A native of Massachusetts, he moved to Portland, Oregon, where he became a lawyer and an industrialist with holdings in mining, mills, and agriculture.

[3] He returned to the House in 1897, representing District 37 and Multnomah County as a Republican, and only served during the regular session that failed to organize that year.

[1] He was the author of the Parcel Post Act while there and advocated for the adoption of the initiative and referendum system.

[7] Bourne was not renominated to his Senate seat in 1912 by the Republican Party,[1] but ran instead under the "Popular Government" banner, coming in third.

[1] Earlier in his life he owned large mining interests in the northeast part of Oregon, where the town of Bourne bore his name.