Morton Matthew McCarver Monument
Name: Morton Matthew McCarver Monument
Erected: 1974 by Hon. Oregon State Regent Ruth McBride Powers, Elizabeth Forey Chapter, Mary Ball Chapter, and Mt. Tahoma Chapter NSDAR, marble monument. Location: GPS 47.2118 -122.4796 In Tacoma Cemetery, 4801 S Tacoma Way, Tacoma, WA 98409. Inscription: Front - “Morton Matthew McCarver, General, Iowa and Oregon Militias, born in Madison County, Kentucky, January 14, 1807, died at Tacoma, Washington, April 17, 1875, pioneer and founder of Burlington, Iowa – 1883, Linnton, Oregon – 1843, Tacoma, Washington – 1868.” Back - “Presented by Ruth McBride Powers, Hon. State Regent, Oregon D.A.R.; Alexander Hamilton Chapter, S.A.R.; and by these chapters Elizabeth Forey, D.A.R., Mary Ball, D.A.R., Mt. Tahoma, D.A.R.” Comments: “General Morton Matthew McCarver (January 14, 1807 – April 17, 1875) was an American politician and pioneer in the West. A native of Kentucky, he helped found cities in Iowa, Oregon, and Washington while also involved in the early government of California… In March 1868, McCarver then moved north and helped found Tacoma, Washington… At the time the area had been known as Commencement City or Puyallup, but after a suggestion by Philip Ritz of the Northern Pacific Railroad, McCarver changed the name to Tacoma, the purported Native American name for nearby Mount Rainier. The name Tahoma had been used by Native Americans in the Puget Sound region to describe all snow-topped peaks in the region, and was not specific to Mount Rainier.”(1) “Until twenty-five years ago, only a small concrete rectangle bearing the initials "M.M.Mc" marked his final resting place. In 1974, following an effort initiated by Ruth McBride Powers, a former Oregon DAR State Regent and then owner of the old McCarver home at Oregon City, a marble monument was placed to commemorate this pioneer city- builder and restless visionary.”(2)
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