Lewis’ Town / Lewiston

Forty-niner Thomas Palmer, bought Cephus Wood’s property, known as “Old Tucker’s Place,” in 1850. In 1851, he built a ferry, a bridge, and numerous buildings. Palmer hired his adopted son, Benjamin Franklin Lewis, to run his enterprises, known to many as Lewis’ Bridge Estates, called Lewiston. Palmer died in 1853, leaving the entire 320 acres on the river including improvements, to B.F. Lewis. Lewis lost a lawsuit in February, 1855, to Palmer’s former associates and was forced to sell out. In 1856, Lewis married an English woman named Mary, in Sacramento, CA. They had three children; Elvira, Frank P. and Renania. The Lewis’ lived in many locations. Mary died in 1878, in Lakeview, Ore. The man who gave Lewiston its name was known to all as a solid citizen of upstanding character. B.F. Lewis died of natural causes Sept. 28, 1900, in The Dalles, Oregon.

Dedicated by the friends of the Old Lewiston
Schoolhouse Library and Museum and the
Trinitarianus Chapter #62
E Clampus Vitus, July 28, 2007