Samuel Colver

Who was Samuel Colver?

Samuel Colver aka Samuel H. Culver was a pioneer of the U.S. state of Oregon.

Early in life he studied law at Plymouth College in Indiana. Afterward, he served as a Texas Ranger and served with General Sam Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto, and later served as an Indian scout.

In 1850, he and his brother Hiram moved their families to Oregon via the Oregon Trail. Samuel and Hiram founded the small community of Phoenix. Samuel built a home in Phoenix in 1855-1856. During Colver's life, in addition to a residence, "Colver Hall" served as a school, a dance hall, a public meeting place and a refuge during the Rogue River Indian Wars, though it is doubtful if the house ever actually was under attack. The Samuel and Huldah Colver House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. When it was destroyed by fire in September 2008, it was one of the oldest residences in Jackson County. The remaining three walls of the house were razed after the fire and the property was removed from the National Register in April 2009.

Colver became an Indian Agent in the Rogue River Valley, where he was a signer of the Table Rock Treaty on September 10, 1853.