At the turn of the twentieth century, the area that would become Hermiston was a hilly, sagebrush-covered desert, but boosters in Pendleton, about thirty …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The High Desert Museum was an outgrowth of the Western Natural History Institute, established by Donald M. Kerr in 1974. A native of Portland, …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The year was 1857, two years before Oregon statehood, when a group of citizens met at the home of merchant Josiah Failing, later mayor …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Hops are perennial, cone-producing, climbing plants native to Europe, Asia, and North America. While originally cultivated for ornamental or medicinal purposes over a thousand years …

Oregon Encyclopedia

James Douglas had a long connection to the Oregon Country. As an employee of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), he lived at Fort St. James …

Oregon Encyclopedia

James D. Saules was a Black American sailor and musician who arrived in Oregon in 1841 as part of the U.S. Exploring Expedition. He …

Oregon Encyclopedia

When he was eight years old, Jeffrey Allen Lahti told his mother, "I want to pitch to Johnny Bench." Eighteen years later, his dream came …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Jesse Applegate, an influential early Oregon settler, is most remembered for his leadership role in establishing the Applegate Trail. Born in Kentucky on July …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Jewish Pioneers: Becoming Oregonians In 1869, Bernard Goldsmith, an immigrant Jew from Bavaria, was sworn in as the mayor of Portland. Two years later, …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Joanna M. Cain is an internationally known physician, teacher, and researcher in women’s health and gynecologic oncology. Cain joined the faculty of the Oregon Health …

Oregon Encyclopedia