Dennis Powers

Dennis M. Powers is emeritus professor of business at Southern Oregon University. He is the author of twenty books, numerous magazine and newspaper articles, including published poetry. Among others, his books include The Office Romance—for which he was on a national book tour—and West Coast/Pacific Northwest maritime books as The Raging Sea (the 1964 West Coast tsunami), Treasure Ship (the Brother Jonathan, this Encyclopedia), Sentinel of the Seas (St. George Reef lighthouse), Taking the Sea (the old-time ship wreckers), and Tales of the Seven Seas (about a charismatic sea captain of the nineteenth century). His most recent book is Where Past Meets Present, about the standout individuals, places, and tales of Southern Oregon.  

Author's Entries

  • Brother Jonathan (ship)

    On February 14, 1859, two days after Congress decided to admit Oregon to the Union, President James Buchanan signed the bill that made Oregon a state. Telegraph operators sent the news by wire to St. Louis, and a stagecoach carried it to San Francisco. On March 10, the paddlewheeler …

    Oregon Encyclopedia

  • City of Gold Hill

    The city of Gold Hill was founded on gold and the railroad—along with the acumen of one Thomas Chavner. Immigrating to the United States from Ireland when he was only six, Chavner had lived an adventurous life, from working Mississippi riverboats and trapping to becoming a Comanche interpreter and fighting …

    Oregon Encyclopedia

  • Gold Ray Dam

    In 1900, Colonel Frank H. Ray persuaded his brother, Dr. C.R. Ray, to inspect a gold mine in southern Oregon for possible purchase. With a positive report, the two brothers bought the Braden Mine near the town of Gold Hill in the Rogue Valley and acquired with it the rights …

    Oregon Encyclopedia