Tell Your Oregon Story

Oregon is more than a place— it's a source of inspiration, a setting for adventure, and a journey of discovery.
Share your Oregon Story now.

Tips On How

Check out our interview questions to jump-start your thoughts, or read through our toolkit to see just what we're looking for.


Posts tagged with history

Story
Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Around the Horn

by Marcia Allen
Cottage Grove, OR
Upon my engagement in 1940, I was delighted to find that my future husband also claimed elite forebears in the settlement of the early Oregon country. This story is about a young man who “sailed around the Horn”. Imagine my delight in later years to find an article [...]



Story
Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Pony Express & Stagecoach Routes

by Susan Reed
Beaverton, OR
While growing up in Eastern Oregon there were quite a few stories about the Pony Express coming through there. My dad, Harry D. Proudfoot Jr., had a place named Sarvis Springs Ranch. It was 40 mi from Pendleton, 30 mi from Heppner, and 20 mi from Hermiston on Butter Creek. Our address [...]



Story
Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Twentieth Century Pioneer

by Ric Minich
Portland, OR
From my youth, having been born and raised in Delaware, the west coast was my dream destination for life. Opportunity arrived in the Spring of 1974 and like the forefathers a century before, our family (my wife, two sons, and I) left Pennsylvania headed for the Willamette Valley. A week before the [...]



Story
Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Two friends , a burned down Capitol and the key

by Jamie Harwood
Lake Oswego, OR
My great-grandfathers were good friends as well as colleagues in the house. One, was the Secretary of State, Earl Snell and the other was Daniel J. Fry, the Democratic Representative from Marion county. Dan was given the key to the capitol by Earl on February 5 1935. [...]



Story
Thursday, September 24th, 2009

7th Generation

by Rena Jones,
Lake Oswego, OR
I am a 7th generation Oregonian. I have grandchildren who are 9th generation. My Grandfather of many greats was Philander Lee who was with General Canby when they came upon Canby Oregon. There is a school in Canby, OR that is named after Philander. I also am [...]



Story
Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Shearar’s Bridge Hotel at the Bridge

by Marie Barton
Portland, OR
My Great Grandparents, Elizabeth and John Taylor, ran the Shearar’s Bridge Hotel, stage stop and Post Office in the early part of the 1900’s. (John Taylor’s parents came to the USA about 1850 and ran the Gridley Hotel in California.)
The Shearar’s Bridge Hotel was built by the Sherar family about 1871, [...]



Story
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Michael Smith’s Oregon Story

Shared with Oregon 150 at the 2009 Oregon State Fair
Michael S. Smith
Corvallis, OR
Michael Smith’s Oregon Story



Story
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Steve Heine’s Oregon Story

Shared with Oregon 150 at the 2009 Oregon State Fair
Steve Heine
Salem, OR
Steve Heine’s Oregon Story



Story
Friday, August 28th, 2009

ONCE AGAIN BEND’S POWERHOUSE: BILL SMITH & THE OLD MILL DISTRICT

by Marie Melsheimer
Bend, OR

In the summer of ’69, 29-year-old William Lee “Bill” Smith came to Bend. Since then, he has been an instrumental part of shaping many of the area’s landmarks, such as the Old Mill District and Les Schwab Amphitheater. Over the years, Bill has seen the small logging town of Bend grow in [...]



Story
Friday, August 28th, 2009

A PLACE TO PLAY

by Gail Balden
Nehalem, OR
In 15 years of directing plays at the Coaster Theatre Playhouse on the Oregon coast, I’ve learned what audiences really want to know is whether anything ever goes wrong backstage. Though fascinated with the world of make-believe, they’re more interested in what it takes to create that world. [...]



Story
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

Natives

by M.J.  Damewood
Portland, OR
We call ourselves Natives. With no clear definition of what makes us so. We’ve been here longer than you. Can remember when that corner used to be this and when that strip mall used to be a meadow. There is a compulsion that motivates our fervent pride. We are the keepers of [...]