ASTORIA — Fort Clatsop will hold the next In Their Footsteps speaker series event at 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15. Jerry Sutherland will talk about Calvin Tibbets and Solomon Smith, the first American settlers on Clatsop Plains.

Sutherland spent two years scouring archives and visiting Tibbets’ haunts across the United States and Canada before deciding to write “Calvin Tibbets: Oregon’s First Pioneer.” His book, published in 2016, tells the story of an obscure stonemason who journeyed to Oregon from Maine in 1832, determined to settle permanently, wrest control of Oregon from Great Britain’s Hudson’s Bay Company, and make it part of the United States. Tibbets’ goal was achieved just before his death in 1849, but he never received recognition for having paved the way for thousands of Oregon pioneers.

During his talk, Sutherland will focus on Tibbets’ years on Clatsop Plains and his friendship with Solomon Smith, who married Celiast, the daughter of Clatsop Chief Coboway, and whose son, Silas Smith, helped identify the site of Fort Clatsop in 1899.

“Calvin Tibbets: Oregon’s First Pioneer” is available at the Lewis & Clark National Park Association bookstore in the Fort Clatsop visitor center. There will be a book signing at the bookstore following Sutherland’s presentation.

This monthly Sunday forum is sponsored by the Lewis & Clark National Park Association and the park. The programs are held in the Netul River Room of Fort Clatsop’s visitor center and are free of charge.

For more information, call 503-861-2471.