Applegate, Oliver Cromwell, 1845-1938.

Oliver Cromwell Applegate was born in Oregon in 1845 to Lindsay and Elizabeth Applegate. He began his career in 1865 by assisting his father, who was subagent of the Indian agency at Ft. Klamath. During the winter months young Applegate taught in Ashland. In 1867 the governor of Oregon asked Applegate, who had become a captain in the Oregon Volunteer Militia, to lead a new militia of Indians, the “Axe and Rifle Company,” to protect wagon trains and build a road to the Warm Springs Reservation. He became subagent at Yainax in 1871, where he remained until the outbreak of the Modoc War. During the Modoc War he served as a scout and an interpreter, and served on the Peace Commission that was proposed by his father.

After the Modoc War Applegate left the Indian Service and returned to ranching. In 1873, he became a U.S. Commissioner with local jurisdiction over crimes committed against federal law. In 1898 Applegate was appointed Klamath Indian Agent, and although he resigned in 1905, he continued to work with the federal government on Indian issues such as the Grande Ronde tribal status challenge. During this time he also established a real estate business. In his later years he was recognized as a pioneer figure, and was often consulted by historians and writers of western fiction. Applegate died in Oregon in 1938.

From the guide to the Oliver Cromwell Applegate papers, 1841-1938, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries)