The Life and Letters of Captain John O'Brien

In 1873 and 1874, after serving four years as a Union soldier in the Civil War, Captain John O'Brien homesteaded 160 acres of land south of Lorane, Oregon in what is now the Letz Creek Road area. After leaving the military at the end of the Civil War, he took up the cause of the men who worked in the trades-especially the printing trade-and he became deeply involved in setting up trade unions to make sure that the workers who mainly used their hands and training in helping to build America were treated fairly and provided a living wage for their families. His story is rich in texture. A printer by trade, he was a man who lived his life as a leader, but proved also to be a gracious and gentle man.