History forum: Joseph Brown, Jewish merchant

This gravestone lies behind the Columbia Gorge Community College sign on the Scenic Drive curve at the college’s entrance in The Dalles.  It lies outside the upper boundary of Pioneer Cemetery. The person interred there, his life and times, and the reason for his burial in that location, are topics of the Saturday, Feb. 15 Regional History Forum at the Original Wasco County Courthouse.  Local historians and genealogists Sandy Bisset and Georgia Foster will present the program, “Joseph Brown, Jewish Merchant:  Buried Outside the Fence.” They explore the incredible network of Jewish merchants that brought the trappings of civilization to the “wild west,” Brown’s part in that network, and his untimely death during a winter storm in 1862. The program begins at 1:30 p.m. in the courtroom of the 1859 Courthouse, located at 410 W. Second Place, The Dalles.