La Grande businessman Stephen Gardinier and his wife Madeline opened the two-story Liberty Theatre in 1910—originally named the Orpheum, and later the Arcade—to capture the …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The first public library in Oregon, supported by taxes and freely available to everyone, opened in Portland in 1902. While most American cities and towns …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Lilla Irvin Leach was an independent field botanist who, with her husband John, systematically collected plants throughout Oregon and other western states. She was particularly …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Lillian Pitt (Warm Springs, Wasco, and Yakama) was born on the Warm Springs Reservation in 1944 and moved to Portland in the early 1960s …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Photographer Lily White once professed: "Alone—controlling the power, directing the course—one might be so filled." Dubbed the "Captain" by Columbia River boat officers and crews, …

Oregon Encyclopedia

After about 1850, wheat was the most important crop in the Willamette Valley, and the burgeoning town of Lincoln was where much of the …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Early in the twentieth century, a string of small beach towns with their own distinctive characters grew up in north Lincoln County. Decades later, five …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Linfield University received its charter from the Oregon Territorial Legislature on January 30, 1858, as the Baptist College of McMinnville. The institution’s heritage lies …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The outpost of Linkville (present-day Klamath Falls) was established by George Nurse (1820–1905) in 1867 at the juncture of the Link River and Lake Ewauna. …

Oregon Encyclopedia

In 1887, the Linn County Pioneer Association was formed to plan a reunion for homesteaders of Linn County. Originally called the Linn County Pioneers' Reunion, …

Oregon Encyclopedia