1. On March 3, 1849, the Oregon Territory was established by an act of Congress. The territory included present-day Oregon, Washington, and parts of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. It was the first time the United States had officially claimed land on the West Coast.

2. In 1851, on March 3, a group of Native Americans attacked and killed several settlers at the Whitman Mission in Walla Walla, Washington. This event sparked the Cayuse War, a conflict between the settlers and the native tribes in the region.

3. March 3, 1873 marked the opening of the Oregon State Hospital in Salem. Originally known as the Oregon State Insane Asylum, it was the first mental hospital in the state and one of the oldest continuously-operating psychiatric hospitals in the country.

4. In 1905, on March 3, the Oregon legislature passed the first minimum wage law in the United States. The law required employers to pay a minimum wage of $0.15 per hour to women and minors working in certain industries.

5. On March 3, 1970, the Oregon Legislature passed the Beach Bill, which guaranteed public access to all of the state's beaches. The law was a response to increasing development and attempts by property owners to block access to the coast. Today, Oregon's beaches are among the most scenic and accessible in the country.