Gaston, Joseph.  "Portland, Oregon Its History and Builders."  Vol. 3. 
Chicago and Portland, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1911. p. 496.
 
GENERAL STEPHEN COFFIN

     The following sketch of the life of General Coffin was written by the
author of this history at the time of the General's death, March 18, 1882.
Rapidly the old settlers who laid the foundations of this pioneer state of the
northwest are passing away. Many have already passed the boundaries of life
allotted by the sacred writer, and soon few will remain to remember and relate
the trials and experiences in reaching this once isolated region to plant the
germs of American institutions and civilization. Stephen Coffin, who died at
Dayton on Thursday last, was a man of mark and character among his fellows, a
born leader of men, and as such so contributed to the founding of this city of
Portland and to the rearing of this state of Oregon, as to be entitled to a
conspicuous and honorable place in the records of our history. Mr. Coffin, we
believe, was a native of the state of Ohio, and came to Oregon across the plains
with his family in the year 1847. Settling at Oregon City in the then vigor of
his manhood, he went to work with all the energy of his restless nature at
whatever honorable employment his hands could find to do, contracting, building,
and all the rough and rugged labor of a new country. Success rewarded his
industrious labor, so that in two years he had accumulated means sufficient to
purchase a half interest in the townsite of the city of Portland, being the
Lownsdale Land Claim, and now covered by that portion of the city embraced
within the boundaries of A street on the north, Caruthers street on the south,
and about Sixteenth street on the west. During the year, 1849, Mr. Coffin
removed from Oregon City to Portland, and soon after Colonel Chapman purchased
of Coffin and Lownsdale a third interest in the townsite. The increasing
immigration to the country and the stirring events on the Pacific caused by the
gold discoveries in California, began to indicate the importance of a future
city in this quarter of the world, and the consequent value of townsite
property. The supremacy of Portland as the emporium was disputed them with much
more vigor than now; Milwaukie, St. Helens and Astoria, being rivals for the
fortunes of the metropolis. The Pacific Mail Steamship Company had made large
investments at St. Helens, and all the influence of that great company was
directed toward crippling the rising fortunes of Portland. It was then that the
townsite proprietors resolved to decide the issue for their town by starting an
opposition steamship line, and they accordingly purchased, as they believed, a
controlling interest in the steamship Gold Hunter, paying down twenty-one
thousand dollars in coin, a much larger sum comparatively to Portland in 1850
than half a million is today. At that early example of Coffin, Chapman,
Lownsdale and others, in contending for the business interests of Portland,
should be a significant hint to the millionaires who are now wrestling with the
tug and dredger business, many of whom are singly better able to take the whole
lob than Portland was to raise that twenty-one thousand dollars in 1850.
     The Gold Hunter proved a very unfortunate investment to General Coffin,
for, by no fault or mismanagement of the Oregon stockholders, but by the
treachery of trusted agents, the ship was sent away to Central America, was
bottomed for debt, sold out and a large balance charged up to the stockholders.
In this misfortune, General Coffin was the heaviest loser, having to pay first
and last nearly $60,000, to meet which losses he was compelled to sell for
whatever prices he could get, great numbers of city blocks, which if he could
have retained would have realized for him a million dollars. And there are not a
few capitalists in Portland made wealthy by real estate, who can date their
fortunes to Coffin's forced sales to pay Gold Hunter debts. But that which was
the ruin of Coffin and Chapman made sure the future of Portland; for the
opposition steamship company seeing that Portland was even then a power,
thereafter made this place the terminus of their route.
     General Coffin was ever active in devising means to establish the business
of the city. To bring hither the trade of Washington county and prevent the
opening of a road from the "plains" to St. Helens in 1851. He organized a
company to build a plank road through the canyon from Portland to Hillsboro; and
while much grading was done and some plank actually laid the road was never
completed. But it aided in establishing the present finely graded road on this
route and effectually killed off the project of sending the Washington county
trade to St. Helens.
     The next enterprise in which General Coffin took an active part was the
organization of the People's Transportation Company in 1860; he was one of the
original promoters, and at one time vice president of this company, which for
many years controlled the transportation on the Willamette river, and for some
time carried on a fierce battle with the O. S. N. Company for the control of the
Columbia river also.
     In or about 1867 he took a large interest in the Oregon Iron Works, then
the principal establishment of the kind north of San Francisco. The works were
originally located on the block west of the Central school; and here the company
suffered a loss by fire, which took forty thousand dollars out of Mr. Coffin's
pocket in a few minutes.
     In 1868 he took an active part in promoting the success of the Oregon
Central Railroad (west side). He built by contract, the bridges on the Mountain
section of the road adjacent to Portland, investing over sixty thousand dollars
in the undertaking. And it can be truly said that had it not been for the timely
and energetic assistance thus given the struggling enterprise by General Coffin,
it would have failed utterly, and the west side counties would not have had a
railroad for ten years or probably much longer waiting than that.
     Upon the organization of the order of the Patrons of Husbandry in Oregon,
General Coffin became a leading and acting member and largely contributed to its
early success. Along with some others he organized its members into a business
organization known as The Northwestern Storage & Shipping Company.  This company
did the farmers great service in the purchase and importation of wagons and
implements, and sale of them at cost, carriage and interest, by which the
farmers saved many thousand dollars. And the reduction in prices thus secured
has been largely maintained to the present time.
     In all his business affairs, General Coffin was characterized by liberality
and great public spirit. The county records bear ample testimony to his
generosity to this city in the gift of the public levee now worth over one
hundred thousand dollars; and his gifts to the churches and public schools.
Professor Crawford in his interesting historical sketch of the city schools,
remarks:
     "There are on file several newspaper items praising a few citizens for
their liberal donations of lots and blocks for school purposes. It certainly
will not harm any one to say that in all my researches I have found but one-half
block owned by the district, that came into its possession as a free gift. The
north half of block 134 was a donation from Stephen Coffin, and he afterwards
gave the present site (a half block) of Harrison street school in exchange for
it. Every lot the district owns, aside from this half block, has been paid for
in gold coin raised by district tax."
     It may be also stated here that the first school and church bell raised in
this city to call the people together was purchased by Stephen Coffin of the
Mensel foundry at Troy, New York, in 1850, and put up on the old schoolhouse
once existing between Oak and Pine streets; and when no longer used there, was
by him turned over to the Methodist church, and now hangs in the belfry of the
Taylor street church edifice.
     These acts characterize and distinguish the man above his fellows ; for
while the city contained thousands of good citizens, many of far greater wealth,
his name alone appears on the records as a "cheerful giver."
     He was not only very liberal and public-spirited in business but was also
most humane and charitable, with a most sympathizing heart with all in distress
or misfortune. It is related that he and his fellow immigrants were badly
treated by a few persons on arriving in this country. To this treatment Coffin
boldly remonstrated and was told in reply not to complain, "for he might himself
make up such losses from succeeding immigrants." This insult added to injury,
called out hot words and created enmity for life, and which Coffin might have
truly expressed in the language of Brutus to Cassius:
         "I had rather coin my heart,
          And drop my blood for drachmas, than to wring
          From the hard hands of peasants their vile trash
          By any indirection."
     And so far from desiring to "get even" by such inhospitality, General
Coffin not only freely opened his own house for indigent immigrants but actually
at one time in this city opened a free lodging house for the newcomers and
supplied it with food and provisions˜all free to the needy.
     In politics General Coffin was an active republican and thoroughly devoted
to the cause for the sake of its principles. He was one of the "Old Guard," and
original organizers of the republican party in Oregon. He was not an office
seeker and never held any official post but that of brigadier general of the
Oregon militia during the war of the Rebellion, at which time he rendered the
state a great public service in the honest and faithful discharge of his duty in
organizing the militia and protecting the frontiers from the Indians during the
absence of the regular troops.
     His active life and business career closed several years ago, since which
time he has suffered greatly with partial paralysis. In his private life he was
distinguished for purity and generosity. He was at all times most cheerful and
met with misfortunes not only with courage but even with philosophical
cheerfulness. Few men held a wider acquaintance with his fellow citizens or
enjoyed warmer friends. His religious views were extremely broad and liberal,
and while acting in the main with the Methodists, he freely cooperated with all
other good people and aimed to so live, and did actually meet death, that in the
words of Bryant, he went
 
          "not like the quarry slave at night,
          Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothed
          By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave
          Like one who draws the drapery of his couch
          About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."
		  Good friend, brave spirit, hail and farewell.
 

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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in June 2008 by Diana Smith. Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.