For years after achieving statehood in 1859, Oregon was deprived of a proper capitol due to controversy over fixing the seat of government in Salem …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The Oregon State Penitentiary, Oregon's only maximum-security prison, sits on 194 acres of land in the heart of Salem, just north of Mill Creek on …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The City of Orenco, known as the Garden Spot of the Willamette Valley, is located in the Tualatin Basin, west of Portland. Canadian …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Percy Cupper is a good example of the importance of higher education in Oregon, how a child of the state’s high desert frontier could become …

Oregon Encyclopedia

As the Oregon State Highway Department’s first staff photographer, Ralph Gifford helped popularize the state’s newly built scenic highways. His images will forever be linked …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Robert W. Straub, Oregon’s thirty-first governor, was a plainspoken politician, environmental leader, successful businessman, and innovative state treasurer. As a candidate for governor, he used …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Sebastian C. Adams provides an example of how the Christian missionary zeal of many early Oregon settlers was accompanied by exceptional entreprenurial talents. Adams was …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Wallace House, built in 1812 north of the Kalapuya village of Chemeketa, was the first known building of European-American design in the Willamette Valley. …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Willamette Mission was the first noncommercial agricultural community established in the Willamette Valley by American resettlers, in 1834. The mission became a beachhead …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The Willamette Valley, bounded on the west by the Coast Range and on the east by the Cascades, is the largest river valley in …

Oregon Encyclopedia