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Benson Bubblers Simon Benson was a turn-of-the-century lumber baron, philanthropist and teetotaller. To provide fresh drinking water downtown - and discourage his workers from drinking alcohol in the middle of the day - Benson commissioned 20 elegant freshwater drinking fountains, now known as the Benson Bubblers. Beer consumption in the city reportedly decreased 25 percent after the fountains were installed, and the water fountains still bubble invitingly on Portland's downtown streets. The Lewis and Clark Expedition. The arrival of the Hudson Bay Trading Company. The Oregon Trail migration. The Lovejoy-Pettygrove, coin toss? While the first three events are easily associated with Oregon's early history, Asa Lovejoy and Francis Pettygrove's momentous coin toss is a little less familiar. But without Lovejoy's quarter and Pettygrove's penny, Portland, Or...

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