pioneer music
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This songbook has been made possible by a generous grant from the Linn County Cultural
Coalition in Albany, Oregon. The Monteith Historical Society extends their grateful thanks to the LCCC for their support and encouragement.
All of the songs in this collection are in the Public Domain and do not require copyright release.
Coalition in Albany, Oregon. The Monteith Historical Society extends their grateful thanks to the LCCC for their support and encouragement.
All of the songs in this collection are in the Public Domain and do not require copyright release.
The Songs of the Pioneers
Between 1843 and 1869 a quarter of a million people packed their covered wagons, hitched up their oxen and set out over the Oregon Trail to find a new home in the far west. They crossed golden prairies, forded wild rivers, hauled their wagons over towering mountains and braved all manner of adventures to secure their dreams of living in this new, rugged land. Along the way they built evening campfires and found a way in song and dance to strengthen their spirits and embolden their journey. They brought along with them instruments to accompany their campfire singing. Banjos, guitars, dulcimers, fiddles, tin whistles, mouth harps and harmonicas were all popular along the trail.
The songs in this book are just a few the pioneers enjoyed. Some came from the Old World and had been around for centuries. Others were written along the trail and passed on in many different versions. They are all a part of a grand oral tradition that gives us a glimpse of pioneer life in the last half of the 19th century.
The songs of the pioneers continued to be enjoyed as the they settled into their new homes. The Monteith brothers arrived in Oregon City in 1846 and purchased two land claims at the joining of the Willamette and Calapooia Rivers. They built a two story frame house at the crossing of their land claims. Brother Thomas and his wife Christine would raise a family of five children in this house and without a doubt their children sang the songs you find in this book.
Between 1843 and 1869 a quarter of a million people packed their covered wagons, hitched up their oxen and set out over the Oregon Trail to find a new home in the far west. They crossed golden prairies, forded wild rivers, hauled their wagons over towering mountains and braved all manner of adventures to secure their dreams of living in this new, rugged land. Along the way they built evening campfires and found a way in song and dance to strengthen their spirits and embolden their journey. They brought along with them instruments to accompany their campfire singing. Banjos, guitars, dulcimers, fiddles, tin whistles, mouth harps and harmonicas were all popular along the trail.
The songs in this book are just a few the pioneers enjoyed. Some came from the Old World and had been around for centuries. Others were written along the trail and passed on in many different versions. They are all a part of a grand oral tradition that gives us a glimpse of pioneer life in the last half of the 19th century.
The songs of the pioneers continued to be enjoyed as the they settled into their new homes. The Monteith brothers arrived in Oregon City in 1846 and purchased two land claims at the joining of the Willamette and Calapooia Rivers. They built a two story frame house at the crossing of their land claims. Brother Thomas and his wife Christine would raise a family of five children in this house and without a doubt their children sang the songs you find in this book.