Meeker Cabin

Oregon Trail pioneer Ezra Meeker was a profiteer of the Northwest. In the spring of 1853, he and his wife, Eliza, staked claim to a plot of land, filing the first Donation Land Claim in Kalama. The Meekers built a small log cabin in what is now “downtown” Kalama, facing the mighty Columbia River. The cabin was modest, with the sides standing at 5ft high; it had a window, a fireplace, and dry wood storage. Eliza tended the hearth and garden while Ezra explored trade. One year later, in 1854, they sold the site to a trail friend and moved north to Puget Sound. Their humble cabin—Kalama’s earliest home—marked the town’s first settlement. Nearby Meeker Drive honors his enduring pioneer legacy.