New SorGun Recap
Update 45
1851-1883
Well, it’s been over a year since there was any regular update activity, so I thought I would refresh my memory before we get going again. Feel free to join in. 
Let’s go back to the summer of 1851. A group of pioneers set sail from Portland Oregon hoping to start a new life and make a few bucks while they are at it. The Pacific Northwest was sparsely populated, and our band of adventurers intended to start a town that would one day become the San Francisco of the Oregon and Washington territories. The going would be tough, but they set out with a vision and had the fortitude to see it through.
New SorGun was founded that year, and through hard labor and determination the group of settlers made a small village where a forest of evergreens once stood. Along the way they made friends with a local tribe of Native Americans, and slowly the jumble of cabins become a hub for traders, trappers and other wayward adventurers.
As the town expanded through the early 1850s, other settlers move in and start their own settlements. Junction, Materburg and Porthaven also get their start around this time. Logging becomes one of the prominent industries of the region and each town suffers its economic ups and downs.
The growth and expansion of the early settlements doesn’t come without its costs. In the winter of 1856, a war party of Native Americans strikes through the region after a number of violent incidents leads to armed conflict. Fortunately for the citizens of New SorGun, the town was saved, but Junction was put to the torch.
By 1860, Porthaven was growing steadily with Nicholas J. Delin at the helm. Through his leadership and the towns’ proximity to the new Army fort, Porthaven was already overtaking New SorGun as the principal settlement in the region. However, nothing could have saved the region from the crippling depression and stagnant growth that would result from the devastating American Civil War.
Even during the worst of times, intrepid individuals find a way to create opportunities, as was the case with Eastman T. Finch. As the recession of war faded away, the other towns in the region began to grow as well. By 1870 the entire region was profiting from the continued migration of Americans heading west. Mr. Fredric Stevens even managed to tally the entire region in the census of 1870.
By 1873 the rumor of a railroad terminus in the area was creating a firestorm of activity. The Northern Pacific Railroad commissioned a poll to determine the best site for the terminus of their trans-continental rail line. Unfortunately for the participating towns, the big wigs in charge of the railroad agreed that it would be financially beneficial to themselves to create a town out of thin air, and laugh all the way to the bank.
Almost immediately, folks began moving to Steamer Bay from the other towns in the region, including New SorGun. Business was booming in Steamer Bay, and the railroad bosses had every intention of shutting down any town in the area that dared get in their way. But Mr. Finch wasn’t going to give up so easily. The little town was hanging on, despite the concerted efforts of the Northern Pacific to erase New SorGun from the map. And with the help of a new friend, Mr. Finch devised a plan that would keep New SorGun chugging along.
Fredric Stevens would make his return to the region for the 1880 census. Steamer Bay was growing like gangbusters, and a number of other towns were popping up in the area as well. Unfortunately for Mr. Delin, the Northern Pacific got the best of him and gobbled up nearly the entire town of Porthaven.
Stevens continues his census tour with a rugged Scotsman and learns about some shady activity by the Northern Pacific Railroad. He finally reaches New SorGun and is shocked to see how much the little town has grown since his last visit, despite the appearance of some political disagreements among the populace. The surrounding countryside has seen changes as well, including the booming quarry business and large swaths of farmland.
The 1880 census concludes in the small town of Materburg, where Fredric Stevens decides to finally put down stakes and live out the rest of his days in SorGun. After 30 years of growth, one might want to catch his breath, but the 1880’s roared ahead at breakneck speed. Grumblings about immigrant workers began to rise to the surface in Porthaven, and political struggles were taking shape in New SorGun as Kathleen ‘Miss Kitty’ Timworthy rose to prominence.
Finally, a criminal incident in 1882 set up a political firestorm in the town of New SorGun, pitting Kitty Timworthy’s People’s Party against Eastman Finch and the Businessman’s ticket.
Will the Northern Pacific Railroad continue its dirty dealings and finally wipe New SorGun off the map, or will New SorGun self-implode under internal strife? What will happen to Lee Shao and his fellow Asian-American immigrants? Have we heard the last of Nicholas J. Delin? Or Fredric Stevens for that matter?
Are you ready for more New SorGun?
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