The Oregon Encyclopedia

An Authoritative and Free Resource on All Things Oregon

Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

July is "a queen for all her tatters"

Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

Established by Congress in 1986, the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area extends eighty-five miles along both sides of the Columbia River, from the Sandy River to the Deschutes River, and extends ...

Crater Lake National Park

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Crater Lake National Park

As a focal point in the Cascade Range for almost a half million visitors each year, Crater Lake National Park is a place where beauty arose from cataclysmic events. Over seven millennia ...

Crooked River

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Crooked River

The Crooked River Basin lies in the heart of central Oregon, east of the Cascade Mountains and Deschutes River and south of the John Day River. The appropriately named Crooked River, fed ...

High Desert

July is "a queen for all her tatters"

High Desert

Oregon’s High Desert is a place apart, an inescapable reality of physical geography. The region forms an extensive area that is substantially different in climate, elevation, and hydrology from any other part ...

Highway 101 (Oregon Coast Highway)

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Highway 101 (Oregon Coast Highway)

Many places on the Oregon coast were virtually inaccessible in the early twentieth century. Small fishing villages existed as remote outposts, separated by rocky headlands and timber-covered hills. The Roosevelt Coast Military ...

John Day Fossil Beds

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John Day Fossil Beds

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument showcases one of the world’s best and most continuous records of the Tertiary, the time from about 50 million years to 5 million years ago that ...

Joseph (town)

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Joseph (town)

The town of Joseph, situated at the base of the Wallowa Mountains at the southern edge of the three valleys of the Wallowa River, is the cultural and tourism center of northeastern Oregon ...

Mount Hood

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Mount Hood

Mount Hood is a stratovolcano in northwest Oregon located about fifty miles east of Portland and thirty-five miles south of the Columbia River. At 11,244 feet, it is the highest point ...

Mount Mazama

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Mount Mazama

Mount Mazama is located in the southern part of the Cascade Range, about sixty miles north of the Oregon-California state line. It holds Crater Lake (giiwas in the Klamath language), at 1 ...

Newberry National Volcanic Monument

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Newberry National Volcanic Monument

Newberry Crater, as it is commonly known, is a large shield volcano east of the Cascade Range in central Oregon. The area was named for Dr. John Strong Newberry, a naturalist with ...

Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area

July is "a queen for all her tatters"

Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area

Created by Congress in 1972, the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area (ODNRA) provides federal management for the largest expanse of sand dunes on the West Coast. Located between Coos Bay-North Bend ...

Smith Rock State Park

July is "a queen for all her tatters"

Smith Rock State Park

Smith Rock State Park encompasses 652 acres near Redmond and Terrebonne, in the semi-arid High Desert of central Oregon. This landscape of rock spires, cliffs, and canyonlands lies along the northern edge ...

Snake River

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Snake River

The Snake River has its headwaters at an elevation of 8,200 feet on the Two Ocean Plateau, in the icy highlands of the Continental Divide in Wyoming. Roaring down the Idaho ...

Strawberry Mountains

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Strawberry Mountains

The Strawberry Mountains—among the highest peaks in the Blue Mountain Range—extend east-west through northeast Oregon in Grant County, south of the John Day Highway in the Malheur National Forest. Along with the ...

Tamkaliks Celebration and Friendship Feast

July is "a queen for all her tatters"

Tamkaliks Celebration and Friendship Feast

Tamkaliks Celebration takes place each July in Wallowa as a celebration and recognition of Niimiipuu (Nez Perce) presence in the Wallowa Valley. The event began in 1990 when the City of Wallowa ...

Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness

July is "a queen for all her tatters"

Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness

At fifteen acres, Three Arch Rocks lays claim to being one of the smallest wildlife refuges in the world as well as one of the smallest designated wilderness areas in the United ...

Three Sisters Wilderness

July is "a queen for all her tatters"

Three Sisters Wilderness

The Three Sisters Wilderness area in the central Cascade Mountains has long been a popular backcountry recreation site. It is the second-largest of the forty congressionally designated wilderness areas in Oregon, containing ...

Timberline Lodge

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Timberline Lodge

Timberline Lodge is the showplace for Works Progress Administration projects in Oregon. Its construction was financed with nearly a million dollars from the WPA and additional funding from the Federal Art Project ...

William G. Steel (1854-1934)

July is "a queen for all her tatters"

William G. Steel (1854-1934)

Born in Ohio on September 7, 1854, William Gladstone Steel was raised in an abolitionist family that provided refuge for escaped slaves on the Underground Railroad. In 1872, he moved with ...

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!

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July: A Queen for All Her Tatters

A Mountain in Midsummer, by Ethel Romig Fuller, 1933// Her ermine mantle and her robe// Of diamond-sewn brocade,// Her ruff of lace, her silver shoes// Are worn and summer-frayed// And yet she stands aloof and proud// A queen for all her tatters,// Communing with the cool, wise stars// Upon celestial matters.

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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

"Billy the Kid: Man and Mystery." Presented by Richard Etulain

July 31, 2018 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

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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.

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

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