facade. 1  Architecture. the front of a building, especially an imposing or decorative one. 2  a superficial appearance or illusion of something: They managed somehow to maintain a facade of wealth.
The Oregon Territory stretched from the Pacific coast to the Rocky Mountains, encompassing the area including present-day Oregon, Washington, and most of British Columbia. Originally Spain, Great Britain, Russia, and the United States claimed the territory. In 1819, under terms of the Transcontinental Treaty, Spain ceded its claims to the territory to the United States. Shortly thereafter the United States contested a unilateral Russian move to grant its citizens a fishing, whaling, and commercial monopoly from the Bering Straits to the 51st parallel.
1847 Oregon Boundary Treaty divides the territory between the United States and Great Britain at 49 degrees north latitude. Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and 12 other settlers are massacred by a group of Cayuse Indians in their mission in Oregon. Brigham Young leads the Mormons from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Utah.