Christopher Columbus Sewell was a miner and entrepreneur, and the patriarch of a successful Black family during Eastern Oregon’s gold rush years. Sewell was born in Washington DC in 1823. His mother Maria was granted her freedom in 1827, along with Columbus and his five siblings.
It is believed that Sewell left Washington DC at an early age. Later in life, he would claim to have fought under General Winfield Scott during the Black Hawk War, a US Army campaign against the Sauk and Kickapoo tribes in Iowa. However this war took place in 1832, when Sewell was just 9 years old. What is certain, though, is that Columbus Sewell was counted in the 1850 census for Iowa County, Wisconsin.
Columbus moved further west in search of gold following the 1849 California gold rush. He worked as a miner throughout the 1850s in northern California, and appears in the 1860 census as a resident of Weaverville, in Trinity County.
Two years later, gold was discovered in Canyon Creek, a gulch near present day John Day, Oregon. A boom town sprung up which became known as Canyon City, and it soon became the county seat of Grant County. Many Californians migrated north to Canyon City, including Columbus. He worked as a ranch hand for prominent ranchman Bradford Trowbridge from 1862-1865, before establishing a gold claim of his own.
The Civil War came to an end in 1865, emancipating enslaved African Americans nationwide. Sewell took a trip east at some point after the war and returned to Canyon City in 1868 as a married man. His new wife, Louisa, was a native of Richmond, Virginia. Columbus and Louisa made their home in town and raised two sons, Thomas (born 1869) and Joseph (born 1872). The Sewells were all prominent figures within the local community. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and each of them were mentioned frequently in the social pages of the Grant County News.
Columbus likely continued working his gold claim, but sources show that he was working as a teamster, or wagon driver, by 1865. In that role, Sewell transported raw materials like lumber and wool to points as far away as Baker City and The Dalles. He would return with his wagons loaded with food, goods, and supplies. Columbus’ business was very successful. At one point he had as many as 12 horses pulling his fleet of wagons. Once during a blizzard in 1884, Sewell famously cleared snow from the streets of The Dalles by affixing a snowplow to his wagon, which allowed stranded travelers to continue. Sewell was still hauling freight by wagon as late as 1891.
In 1892, Columbus filed a Homestead Act claim for 160 acres of land 4 miles south of town. This claim would be certified in 1897. Sadly, the Sewell family did not get to enjoy this land together. Louisa passed away in 1893 and their son Joseph died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1898. Columbus would pass away in 1899, leaving his homestead and business to Thomas Sewell. Thomas continued living and working in Canyon City until his own death in 1943.
The Sewells are remembered not only for being Eastern Oregon’s first Black family, but also for their friendship and generosity towards their neighbors in Grant County.
Photos courtesy of the Grant County Museum