Thomas Dove Keizur -

Thomas Dove Keizur

Statue of Thomas Dove (T.D.) Keizur mounted on a Morgan horse – located at Keizer City Hall

Thomas Dove (T.D.) Keizur, his wife Mary (Gurley), ten children, three sons-in-law, grandchildren and brother of a son-in-law (25 total in their party) immigrated to the Oregon country in 1843. T.D. quickly got involved with other pioneers and by March 1844 he was selected as the founding Captain of the Oregon Rangers militia and in May he was voted to serve as a representative in the 1844 legislative body of the pre-provisional government.

The Keizur family patriarch is immortalized in a statue mounted on a Morgan horse – located at Keizer City Hall, Keizer Civic Center at 930 Chemawa Rd NE, Keizer, Oregon. T.D. Keizur was the patriarch of the founding family that included the Fords, Penters, and Hesses (of Newberg/Yamhill) that settled along the banks of the Willamette River. https://www.keizer.org/td-keizur-statue

A new website has been created to share Thomas Dove Keizur’s Oregon story and his service in the 1844 government and as first Captain of the Oregon Rangers.

NEW link to our interactive online exhibit: https://oregoncapitol.com/event/digital-exhibit
The Keizer Heritage Museum is extremely grateful for the generous grant from the Oregon State Capitol Foundation that made this all possible.

A special exhibit will at the Keizer City Hall from Nov. to January 2025 – Celebration on November 15, 2024.

Discover more at the Keizer Heritage Museum.

more about the Keizur family:

https://keizerheritagemuseum.org/keizer-naming-a-community

https://keizerheritagemuseum.org/keizer-families

https://keizerheritagemuseum.org/thomasdove

Push play to Imagine what Thomas D. Keizur was like in person!

The vision of former Keizer Council member and historian, Dr. Gerry McGee, and the statue committee culminated in the beautiful bronze statue created and forged by artist Gareth Curtiss. On January 30, 2010, the City of Keizer officials, residents and nearly 150 descendants of Thomas Dove and Mary (Gurley) Keizur were present at this monumental event. The day is memorized in video by Gary Keizur and KeizerTV.com.
Thomas Dove Keizur Statue Dedication, Keizer, OR – Jan. 30, 2010 by Gary Keizur (8:45 minutes)