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Joseph Goff Gale (April 29, 1807 – December 13, 1881) was an American pioneer, trapper, entrepreneur, and politician who contributed to the early settlement of the Oregon Country. There he assisted in the construction of the first sailing vessel built in what would become the state of Oregon, sailed the ship to California to trade for cattle, and later served as one of three co-executives ("governors") in the Provisional Government of Oregon. Originally a sailor, he also spent time in the fur trade, as a farmer, and a gold miner in the California Gold Rush.
A year later, in July 1833, Gale was at the fur trapper's Rendezvous at Green River in present-day Wyoming, where he joined Joseph Walker's expedition to California. The expedition traveled from the Great Salt Lake to California by way of the Humboldt River, crossing the Sierra Nevada near the Yosemite Valley. Traversing the rough mountain terrain in October took a month. In November, Walker and company finally reached the Pacific Ocean. In February 1834, the Joseph Walker party began its return trip to the Rocky Mountains, but Gale stayed behind in California. He instead joined his friend Ewing Young on his historic cattle drive from California to Oregon, along with of Oregon promoter Hall Jackson Kelley. The Ewing Young party, and the first cattle introduced to Oregon, reached the Willamette Valley in October 1834.
Less than a month later, Gale and a "picked up lot" were hired by Nathaniel Wyeth and traveled to Fort Hall in present-day Idaho. Gale was soon leading a "spring hunt" in the Rockies north of the Great Salt Lake. In the fall of 1835, Gale lead his party of men to the Gallatin River, where they had a bloody encounter with Blackfeet Indians. Gale and his party, Kit Carson, Joseph Meek, and several others were fortunate to survive the encounter. Joseph Gale continued to work at Fort Hall for the next few years. After the sale of Fort Hall in August 1837, he began trapping and trading for the Hudson's Bay Company.
As Oregon began to attract people, the lack of a sustainable economy became a problem. Moreover, settlers were suffering from an acute livestock shortage. In 1840, a group of settlers began construction of a ship with the goal of sailing the vessel to San Francisco, and trading it for cattle to bring back north. Ship building commenced on the Star of Oregon (as it was later to be named) on Swan Island (Portland, Oregon) with Felix Hathaway hired as the ship builder. A year later, Joseph Gale was offered command of the ship and a share of the ownership. To raise capital and free his labor for its construction, Gale sold his Tualatin Valley farm and moved his family to Champoeg. All summer and fall he worked on construction of the schooner at Oregon City, where it had been relocated, which came after Hathaway quit the project and left the completion up to the remaining partners. During the winter and spring of 1841 to 42, Gale worked for the Oregon Mission, running its sawmill.
In August 1842, the Star of Oregon - the first ocean-going vessel built in Oregon - left Oregon City for two weeks of practice runs on the Columbia River. In September, the ship left for California with a crew of five inexperienced men and an Indian boy with Gale as captain. On reaching San Francisco, the ship was sold for 350 cows. The following spring, Gale and 42 others drove 1,250 cattle, 600 horses and mules, and 3,000 sheep back to the Oregon Country. it was the second known cattle drive to Oregon.
Partly in recognition for his accomplishment, Joseph Gale was named to the first executive committee of the Provisional Government of Oregon.Corning, Howard M. (1989) Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 95. Oregon’s first form of government, as implemented by the citizens’ meeting at Champoeg on July 5, 1843, favored an Executive Committee instead of a single executive. The Executive Committee of 1843 was made up of David Hill, Alanson Beers, and Gale.
By 1844, Joseph Gale and his family had settled on Gales Creek in Washington County, Oregon, where he established a grist mill and sawmill, perhaps using profits gained from the California-to-Oregon cattle drive.
In August 1859, Gale received a permit to run a ferry over the Kern River (at Gordon's Ferry, Tulare County). Located on the main stage route from Los Angeles to San Francisco, this venture was potentially profitable. However, Gale's business activities were badly damaged with the demise of the Butterfield Overland Mail service in March 1861 and the closing of Fort Tejon in June 1861. In January 1862, a record flood washed away the ferry, stage station, and much of the road connecting San Francisco with Los Angeles. Gale abandoned the ferry and moved to Walla Walla.
Joseph Gale died on his farm on December 13, 1881, and is buried in the Eagle Valley cemetery, Richland, Baker County, Oregon. After Gale's death, Eliza moved to the Umatilla Indian Reservation, where she died in 1905. She is buried in the Weston Cemetery in Weston, Umatilla County, Oregon, where her tombstone reads "1819-1905 d/o Old Chief Joseph, Nez Perce Chief. w/o Joseph Gale, Provisional Governor of Oregon 1843-1844."
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