Rufus Mallory

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American politician from Oregon

title: "Rufus Mallory" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1831-births", "1914-deaths", "people-from-oregon-territory", "burials-at-portland-memorial-mausoleum", "speakers-of-the-oregon-house-of-representatives", "alfred-university-alumni", "politicians-from-salem,-oregon", "united-states-attorneys-for-the-district-of-oregon", "history-of-portland,-oregon", "district-attorneys-in-oregon", "republican-party-united-states-representatives-from-oregon", "people-from-coventry,-new-york", "lawyers-from-salem,-oregon", "american-lawyers-admitted-to-the-practice-of-law-by-reading-law", "19th-century-american-lawyers", "19th-century-united-states-representatives", "19th-century-members-of-the-oregon-legislative-assembly"] description: "American politician from Oregon" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufus_Mallory" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American politician from Oregon ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Rufus Mallory
birthname	Rufus Mallory
image name	Rufus Mallory.JPG
imagesize	150px
caption	Mallory about 1910
state1	Oregon
district1
party	Republican
term1	March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1869
preceded1	James H. D. Henderson
succeeded1	Joseph S. Smith
office2	8th Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives
term_start2	1872
term_end2	1873
predecessor2	Benjamin Hayden
successor2	John C. Drain
constituency2	Marion County
office3	Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
term3	1862
birth_date	January 10, 1831
birth_place	Coventry, New York
death_date
death_place	Portland, Oregon
spouse	Lucy A. Rose
restingplace	Portland Cremation Association
::

Rufus Mallory (January or June 10, 1831 – April 30, 1914) was an American educator, lawyer, and politician in the state of Oregon. A native of New York, he was a teacher in Iowa before moving to Oregon where he became an attorney. He was a district attorney before he served in the Oregon House of Representatives in the early 1860s. A Republican, he served as U.S. Representative from Oregon for a single term from 1867 to 1869 and then returned to the state house where he was Speaker of the Oregon House. Later he worked for the U.S. Treasury Department, while the Hotel Mallory in Portland was commissioned by him. Portland has additionally honored his memory via Mallory Avenue in the Albina District.

Early life

Rufus Mallory was born in Coventry, New York, 1831 on either June 10 or January 10 to Samuel and Lucretia Mallory (née Davis). One of nine children, he attended the local schools in Allegany and Steuben counties, first at Scio from 1835 to 1837, followed by school in Greenwood from 1837 to 1845. In 1845 he started at Alfred Academy (now Alfred University) in New York, spending a single term each year in 1845, 1846, and 1848. Mallory left at age 16 to begin teaching and reading law. He moved to New London, Iowa, where he taught school from 1855 to 1858.

Oregon

In 1858, he left Iowa to move to the then Oregon Territory by way of the Isthmus of Panama route.

In 1862, he was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives as a Republican. Mallory represented Douglas County and continued in office until 1864. Late in 1862 he moved to Salem along with his law partner James M. Pyle. The convicted men were hanged in front of thousands of onlookers in downtown Salem on May 17, 1865.

Congress

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Rufusmallory_brady.GIF" caption="Mallory's Congressional portrait"] ::

A year later, Mallory's fame led him to win election as Oregon's representative in the United States House of Representatives. Mallory defeated his opponent James D. Fay by 600 votes. His term in Congress coincided with the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. Mallory, a Republican, voted against the first failed attempt at impeachment in the fall of 1867, but in the second attempt in February 1868, gave an impassioned speech on the House floor, and voted with his party to impeach the President. He would serve one term, from March 4, 1867, to March 3, 1869, and did not seek re-election in 1868.

Later years

After serving in Congress, Mallory resumed his Salem law practice. In 1872, he was again elected to the Oregon House of Representatives from Marion County, and served as Speaker of the House. After one two-year term, he was appointed as United States district attorney in 1874 and served until 1882. He was then appointed as a special agent of the Treasury Department in Singapore, British Malaya, and after completing the necessary business, continued around the world in 78 days to Portland, where he resumed his law practice. Mallory joined the firm of Dolph, Bellinger, Mallory & Simon in November 1883.

In 1887, Mallory was one of the incorporators of the Willamette Bridge Railway Company. The first Morrison Street Bridge was completed in April 1887 and Mallory's company operated a steam-powered streetcar across the bridge, expanding into the Sunnyside neighborhood in 1888 and then to Mt. Tabor in 1889. In 1890, he became one of the founding members of the Oregon Bar Association.

Death and legacy

Rufus Mallory died in Portland on April 30, 1914, at the age of 83, with his cremated remains placed in the vaults of the Portland Cremation Association.

The Hotel Mallory in Portland, built in 1912, was commissioned by Mallory. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004, was thoroughly renovated, and reopened as the Hotel deLuxe in 2006.

References

Snyder, Eugene E. Portland Names and Neighborhoods: Their Historic Origin. Portland: Binford & Mort, 1979. Print.
Gaston, Joseph. 1911. [https://archive.org/details/portlandoregoni01gastgoog/page/n11 Portland, Oregon, its history and builders: in connection with the antecedent explorations, discoveries, and movements of the pioneers that selected the site for the great city of the Pacific]. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Pub. Co., p. 5-6.
"Rufus Mallory". U.S. Government Printing Office.
Corning, Howard M. (1989) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 156.
Colmer, Montagu, and Charles Erskine Scott Wood. 1910. ''History of the Bench and Bar of Oregon''. Portland, Or: Historical Pub. Co. p. 182-183.
(1889). "History of the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and Washington 1889, Volume II".
"Oregon Legislative Assembly (2nd) 1862 Regular Session". Oregon State Archives.
"The Hanging of Uncle George".
"Salem (Oregon) Online History: Criminals". Salem Public Library.
Hubert Howe, Bancroft. (1888). "History of Oregon". The History Co..
(February 24, 1868). "Speech of Hon. Rufus Mallory of Oregon". Congressional Globe, House of Representatives.
"Oregon Legislative Assembly (8th) 1874 Regular Session". Oregon State Archives.
Dodds, Gordon B.. "Assessing a legacy: A bar is born". Oregon State Bar.
Culverwell, Wendy. (August 3, 2004). "Portland landmark Mallory Hotel sold".
(June 2, 2006). "Weekly List of Action Taken on Properties May 22, 2006 through May 26, 2006". National Park Service.
Culverwell, Wendy. (April 28, 2006). "Mallory hotel reborn with old-style glamour".

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