Linn City

On December 22, 1845, with the blessing of the provisional legislature (of which he was a member), Robert Moore changed the name of his town Robin’s Nest to Linn City, honoring Sen. Lewis F. Linn of Missouri.

By 1846, Linn City had one tavern, a chair manufactory, a cabinet shop, a gunsmith shop and one wagon shop. Later, a hotel, a physician and mercantile was added. The mercantile was run by Moore’s son, James Marshall Moore, who arrived in 1847.

A post office was added in 1850. In 1852-53, Moore built the Linn City Works, containing a gristmill, sawmill, warehouse, wharves and a breakwater. Linn City had become known as a major shipping point on the Willamette River’s west bank.

Robert Moore died on September 2, 1857.

On April 23, 1861, a fire broke out on the lower warehouse that destroyed the Works. Later that year, in November 1861, a great flood virtually wiped away the rest of Linn city. The town slowly rebuilt.