Summary: In 1847, while a lad of 15, Mr. Brown crossed the great prairies and mountains of the Oregon Trail in a wagon train with his father, grandfather, and sundry other relatives. Brown’s grandfather kept a store back East in Illinois, and, being unable to liquidate it on congenial terms, packed all the inventory into wagons and hauled the whole thing across the country to Salem, where he set it up again. It was the first store in the history of the town of Salem. (For text and pictures, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh002000/)
