Welcome to the Oregon Encyclopedia.
Explore Oregon's history and culture — from Athapaskan Indians to Zigzag Ranger Station
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May: Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Explore Asian American and Pacific Islander entries on The Oregon Encyclopedia.
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![Chinese Americans in Oregon]()
Chinese Americans in Oregon
The Pioneer Period, 1850-1860 The Cantonese-Chinese were the first Chinese in Oregon. They immigra…
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![Chinese mining in Oregon]()
Chinese mining in Oregon
The city of Guangzhou (formerly known to Westerners as Canton) is the capital of Guangdong Province…
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![East Indians of Oregon and the Ghadar Party]()
East Indians of Oregon and the Ghadar Party
In the early twentieth century, five to six hundred men and one family of East Indians lived along …
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![Hawaiians in the Oregon Country]()
Hawaiians in the Oregon Country
Native Hawaiians were among the earliest outsiders in present-day Oregon. The future state’s first …
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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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![Hmong Immigration]()
Hmong Immigration
During the 1960s, the Hmong in Laos aided the United States in the Vietnam War, providing intellige…
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![Japanese Americans in Oregon]()
Japanese Americans in Oregon
Immigrants from the West Resting in the shade of the Gresham Pioneer Cemetery, there is a grave ma…
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![Kinzo Suzuki (1840?-1882?)]()
Kinzo Suzuki (1840?-1882?)
Kinzo Suzuki was an early settler of Oregon who arrived in Portland as a political refugee from Jap…
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![Kwan Hsu (1913-1995)]()
Kwan Hsu (1913-1995)
Kwan Hsu arrived in Portland in 1964, a newly minted professor tasked not just with teaching at Por…
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![Mae Yih (1928–)]()
Mae Yih (1928–)
Upon her election to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1976, Mae Yih became the first Chinese-…
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![Minoru Yasui (1916–1986)]()
Minoru Yasui (1916–1986)
Minoru Yasui was born in Hood River on October 16, 1916, the third son of Japanese immigrants Shidz…
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![Obukan Judo Dojo]()
Obukan Judo Dojo
Obukan Judo, the oldest dōjō in Oregon, has had a presence in Portland for over a hundred years. A …
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![Ota Tofu]()
Ota Tofu
Ota Tofu, a small storefront in Portland’s east side, is a cultural and culinary landmark in the Pa…
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![Sahomi Tachibana (1924–2024)]()
Sahomi Tachibana (1924–2024)
Sahomi Tachibana was a Japanese American master teacher and performer of Nihonbuyo (traditional Jap…
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![Seid Back (1851–1916)]()
Seid Back (1851–1916)
Seid Back was a Chinese immigrant, merchant, and labor broker whose reputation for honesty, philant…
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![Shizue Iwatsuki (1897–1984)]()
Shizue Iwatsuki (1897–1984)
A humble wife, mother, and public servant in Hood River, Shizue Iwatsuki was also an internationall…
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.
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Oregon TimeWeb
An interactive timeline of archival materials and historical scholarship on the history of Oregon.
This Just In
New Entries
"We could see the top of one hill and think that was the last. But when we gained that, others kept rising before us. To look back, in retreat, seemed utterly out of the question. To look forward was to look directly upwards, as the ascent seemed almost perpendicular." Harriet Hitchcock, 13, 1865, Oregon Trail
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![Adams-OnĂs Treaty (1819)]()
Adams-OnĂs Treaty (1819)
The oldest political terrestrial state boundary of Oregon—the southern …
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![Ardyth Kennelly (1912–2005)]()
Ardyth Kennelly (1912–2005)
Novelist and artist Ardyth Kennelly was “one of the last of a celebrate…
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![Carol Menken-Schaudt (1957–)]()
Carol Menken-Schaudt (1957–)
Carol Menken came to Oregon State University to study broadcasting, gra…
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![Charles Cutter, aka Chief Eagle Horse (1878–1938)]()
Charles Cutter, aka Chief Eagle Horse (1878–1938)
Charles Cutter, whose Tlingit name was Dockh-hoh-kharckh, was an actor …
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![Commercial Salmon Fishing in the Columbia River]()
Commercial Salmon Fishing in the Columbia River
Salmon fisheries have a long history in Oregon, going back to as many a…
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![Herman the Sturgeon]()
Herman the Sturgeon
Herman the Sturgeon is a 10-foot-long, 500-pound white sturgeon who has…
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![Jim Hibbard (1936–2022)]()
Jim Hibbard (1936–2022)
Jim Hibbard was a principal founder of Blackfish Gallery, the first coo…
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![Joaquin "Chino" Berdugo (1850-1931)]()
Joaquin "Chino" Berdugo (1850-1931)
Joaquin “Chino” Berdugo was a prominent vaquero leader and stockman in …
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![Larry Mahan (1943–2023)]()
Larry Mahan (1943–2023)
Larry Mahan was a six-time all-around world champion cowboy and a two-t…
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![Linnton Plywood Mill]()
Linnton Plywood Mill
The Linnton Plywood Association (LPA) was a cooperative worker-owned mi…
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![Lisa Malinowski Steinman (1950–)]()
Lisa Malinowski Steinman (1950–)
Lisa M. Steinman writes “to make sense of myself and the world,” she to…
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![Margaret Comstock Snell (1843–1923)]()
Margaret Comstock Snell (1843–1923)
Margaret Comstock Snell was a pioneering domestic scientist who in 1889…
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![Marion Sayle Taylor (1889–1942)]()
Marion Sayle Taylor (1889–1942)
Marion Sayle Taylor was the Voice of Experience, a radio personality wh…
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![Modoc Tribe]()
Modoc Tribe
The Modoc are a thriving Indigenous people who live predominantly in no…
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![Obukan Judo Dojo]()
Obukan Judo Dojo
Obukan Judo, the oldest dōjō in Oregon, has had a presence in Portland …
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![Richard Steiner (1901–1975)]()
Richard Steiner (1901–1975)
Richard Steiner was the senior minister of the First Unitarian Church i…
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![Rocky Butte]()
Rocky Butte
Rocky Butte is a 612-foot-high extinct cinder cone volcano in Portland,…
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![Santiago Ventura Morales Exoneration Case]()
Santiago Ventura Morales Exoneration Case
In 1986, Mixtec farmworker Santiago Ventura Morales was wrongfully conv…
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![Seneca]()
Seneca
Seneca is a small town in Bear Valley near the Blue Mountains and the M…
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![Sylvia Williams Thompson (1873–1950)]()
Sylvia Williams Thompson (1873–1950)
In January 1920, during a special session called by Governor Ben W. Olc…
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![Vale]()
Vale
The City of Vale is about twelve miles west of the Oregon-Idaho state l…
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![Walter Alan Curtis (1941–2023)]()
Walter Alan Curtis (1941–2023)
Walt Curtis was an Oregon writer, painter, and literary activist and—in…
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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This project has been funded in part by an American Rescue Plan Act Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the State Library of Oregon.
Project Partners
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