The Oregon Encyclopedia

An Authoritative and Free Resource on All Things Oregon

Firsts in Oregon

Cherry Grove streetcar and railroad

In 1911, the purchase of the first battery-powered streetcar in the West catapulted the little Washington County town of Cherry Grove into the vanguard of cities using a new technology. The innovative ...

Clarence Pruitt (1927-2009)

Firsts in Oregon

Clarence Pruitt (1927-2009)

Clarence Pruitt was the first African American to graduate from and later teach at the University of Oregon Dental School (now the Oregon Health & Science University School of Dentistry).

Born on ...

Ernst Skarstedt (1857-1929)

Firsts in Oregon

Ernst Skarstedt (1857-1929)

Ernst Teofil Skarstedt was the first author and newspaper publisher to publish in Swedish in Oregon. He was born in 1857 into a prominent church family in the province of Bohuslän, Sweden ...

First African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

Firsts in Oregon

First African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

First African Methodist Episcopal Zion is Portland's oldest African American church. Founded in 1862 as the People’s Church, the congregation first met in Mary Carr’s boardinghouse on First Ave near "A ...

Kathryn Clarke (1873-1940)

Firsts in Oregon

Kathryn Clarke (1873-1940)

Kathryn Clarke, the first woman to serve in the Oregon Senate, made worldwide news for her accomplishment. She was born in Douglas County in 1873, the daughter of John and Catherine McGregor ...

Mae Harrington Whitney Cardwell (1853-1929)

Firsts in Oregon

Mae Harrington Whitney Cardwell (1853-1929)

Mae Harrington, the first woman to hold a position on a hospital staff in Oregon, was born in Cherry Hill, Pennsylvania, on July 23, 1853. A teacher at age fourteen, she married ...

Marian B. Towne (1880 - 1966)

Firsts in Oregon

Marian B. Towne (1880 - 1966)

As the first woman elected to the Oregon House of Representatives (1914), and one of the first women in the state to serve with the Naval Reserve Corps in World War I ...

Mary Gysin Leonard (1845?-1912)

Firsts in Oregon

Mary Gysin Leonard (1845?-1912)

In 1886, Mary Gysin Leonard was the first woman admitted to the bar in Oregon, at a time when women had not yet been granted the right to vote in the state ...

Oregon Beach Bill

Firsts in Oregon

Oregon Beach Bill

Oregonians struggling to maintain public access to Pacific Ocean beaches won a decisive battle in 1967 with the passage of legislation commonly known as the Beach Bill, which established public access to ...

Robert Gray (1755-1806)

Firsts in Oregon

Robert Gray (1755-1806)

On May 11, 1792, Robert Gray, the first American to circumnavigate the world (1787-1790), sailed the Columbia Rediviva into the Columbia River, the first documented ship to anchor in the river’s broad ...

Silas Bryant Smith (1839-1902)

Firsts in Oregon

Silas Bryant Smith (1839-1902)

Silas Bryant Smith played a key role in recording the traditions, religions, and customs of the Clatsop people in nineteenth-century Oregon. A prominent historian of the region, he successfully bridged the two ...

Victor Atiyeh (1923-2014 )

Firsts in Oregon

Victor Atiyeh (1923-2014 )

Victor George Atiyeh was governor of Oregon from 1979 to 1987. The first Arab American governor in the United States, he became known as Trader Vic as he worked to bring international ...

William A. Hilliard (1927-2017)

Firsts in Oregon

William A. Hilliard (1927-2017)

William A. Hilliard was the first African American editor of the Oregonian and one of the few to serve as the editor of a major newspaper. Growing up in Portland, he ...

Research Categories

Become a member of the Oregon Historical Society, GET THE QUARTERLY, have some cheese

As far as encyclopedias go, The Oregon Encyclopedia may be the greatest encyclopedia of all time. It has all the best entries, the best authors, and the best photographs—thousands of them. The OE is part of one of the greatest research libraries in the West, which is located in the largest historical society in the state—the Oregon Historical Society. All sorts of history things are here, including a pardon signed by President Harrison for an Oregon bootlegger, a photo of Santa Ana's cork leg, the film "The Haunted Camera" directed by a 15-year-old Medford girl in the 1930s, and an animatronic elf (or three) from SantaLand. Millions of history items are catalogued, carefully stored, and kept safe at OHS. Come visit! Even better, with an annual membership to the Oregon Historical Society, you'll help keep all that history in good order; you'll get a subscription to the Oregon Historical Quarterly; and you'll be invited to special events, cheese included. You'll also have access to many other historical and cultural institutions around the state. Excellent!

Click here to join Oregon's public history community

January: Winter in Oregon

Click here to enjoy some snowy Oregon scenes.

Looking for history in All The Places?

The Oregon History Wayfinder is an interactive map that identifies significant places, people, and events in Oregon history. Each point on the map connects to the historical records and scholarship on the Oregon History Project and The Oregon Encyclopedia, two of the digital history sites created by the Oregon Historical Society. The Oregon History Wayfinder is supported in part by the Oregon Heritage Commission.

Click here to get out the map

Upcoming Events

History Pub: McMenamins Old St. Francis School in Bend

"Wallace Stegner: Wise Man of the American West." Presented by Dick Etulain, Author and Historian.

Jan. 29, 2019 at 7 p.m.

More details...

Location

McMenamins Old St. Francis School
700 NW Bond Street
Bend, OR 97730

Google Map...

Welcome to the award-winning Oregon Encyclopedia

Western History Association, Gene Autry Public History Award, 2012.

AASLH American Association of State and Local History, Leadership in History Award, 2011.

NCTE logo National Council of Teachers of English, Multicultural Program Award, 2009.

OHS Digital History Projects

In addition to The Oregon Encyclopedia, the OHS Digital History Projects include the Oregon History Project and Oregon History Wayfinder.

Oregon History Project

Oregon History Wayfinder

The OE is Green!

The Encyclopedia's editorial process is completely paperless. Our authors and editors use a one-of-a-kind online workshop developed by Portland State University. We've published hundreds of authoritative entries on Oregon history and culture without hurting a single Douglas Fir. Donate your green to The OE and keep us—and the trees—growing.

Additional Funding

This project has been funded in part by the Oregon Heritage Commission and the Oregon Cultural Trust.

Project Partners

LSTA Libraries as Community Resources Meetings, made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to The Oregon Encyclopedia.

Donate to the OE