Oregon Iron Company

The discovery of iron ore near the settlement of Oswego in the hills south of Portland is credited to Morton M. McCarver (who had served as speaker of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon) in 1862. McCarver's brown hematite ore was tested and found to be of excellent quality, containing from 56 to 75% metal. In addition, the ore lay near the surface and the Oswego bed was estimated to contain 60,000 short tons (54,000 t) of ore. Since the site also featured vast forests that could be turned into charcoal to feed the smelting furnaces, and ready access to water for power, the potential of a successful mining operation was easily recognized.

In 1865, a group of financiers in Portland, which included former Portland mayors William S. Ladd and Henry Failing, as well as Portland Gas Light Company founders Herman C. Leonard and John Green, incorporated an iron smelting company which they named the Oregon Iron Company. Ladd, who served as president, and the others hoped to make Oswego the "Pittsburgh of the West", believing that having a local source of iron would help their other businesses, which included the Oregon Central Railroad and the Oregon Steam Navigation Company.