miles from
Elijah Bristow's claim at the foot of a low hill. Fortunately for Skinner,
two Kalapuyas happened by, bringing trout from the river. "Build high
up," they said, "Ya-po-ah." They pointed to the hillside. Using
Chinook jargon, he asked why. "Big waters come some day," they told
him. He was convinced to build his cabin on high ground because of the floods.
Skinner selected a bench of land on the south side of the hill, cut
his logs from the firs at the river's edge, and built a one-room claim cabin.
This rude shelter had a door with skins hung across the opening. Its
primary purpose was to hold the land until Skinner could bring his family
there for permanent occupancy. The site of his first cabin is
commemorated with a marker installed by the local chapter of the Daughters
of the American Revolution on the hill known ever since as Skinner's
Butte.
In the spring of 1847, Eugene Skinner brought his wife
Mary and their infant daughter Mary Elizabeth, born in December 2, 1846 in
Clackamas County, to the tiny log cabin. The cabin expanded, and had
two doors and a window looking out across the prairie and the wooded area
to the south and west. For several months Mary was the only white woman
in the region that would become Lane County (Bristow's wife, bringing several
of their fifteen children, couldn't make the journey from the East until
1848). In the high valley, the few Indians had few disputes for the
early white settlers. There came a day, however, when Chief Tom was filled
with resentment at the thought of the occupants of the cabin at Ya-po-ah.
The Skinners knew enough jargon to recognize the impending danger. Eugene
shouldered his musket and patrolled the cabin that night, while Mary molded
bullets over the fire. By sundown on the following day, Chief Tom and
Eugene Skinner smoked the pipe of peace.
The Skinners had lost three daughters to illness back in Illinois, but they eventually raised a family of several children born on the homestead. Here they farmed, operated a ferry service, and in 1852, with Judge D. M. Risdon laid out the town of Eugene. Mary Cook Skinner was priviledged to name the new town Eugene City after her husband. In 1853 Skinner donated a portion of his property for county buildings. Thereafter he practiced law, serving as county clerk and Eugene postmaster for several years. He was the father of five children: Lenora, the first white child born in Lane County, September 2, 1848; Phoebe, born March 29, 1850; St. John B. L., born November 7, 1851; Amelia R., born April 16, 1855. Mr. Skinner died December 15, 1864. There is an enormous ivy tree planted in front of 260 West Sixth Avenue, between Lincoln and Charnelton. Mary Cook Skinner brought four little firs from back of the butte and planted them together. Later she planted ivy, and over the years it became so thick the firs had to be cut down. The house that stands there today is the house where Eugene Skinner died. He took a cold from exposure during the big flood of 1861 while trying to save his cattle and never fully recovered. Mary remarried on February 7, 1867, and died on June 4, 1881 as Mrs. N. L. Packard.
More information is available on the history of Eugene City.
