Oregon Territory Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries (see Oregon Country), the region was divided between the UK and US in 1846. When established, the territory encompassed an area that included the current states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, as well as parts of Wyoming and Montana. The capital of the territory was first Oregon City, then Salem, followed briefly by
Oregon State Penitentiary (with two men and one woman, also slated for execution, held elsewhere for medical reasons). Death row includes notorious serial killers such as Dayton Leroy Rogers. OSP also contains the lethal injection chamber where prisoners are executed. Executions in Oregon were conducted in public by counties until 1902, when they were centralized (and made less spectacular) at the State Penitentiary. Since the US Supreme Court reaffirmed the death penalty in "Gregg v. Georgia" (1976), Oregon has executed only two people: Douglas Wright, in 1996, and Harry Charles Moore, in 1997. Governor John Kitzhaber announced an official moratorium on executions in