author

Wallis Nash

An English lawyer turned Oregon booster, he wrote vivid firsthand accounts of the Pacific Northwest at a moment when the region was still taking shape. His books mix travel writing, practical advice for settlers, and the perspective of someone who helped build institutions in the state he came to love.

1 Audiobook

Two Years in Oregon

Two Years in Oregon

by Wallis Nash

About the author

Born in London in 1837, Wallis Nash was a successful solicitor before traveling to Oregon in 1877 to look into railroad and land-development opportunities. The trip changed his life. After returning to England, he wrote about Oregon for readers considering emigration, then moved there with his family in 1879.

In Oregon, he became known not only as a writer but also as a lawyer, entrepreneur, and civic figure. He was involved with railroad promotion, helped support higher education, and served on the early Board of Regents of Oregon Agricultural College, now Oregon State University.

His writing is especially valuable because it captures Oregon through the eyes of an immigrant who was both observer and participant. Works such as Two Years in Oregon and A Lawyer's Life on Two Continents preserve a lively record of travel, settlement, and ambition in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.