Briggs, Elias

From Lane Co Oregon

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Springfield was settled when Elias and Mary Briggs and their family arrived in 1848. In 1852, using shovel and plow, he built the Millrace.

After the Millrace was completed, he and Mr. Driggs of Linn County formed the Briggs and Driggs Company to build the flour and sawmills in 1853 and 1854. They were not the usual slap-dash mills built in pioneer communities for temporary and local consumption only, but instead, were constructed under the supervision of an experienced millwright hired from the east. They used the latest and best machinery and spending $10,000 on the two mills.

In the early 1850s, the settlement of Springfield consisted only of a ferry service across the Willamette, the Briggs' house, two mills, a trading post and a school.

[-Springfield Beacon, Wednesday, August 1st, 2007, B4]