How the first customs house in Astoria came to be, how the river became a safe place for ships and what agencies came together to form what the U.S. Coast Guard is today.

All that and more were the topics and facts shared by historian and author Stephen Beckham Thursday night at the first of five lectures in the Adventure in History series, “Uncle Sam at the Pacific Crossroads: Contracting Federal Government Agendas in the West.”

“I’m most excited to be asked to kick off the series,” he said. “This was an opportunity that we talked about more than two years ago with the local planning committee. The bicentennial is a moment of reflection. It’s a good opportunity for those who live here to assess how this place came to be and why it is so special.”

Beckham, Pamplin professor of history at Portland’s Lewis and Clark College, spoke at Astoria’s Liberty Theater to more than 100 community members.

He spoke on early federal involvement with Astoria, the formation of the area’s lighthouses, from Cape Disappointment to Tilla-mook Rock, one of the most dangerous and expensive lighthouses the U.S. Lighthouse Service built.

“Uncle Sam played a very big role in the life, labors and economy of this place that we call home,” he said. “Thomas Jefferson had strong ideas.”

Jefferson spoke often of agriculture’s ability to keep the U.S. strong, Beckham said. With agriculture looked at as a successful tactic for “the chosen people of God,” Jefferson inspired many developments.

“(Lewis and Clark) were carrying out the multifaceted mandate that Thomas Jefferson had given them to assess the resources of the American West,”?Beckham said, highlighting Lewis and Clark’s expedition and exploration of the area. They were asked to look for minerals, flora, fauna, information on Native Americans, languages and other resources of the area.

“Jefferson was an incredible diplomat,”?Beckham said of Jefferson’s ideas, which also included the suggestion of a national bank.

Beckham outlined the works of Lewis and Clark and also Astoria’s later development into a port town, after the John Jacob Astor Fur Trading Company had been established. He explained the establishment of the U.S. Navy and its part in protecting Astoria from the British. Astoria could be part of Canada today, he said, if the U.S. had not staked claim.

In 1818, aboard the vessel Ontario under orders of President James Monroe and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, Capt. James Biddle of the U.S. Navy arrived at the mouth of the Columbia River, Beckham said. Biddle took possession of Fort George for the United States from the British.

Later, other members of the U.S. Navy posted a U.S. flag at Tillamook Head “to further assert the U.S.’s interest in the Pacific Northwest.”

The first customs house and post office established West of the Rocky Mountains came in 1849 to prove that interest. It had a significant impact on the area. Astoria became the first permanent U.S. settlement West of the Rocky Mountains.

“The U.S. Post Office, an agency envisioned and commissioned by Benjamin Franklin, who appeared on one of the nation’s first postage stamps, turned to a man from Astoria named John Shively,” Beckham said.

Shively, who had just returned from the East Coast traveling by the Oregon Trail, took the position as Astoria’s first postmaster.

“The U.S. Customs Service was also an important theory and important service, because of all of those passing in and out of the Columbia River,” Beckham explained. “The Customs Service was to collect revenue to help finance the federal government and its programs.”

George Gibbs became the first Collector of Customs in 1849.

“Formerly the governor and congressman of Kentucky, he was named to the post in Astoria, Ore., to collect customs duties and to monitor and report on the imports that were passing out of this harbor,” Beckham said.

But the difficulty ships had coming into the river for importing and exporting became a concern. Thus, the lighthouses began to be constructed. Beckham detailed the construction of Cape Disappointment and how several lighthouses followed to warn ships of dangerous conditions. When lighthouses failed to prevent shipwrecks, light ships were made, like the one moored at the Columbia River Maritime Museum. Eventually, buoys were used to show the depth of the river in dangerous areas.

An author of 14 books, Beckham has a special family link with Astoria. His grandfather came from Sweden to settle in Astoria, marrying in the Lutheran Church in 1911. His grandfather was a member of the U.S. Life Saving Service, one of the U.S. agencies that combined with the U.S. Coast Guard to make it what it is today. Beckham’s grandfather also manned a lighthouse when they had keepers.

Beckham’s presentation included photos from the National Archives, which he said are increasingly being made digital for all to access. He encouraged a group of high school students at the presentation to take advantage of such services.

Beckham said Astoria’s history is something the community should be proud of. Speaking for an hour, he said he is thankful to be a part of the lecture series and is looking forward to the other four speakers. He concluded the evening with a question-and-answer period, as well as a book signing.

The next lecture will be held in January.