Welcome to the Oregon Encyclopedia.
Explore Oregon's history and culture — from Athapaskan Indians to Zigzag Ranger Station
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March: Women's History Month
Oregon History is Women's History.
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![Claire Maybelle Phillips (1907-1960)]()
Claire Maybelle Phillips (1907-1960)
Claire Phillips was a Portland stage actress and singer noted for heroism as a spy and humanitarian…
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![Eleanor Baldwin (1854-1928)]()
Eleanor Baldwin (1854-1928)
The career of Eleanor Baldwin, a radical journalist, reveals the cross-fertilization of reform move…
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![Eliza Barchus (1857-1959)]()
Eliza Barchus (1857-1959)
In 1971, the Oregon legislature named Eliza Rosanna Lamb Barchus "The Oregon Artist." The tribute m…
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![Eva Castellanoz (1939- )]()
Eva Castellanoz (1939- )
Eva Castellanoz—traditional artist, curandera (healer), activist, and teacher—is a lead…
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![Hazel Ying Lee (1912-1944)]()
Hazel Ying Lee (1912-1944)
Hazel Ying Lee, who was born and educated in Oregon, was the first Chinese American woman to fly fo…
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![Joni Huntley (1956–)]()
Joni Huntley (1956–)
As a seventeen-year-old senior at Sheridan High School, Joni Huntley became the first American woma…
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![Kalliah Tumulth (Indian Mary) (1854-1906)]()
Kalliah Tumulth (Indian Mary) (1854-1906)
Kalliah Tumulth, also called Indian Mary, was a Cascade (Watlala) Chinook born in October 1854 to a…
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![Kathryn Hall Bogle (1906 - 2003)]()
Kathryn Hall Bogle (1906 - 2003)
A freelance journalist, social worker, and community activist, Kathryn Hall Bogle is remembered as …
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![Marie Equi (1872-1952)]()
Marie Equi (1872-1952)
Dr. Marie Equi was a fiercely independent Oregon physician who was engaged in the political turmoil…
Feeling adventurous? How Oregonian of you.
Or may we suggest…
Explore OHS Digital History Projects
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Wayfinder
An interactive map of notable places, people, and events in Oregon history.
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Oregon History Project
The Research Library at the Oregon Historical Society provides direct access to digitized and digital materials as well as narratives from Pacific Northwest historians.
The Corner Gallery
Exploding Whales are only the tip of the Bigfoot
All states have their strange and wondrous tales, but only Oregon blew up a dead whale on film. Begin your journey into Oregon absurdity with an exploding whale, but there's more to discover on the pages of The Oregon Encyclopedia. Check this page monthly to browse through a brief and portable digital history exhibit, open all hours, wine and cheese optional.
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![24 Hour Church of Elvis]()
24 Hour Church of Elvis
For three decades, one of the best known and quirkiest Portland tourist…
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![Beeswax shipwreck]()
Beeswax shipwreck
Since the earliest days of EuroAmerican settlement on the Oregon Coast,…
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![Bigfoot (Sasquatch) legend]()
Bigfoot (Sasquatch) legend
Bigfoot is a large and mysterious humanoid creature purported to inhabi…
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![Bobbie the Wonder Dog]()
Bobbie the Wonder Dog
Bobbie the Wonder Dog, of Silverton, was the canine hero in a story tha…
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![Brooten Kelp Ore]()
Brooten Kelp Ore
From 1905 until the late 1940s, Brooten Baths was a major economic ente…
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![Enchanted Forest]()
Enchanted Forest
The Enchanted Forest theme park in Turner, Oregon, just south of Salem …
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![Florence Whale Explosion]()
Florence Whale Explosion
On November 9, 1970, a forty-five-foot, eight-ton sperm whale washed as…
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![Last Blockbuster Video Store in the U.S.]()
Last Blockbuster Video Store in the U.S.
At its height in 2004, the video rental store chain Blockbuster had ove…
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![Mill Ends Park]()
Mill Ends Park
The world's smallest park, the Guinness Book of World Records claims, i…
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![Oregon Vortex (House of Mystery)]()
Oregon Vortex (House of Mystery)
The Oregon Vortex and House of Mystery, located on Sardine Creek in Gol…
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![Pixieland]()
Pixieland
Pixieland was a short-lived but popular amusement park on the Oregon Co…
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![Portland Professional Wrestling]()
Portland Professional Wrestling
In July 1883, the Oregonian announced a “grand athletic tourney&r…
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![Prehistoric Gardens]()
Prehistoric Gardens
Prehistoric Gardens, with its twenty-foot-tall concrete Tyrannosaurus g…
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![Scappoose Peace Candle of the World]()
Scappoose Peace Candle of the World
The Peace Candle of the World is a distinctive landmark on Highway 30, …
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![Turkey Rama]()
Turkey Rama
In 2015, McMinnville’s annual Turkey Rama marked its fifty-fourth…
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![Two-Bits, the World War II Lookout Dog]()
Two-Bits, the World War II Lookout Dog
A persistent fox terrier named Two-Bits earned a brief measure of natio…
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![Voodoo Doughnut]()
Voodoo Doughnut
Voodoo Doughnut is an independently owned business in Portland and Euge…
The OE is Green!
Our editorial process is completely paperless — 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
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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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LSTA Libraries as Community Resources Meetings is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Project Partners
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![https://www.pdx.edu/]()
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![https://oregoncouncilofteachersofenglish.wildapricot.org/]()
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![https://willamette.edu/]()
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![https://wou.edu/]()
