Stories on the renaming of O’Bryant Square rarely acknowledge the square’s namesake or its significance in establishing the city of Portland, (“Portland’s O’Bryant Square to be renamed Darcelle XV Plaza after legendary drag performer and civic icon,” July 7).
The square was named for Portland’s first mayor and the founder of Portland’s first public library, Hugh Donaldson O’Bryant. The city webpage devoted to the square says:
“This site is supposedly near the clearing where W.C. Overton and Asa Lovejoy agreed to found a town in November 1843. The square itself is named for Hugh Donaldson O’Bryant, a pioneer who migrated to Oregon from Georgia in 1843. O’Bryant was a carpenter who showed his civic pride in 1850, when he founded Portland’s first public library. He was elected as Portland’s first mayor in the city’s first election on April 7, 1851, by receiving 104 of the 222 votes cast.”
Please acknowledge this in The Oregonian/OregonLive. Certainly, Hugh Donaldson O’Bryant was as noteworthy a character in Portland’s history as Darcelle XV, and deserves to be mentioned in conjunction with the square.
Michael Taylor, Portland
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