In the 1980s the town grew when followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, who had started the city of Rajneeshpuram on the nearby "Big Muddy Ranch", began to move in.[3] Rajneeshpuram was an intentional community (or commune) of "Rajneeshees". On September 18, 1984, Antelope's charter was amended by a vote of 57 to 22 to change the name of the city to Rajneesh.[3] A short time later Rajneesh was indicted on federal immigration charges, attempted to leave the country, and pleaded no contest to two of the 34 charges[citation needed] and returned to India.[3] On November 6, 1985, the remaining residents, both original and Rajneeshee, voted 34 to 0 to restore the original name, which was never changed by the Postal Service.[3] The ranch is now owned by Young Life and has been converted into a camp, known as "Washington Family Ranch
Arlington
Arlington was the birthplace of musician Doc Severinsen, best known as the musical director for the American television program The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1967 – 1992).
In 2008, mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist caused a controversy when it was discovered that she had posted photos of herself in lingerie on her personal MySpace page.[4] The photos depict the mayor wearing a black bra and panties, while posed on one of the city's fire engines. Because of these photos and "...issues about water and the local golf course", she was removed from office in a recall election
Ashland
The famous Ashland peach, which won top honors at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. During the Fourth of July celebration in 1935,
It is the home of Southern Oregon University
Notable people – SOU
In 1983, future Academy Award nominated filmmaker Todd Field attended SOU on a music scholarship.
SOU Professor Emeritus Lawson Inada was named Oregon Poet Laureate in 2006, a position that had been vacant since poet William Stafford vacated the post in the early 1990s.
SOU Music Department alumnus Brent Watkins has won a number of national and international piano competitions and prizes.
Actor Ty Burrell graduated from SOU with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1993.
Actor Joel Moore graduated from SOU with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2001.
SOU's Shea Washington was named NAIA Basketball Player of the Year in 2006.
Agnes Baker Pilgrim, spiritual elder of the Takelma tribe and chairperson of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers graduated in 1985
Angus L. Bowmer arranged the first performances of what would become the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The festival grew during the 20th century, and has become an award-winning and internationally-known regional theater company
The Ashland Independent Film Festival which shows international and domestic films of almost every genre since 2001 takes place in April of each year Ashland is also the setting for the movie version of Neil Gaiman's Coraline
Notable People
Les AuCoin, former U.S. Representative
John Backus, computer scientist who created Fortran
Angus L. Bowmer, founder of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Erskine Caldwell, author, never lived in Ashland, but is buried there.
Chad Cota, former National Football League player
Alex Cox, film director
Ann Curry, anchor on The Today Show
Gay Jacobsen D'Asaro, fencing champion
Emilio Delgado, actor: Luís from Sesame Street
Alice Di Micele, musician
Jack Elam, actor
David Fincher, film director
Gangaji, spiritual teacher
Johnny Gruelle, creator of Raggedy Ann
Jeremy Guthrie, pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles
Anthony Heald, television, film and stage actor
Abel Helman, town founder
Frank C. High, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient
Jean Houston, author, lecturer, known for her work in human potentials, Mystery School and Social Artistry
Dean Ing, author
Coraline Jones, fantasy character in the film version of Coraline
Scott Kelly, musician
Forrest Kline, musician
Winona LaDuke, Native American activist and vice-presidential candidate for Ralph Nader's 2000 campaign
Vladimir Nabokov, author of Lolita
Leonard Levy, Pulitzer Prize winner
Lisa Loomer, playwright, Pulitzer Prize nominee
Rose Maddox, country western musician
Steve Mason, "Poet Laureate" of the Vietnam War
Mark Parent, baseball player
Alfred Peet, founder, Peet's Coffee & Tea
Ron Rezek, industrial designer and inventor
Sonny Sixkiller, former Washington Huskies Quarterback, actor
Jon Micah Sumrall, Christian rock musician
Erika Thormahlen, TV actress and writer
Jerry Turner, stage designer and director
Neale Donald Walsch, author of the Conversations with God series
Henry Woronicz, actor and director
Astoria
In Popular Culture
Shanghaied In Astoria is a musical about Astoria's history, that has been performed in Astoria every year since 1984. Astoria was the setting of the 1985 movie The Goonies, which was filmed on location. Other movies filmed in Astoria include Overboard, Short Circuit, The Black Stallion, Kindergarten Cop, Free Willy, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, Benji the Hunted, The Ring,[12] The Ring Two, Into the Wild, The Guardian and Cthulhu.
The early 1960s television series Route 66 filmed the episode entitled "One Tiger to a Hill"[13] in Astoria; it was broadcast on September 21, 1962.
An album by the rock band The Ataris, So Long, Astoria, has cover art and a title song depicting the city.
Astoria is the first setting of the novel The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show by Ariel Gore. Astoria is mentioned in Neal Stephenson's novel Snow Crash as the best place at that point in the novel to get to the USS Enterprise. Astoria is also mentioned in the movie Eight Below; it is the current hometown of character Jerry Shepherd. Most recently it is mentioned in the movie about the Coast Guard The Guardian with Kevin Costner. The monster movie It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955) has a reference to Astoria. The Navy tracks the beast (a giant Octopus), first to Astoria, where it attacks people on shore, leaving sucker imprints in the sand
Columbia River Maritime Museum
Peter Iredale shipwreck
Baker City
The filming of the Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood film, Paint Your Wagon in the city
On September 26, 1936, embers blown from a nearby slash fire of a logging crew inflamed gorse growing inside Bandon, and ignited a fire inside the city, causing massive destruction. Bandon's entire commercial district was destroyed. The total loss stated at the time was three million dollars, with 11 fatalities. Stewart Holbrook vividly described this conflagration in his essay "The Gorse of Bandon".
The Annual Cranberry Festival takes place in the second weekend of September to celebrate the Cranberry harvest. The event draws tourists and participants from all areas of the Oregon coast, Washington and California. Begun in 1946, to honor the cranberry industry, 2010 will mark the 64th year of the event. Bandon has long been known as the "Cranberry Capital of Oregon".
Bandon cheese - In the past, dairy production and cheese making were an integral part of Bandon's economy. There is no longer a cheese production facility in Bandon, but the Bandon Cheese name lives on
Notable People
Bill Bradbury, Oregon Secretary of State
Ernie Garrett, Actor and Producer
Randal O'Toole, economist
James V. Scotti, astronomer
Paul Walker, Actor
Timothy Zahn, Author
Brookings
On September 9, 1942, Mount Emily, near Brookings, became the first site in the continental United States to suffer aerial bombardment in wartime. A Japanese floatplane piloted by Nobuo Fujita launched from submarine I-25 was loaded with incendiary bombs and sent to start massive fires in the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest. The attack caused only minor damage. Fujita would be invited back to Brookings in 1962 and he presented the town his family's 400-year old samurai sword in friendship after the Japanese government was given assurances that he would not be tried as a war criminal. Brookings made him an honorary citizen several days before his death in 1997.
Notable People
Elmo Williams
Bruce Willis
Brownsville
It is the setting for the fictional Castle Rock, Oregon in the film Stand by Me.
Burns
Notable People
Kellen Clemens - NFL quarterback - New York Jets
Robert Freeman Smith - Congressman/Speaker of Oregon House
Norma Paulus - Former Oregon politician
Canby
Hart's Reptile World
Haystack Rock
Cannon Beach
Cannon Beach is recognized by its well-known landmark, Haystack Rock, located to the southwest of downtown Cannon Beach, near Tolovana Park. This igneous rock has an elevation of 235 feet, and is often accessible at low tide, especially in the summertime. There is a small cave system that penetrates the rock and can be seen from the coastline. The rock is also protected as a marine sanctuary, Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, and events are not allowed within 100 feet of either side of the rock
Canyon City
Notable People
Joaquin Miller, poet and essayist
Cave Junction
Tourists visit the Oregon Caves National Monument, which includes the Oregon Caves Chateau, as well as the Out'n'About treehouse resort and the Great Cats World Park zoo.
Notable People
Bill Haskins, a graduate of Illinois Valley High School, offensive lineman for the University of Oregon Ducks football team.
Late actor John Wayne was a visitor to a ranch in Selma, Oregon, about 10 miles (16 km) north of town. He grew fond of the area after filming Rooster Cogburn along the Rogue River. This ranch has since become the Deer Creek Center which houses the Siskiyou Field Institute.[73]
Kristy Lee Cook, who was a contestant on American Idol 7, was also raised in Selma, where she used to live before joining the competition.[74]
Arthur B. Robinson is the head of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, which is located about seven miles (11 km) outside of Cave Junction.[75]
Mike Millard, author of "Jihad in Paradise: Islam and Politics in Southeast Asia" and "Leaving Japan: Observations on the Dysfunctional U.S.-Japan Relationship," was a 1965 graduate of Illinois Valley High School
Central Point
Notable People
Jason Atkinson, 39, Oregon State Senator and 2006/2010 Gubernatorial Candidate
Branden Rickman, 18, (Winner) Make Me a Supermodel (season 2
Chiloquin
The Train Mountain Miniature Railroad in Chiloquin is, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the longest miniature hobby railway system in the world. It includes a railway museum, 25 miles of total track, and trains that a person can straddle and ride.
Clatskanie
Notable People
Raymond Carver- writer
Condon
During their youth, two-time Nobel-winner Dr. Linus Pauling (1954 Chemistry and 1962 Peace) and Dr. William Parry Murphy (1934 Medicine) lived in Condon.
On February 4, 1999, a Japanese ship named the New Carissa ran aground on a beach 2.7 miles (4.3 km) north of the entrance to Coos Bay, drawing international attention to the town. The New Carissa was empty at the time, heading for the Port of Coos Bay to pick up a cargo of wood chips. When the captain was told that the weather was too poor for the ship to enter port, he anchored his ship close by. The crew put out only one anchor, and it appears that this was probably on too short a chain to be effective. The subsequent US Coast Guard investigation found several other aspects of the ship's company's handling of the situation to have been poor, leading to the conclusion that human error caused the grounding. 70,000 US gallons (260 m3) of fuel oil were spilt by the vessel, with a further 165,000 to 255,000 gallons (625 to 965 m3) being deliberately set alight and burnt off by salvors later. The stern of the ship remains on the beach; the bow was towed out to sea and sunk after structural damage caused by the fire split the ship in two. As of June 2008, the wreck of the New Carissa is being cut into pieces and removed off the beach. The public support about this removal is not unanimous; some Coos Bay-North Bend citizens think it would be better to leave it as a tourist attraction
Notable People
Mel Counts, professional basketball player, Olympic gold medalist (1964)
Steve Prefontaine, Olympic distance runner
Princess Irina of Romania, daughter of King Michael of Romania
Jeff Whitty, Tony Award winning playwright
George Whitty, 3 time Grammy Award winning musician, brother of playwright, Jeff Whitty
Buddy Hayes, musician from Lawrence Welk
Armin D. Lehmann, Survivor of last days of Nazi German in Hitler's Bunker
Cottage Grove
In May 1994, Cottage Grove was one of four Oregon cities to pass a law promoted by the Oregon Citizens Alliance denying discrimination protection to gays and lesbians. This vote and the events leading up to it are profiled in the book, The Stranger Next Door: The Story of a Small Community's Battle Over Sex, Faith, and Civil Rights by Arlene Stein. Cottage Grove the town is referred to in the book using the pseudonym "Timbertown".[4]
Cottage Grove is also known as the Covered Bridge Capital of Oregon. Seven covered bridges are located in or around Cottage Grove. The only existing covered railroad bridge west of the Mississippi River, the National Register of Historic Places-listed Chambers Railroad Bridge is located in Cottage Grove. The City of Cottage Grove has secured ownership of the Chambers Railroad Bridge and is seeking funding to restore it.
Creswell
Notable People
Mark Few, head coach for the Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team
On November 12, 1970, a dead sperm whale that had washed up on the beach was destroyed with dynamite, the theory being that scavengers such as seagulls and crabs would consume the smaller pieces.[4] Decades later, the resulting debacle became widely known via the Internet as the exploding whale story.
Arts and culture Florence has hosted the Rhododendron Festival annually since 1908.[6]
Florence is also the adopted home of previously L.A.-based poet Scott Wannberg, whose most recent book, Strange Movie Full of Death, is available through Percival Press.
Florence's sand dunes are the inspiration for Frank Herbert's Dune novel series.
North of Florence on U.S. Route 101 are the Sea Lion Caves, a tourist attraction that features a sea cave that is the year-round home of a population of Steller Sea Lions
Forest Grove
Filming for the television show, Nowhere Man, took place in Forest Grove numerous times
Notable People
Tabitha Brown
Joseph Conrad Chamberlin Bobby Chouinard Harvey L. Clark Sara Tucholsky
Fossil
Fossil is the site of the only public fossil field in the U.S.[7][8] The field is located behind Wheeler High School.[9] Anyone who pays the small fee can hunt for fossils and keep any found.[7] After the initial discovery of the fossil field in 1949 or 1950, access was free and unrestricted, until 2005, when a small interpretive center was constructed, and a collection limit of three fossils was established in exchange for a $3 entry fee
Gold Beach
Mailboats based in Gold Beach have been delivering mail upstream to Agness since 1895, one of only two rural mailboat routes remaining in the U.S.
Notable People
Gregory Harrison - Actor[7]
Bridgette Wilson – Actress
Gold Hill
Gold Hill is home to the roadside attraction the Oregon Vortex.
Halfway
Halfway earned a place in the history of the dot-com era when it received, and accepted in December 1999, an offer to rename itself Half.com, Oregon in exchange for $100,000, computers for the school, and other financial subsidies. Since the company Half.com was bought by eBay in February 2001, it has not been made clear whether eBay would honor the numerous financial considerations
Heppner was almost destroyed by a flash flood on June 14, 1903.[3] The flood was precipitated by a sudden cloudburst and accompanying hail that caused a debris dam collapse and flash flooding, notably on Willow Creek.[3] A wall of water and debris swept down the creeks and canyons and through the city. It has been estimated that 238 people (a quarter of the city's population) drowned, making it the deadliest natural disaster in Oregon's history.[3] Property damage was reported at nearly $1,000,000. The nearby cities of Ione and Lexington also sustained significant damage.[3] In 1983, the Willow Creek Dam at the outskirts of the city was finished
Hood River
Hood River is host to several races in the international competition, the Mount Hood Cycling Classic and the famous annual Gorge Games, which features professional competitions in 10 sports such as windsurfing, kitesurfing, outrigger canoeing, rock climbing, and airs on Fox Sports in August.[19][20] Hood River also hosted the 2009 US Windsurfing National Championships (and is always a contender as a future host for the rotating games) International Museum of Carousel Art, and the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum (WAAAM).
Notable People
Cecil D. Andrus, former Secretary of the Interior for Carter, and the 26th and 28th Governor of Idaho
Alex Arrowsmith, rock/pop musician
Andrew Baldwin, baseball player for the Tacoma Rainiers
Timothy K. Beal, Religious scholar, author, and professor
Sammy Carlson, American freeskier and X-Games medalist
D. J. Conway, fantasy author
Edward Hill, artist as well as a published poet, songwriter, and newspaper correspondent
Midori Hirose, contemporary artist
George Hitchcock (1914-2010), poet and publisher of the literary journal Kayak.[30]
Jesse Merz, professional actor, director and theatre professor
Marcus W. Robertson, Philippine-American War hero and Medal of Honor recipient
Bobby Gene Smith, Major League Baseball player from 1957-1965
Brooke Struck, Survivor: Guatemala contestant
Suzanne VanOrman, Democratic Party member in the Oregon House of Representatives representing District 52
Don Wakamatsu, Major League Baseball manager and former catcher for the Seattle Mariners
Greg Walden, Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon and represents its Second District
Minoru Yasui, Japanese American lawyer and Japanese civil rights activist
Huntington
Trivia
The first ransom bill from the 1935 George Weyerhaeuser Kidnapping turned up in Huntington
Jefferson
It is home to the annual Mint Harvest Festival and is the self-proclaimed "Mint Capital of the World" as well as "Frog Jumping Capital of Oregon".
The Lost River Sucker
Klamath Falls
The city made national headlines in 2001 when a court decision was made to shut off Klamath Project irrigation water on April 6 because of Endangered Species Act requirements. The Lost River sucker and shortnose sucker were listed on the Federal Endangered Species List in 1988, and when drought struck in 2001, a panel of scientists stated that further diversion of water for agriculture would be detrimental to these species, which reside in the Upper Klamath Lake, as well as to the protected Coho salmon which spawn in the Klamath River. Many protests by farmers and citizens culminated in a "Bucket Brigade"[12] on Main Street May 7, 2001 in Klamath Falls. The event was attended by 18,000 farmers, ranchers, citizens, and politicians. Such universal criticism resulted in a new plan implemented in early 2002 to resume irrigation to farmers.
Low river flows in the Klamath and Trinity Rivers and high temperatures led to a mass die-off of at least 33,000 salmon in 2002.[13] Dwindling salmon numbers have practically shut down the fishing industry in the region and caused over $60 million in disaster aid being given to fishermen to offset losses.[14]
Ninety percent of Trinity River water is diverted for California Agriculture.[13] According to a National Academy of Sciences report of October 22, 2003, limiting irrigation water did little if anything to help endangered fish and may have hurt the populations.[15] A contrary report has criticized the National Academy of Sciences report.[14] The Chiloquin Dam has been removed to help improve sucker spawning habitat
Notable People
Sharron Angle, Nevada politician
Brenda Bakke, actress
Dennis Bennett, Major League Baseball player
Don Pedro Colley, actor
Chris Eyre, Sundance Film Festival award winner
Chad Gray, musician
Ralph Hill, Olympic 5000 meters silver medalist
James Ivory, Oscar-nominated director[26]
Charles S. Moore, Oregon politician
Dan O'Brien, Olympic gold medalist-Decathlon
Charles O. Porter, Oregon politician
Manuel Sanchez, musician
Paul Zahniser, Major League Baseball player
La Grande
Notable People
Bucky Buckwalter - former National Basketball Association coach and executive
Ron Gilbert - a computer game designer, programmer, and producer, best known for his work on several classic LucasArts adventure games.
Steve West - host of the Outdoor Channel's Steve's Outdoor Adventures
Lebanon
Lebanon is the home of the World's Largest Strawberry Shortcake, a part of the annual Strawberry Festival that began in 1909
Notable People
David W. Ballard (1824–1875), governor of Idaho territory
Carson Bigbee (1895–1964), "Skeeter" Bigbee, professional baseball outfielder
Eric Castle (1970-), former NFL safety and special teams player for the San Diego Chargers
Jo Collins (1945–), actress and 1965 Playmate of the Year
Howard Hesseman (1940–), actor
Ben Howland (1957–), college basketball coach
Joanna Masingila (1960–), professor of mathematics and mathematics education
Pat McQuistan (1983–), offensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys
Paul McQuistan (1983–), offensive guard for the Oakland Raiders
Katherine Ann Power (1949–), former fugitive for manslaughter and armed robbery
Doug Riesenberg (1965–), former NFL offensive tackle
Dave Roberts (1951–), MLB third basemen
Dick Smith (1939–), MLB outfields and first baseman
Time Winters (1956–), television and voice actor
Madras
Notable People
Jacoby Ellsbury - Major League Baseball player[9]
River Phoenix - actor[10]
Thomas Lowell Tucker - soldier, Iraqi war casualty
The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum is an aviation museum in McMinnville, Oregon. Its exhibits include the Hughes H-4 Hercules (Spruce Goose) and more than fifty military and civilian aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), and spacecraft. The museum complex includes four main buildings: the original aviation exhibit hall, a large screen (7 stories wide, 6 stories high) digital theater, a second exhibit hall focused on space technology, and a water park.
The museum is located across the street from the former headquarters of Evergreen International Aviation and across Oregon Route 18 from McMinnville Municipal Airport (KMMV).
Merrill
Merrill was the birthplace and boyhood home of Carl Barks, the Disney comics artist who created Scrooge McDuck, among others
Metolius
Notable People
River Phoenix, actor
Milton-Freewater
Notable People
Oscar Harstad, former major league baseball pitcher and Doctor of Dental Surgery.
Milwaukie
The Bing cherry, among other varieties, was developed in Milwaukie by another pioneer orchardist, Seth Lewelling, who settled in the area with his brother Henderson Luelling
Notable People
Mike Bliss, NASCAR driver[citation needed]
Scott Brosius baseball player for the New York Yankees and won the World Series MVP Award in 1998[citation needed]
Kate Brown, Oregon Secretary of State[citation needed]
Nicole Fugere, actress, Wednesday Addams on The New Addams Family[citation needed]
Tonya Harding, figure skater[citation needed]
Dave Husted, former professional ten-pin bowler; three-time winner of the PBA U.S. Open
Painted Hills
Mitchell
The Painted Hills is a geologic site in Wheeler County, Oregon that is one of the three units of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument along with Sheep Rock and Clarno. It totals 3,132 acres (12.67 km2) and is located 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Mitchell, Oregon. The Painted Hills are listed as one of the Seven Wonders of Oregon.[1] The layers of color for which the site is named can be traced back to cycling periods of wet and dry climate conditions associated with the transition from the Eocene epoch to the cooler, more temperate Oligocene epoch.[2][3] The different layers of colors are due to the soil being composed of a combination of mudstone, siltstone, shale and lignite.
Molalla
Notable People
Roger Beyer, Oregon state senator
Ralph M. Holman, Oregon Supreme Court judge
Rufus C. Holman, United States senator
Macy Morse, peace activist
Mt. Angel
Mt. Angel is also home to the historic Queen of Angels Monastery, run by the Benedictine Sisters of Mt. Angel
Myrtle Creek
It is the birthplace of U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley
Nehalem
The Portland band Everclear has a song, "Nehalem", on their Sparkle and Fade album about life in the small town.
Nehalem was the location for the HGTV Dream Home contest in 2000 where a lucky contestant won a furnished home and an automobile
Newberg
The city is home to George Fox University
Notable Alumni
Herbert Hoover, thirty-first President of the United States, attended Pacific Academy before his admission to Stanford.
Jesse Merz, professional actor, director, producer and writer.
Richard Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline.
Peggy Fowler, CEO of Portland General Electric.
Gina Ochsner, American writer.
Darleen Ortega, judge, Oregon Court of Appeals.
Pat Casey, head baseball coach of the Oregon State Beavers.
"Coach" Ken Carter (Coach Carter), high school basketball coach, inspired 2005 movie starring Samuel L. Jackson
Oregon Coast Aquarium
Newport
It is the home of the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Nye Beach, Yaquina Head Lighthouse, and Rogue Ales.
Notable People
William A. Barton, attorney
Rick Bartow, artist
David Ogden Stiers, actor
Scott Baker, marine biologist featured in the movie "The Cove". Works at the Marine Mammals Institute, affiliated with Oregon State University.
Oakland
Several films have been shot in Oakland, including Fire in the Sky and Grand Tour: Disaster in Time.
Oakridge
The most well known citizen of Oakridge may be Mason Williams, composer of Classical Gas.
Paisley
Archeological sites from the 1930s at Paisley Caves and 1966 at Fort Rock give the oldest known evidence for early Native Americans. Radiocarbon dating of coprolites indicate they are from 12,750 to 14,290 years before the present
Pendleton
Notable People
Tracy Baker - Boston Red Sox first baseman
John Bunnell - Hosted World's Wildest Police Videos
Dave Cockrum - Comic book artist
Dave Kingman - Major League Baseball player
Michael J. Kopetski - Former representative for Oregon's 5th congressional district
Frances Moore Lappé - Author and activist
James Lavadour - Walla Walla artist
Elaine Miles - Actress who played Marilyn Whirlwind on Northern Exposure
Roy Schuening - Former offensive guard for the Oregon State Beavers football team, and with the St. Louis Rams.
Gordon Smith - Former U.S. Senator from Oregon
Milan Smith - Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and brother to Gordon Kenneth Snelson - Sculptor and photographer
Lawrence Shurtliff - Grateful Dead roadie and President of GDP
John Storie - Los Angeles-based studio guitarist, NBC/Universal Television
Philomath The film Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon documents the clash of cultures in Philomath between the old-time timber industry and the professionals and techies of the information age. The film was shown in the Sundance Film Festival in 2006.
Neighb'rhood Childr'n, 1960s psychedelic rock group
Reedsport
Notable People
Delilah Rene Luke, radio personality
Vicki Walker, politician
Rockaway Beach
The Pronto Pup, a brand of corn dog, was invented at Rockaway in the late 1930’s
Roseburg
The Roseburg Blast
On 7 August 1959, at approximately 1:00 a.m., the Gerretsen Building Supply Company[7] caught fire. Firefighters soon arrived at the building, located near Oak and Pine street, to extinguish the fire. Earlier in the evening, a truck driver for the Pacific Powder Company, George Rutherford, had parked his explosives truck in front of the building, a fact which went unnoticed until shortly before the truck exploded at around 5:00 a.m., destroying buildings in an eight-block radius and severely damaging 30 more blocks.[8] The truck was loaded with two tons of dynamite and four-and-a-half tons of the blasting agent nitro carbo nitrate. Rutherford had parked the truck after arranging his delivery for the following morning, despite warnings given to the Pacific Powder Company two days earlier not to leave such trucks unattended or park them in "congested areas." Fourteen people died in the blast and fire and 125 were injured. Damage was estimated at ten to twelve million dollars; the Powder company was eventually made to pay $1.2 million in civil damages, but was acquitted of criminal wrongdoing.[8] Roseburg's downtown was rebuilt, primarily by businesses using money collected from insurance claims. The city built a new bridge over the South Umpqua River on parcels affected by the disaster.[8] Since the incident, it is commonly referred to as the "Roseburg Blast" or simply "The Blast." In 2005, SOPTV produced a documentary examining the Blast and the experiences of those who were involved or witnessed it, entitled The Roseburg Blast: A Catastrophe and Its Heroes.
Notable People
Art Alexakis - Lead singer of Everclear. Lived here with his sister in his youth.
Mike Allred - comic book artist
Nasim Ashraf - PCB Chairman and Commissioner of NCHD.
Josh Bidwell - professional football player (Winston, OR)
Marion E. Carl - Marine Corps general and flying ace
Troy Calhoun - Head coach of the United States Air Force Academy football team.
Thomas E. Gaddis - author of the book, Birdman of Alcatraz
Bobby Henderson - founder of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
David Hume Kennerly - presidential photographer for Gerald Ford, Pulitzer Prize winner
John Kitzhaber - former Oregon governor, 1995-2003
Joseph Lane - general and early governor of Oregon, his home is now a museum in downtown Roseburg
Matthew Lessner - director and screenwriter
Shelley Plimpton - former actress and mother of actress Martha Plimpton
Troy Polamalu - professional football player (Winston, OR)
Barry Serafin - television journalist
Chris Thompson - swimmer, earned a bronze medal and broke American record in the 1500m freestyle, 2000 Summer Olympics
Jim Warren - Dynamic signal expert
Edward Winter - actor, noted for his character, Col. Flagg, on the TV series "M*A*S*H
Scappoose
Notable People
Derek Anderson - NFL quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, former OSU quarterback
Sara Jean Underwood - Playboy Playmate, July 2006; 2007 Playmate of the Year
Seaside
Seaside is home to the Seaside Aquarium, featuring living regional marine life, a hands-on discovery center, and a 35-foot Gray Whale skeleton, all within a short walk from the Lewis & Clark monument
Sheridan
Notable People
Barbara Roberts, who served in the state legislature and as Oregon Secretary of State before election as Governor of Oregon grew up in Sheridan and graduated from Sheridan High School.[51]
High jumper Joni Huntley also graduated from the high school and won a bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California
Silverton
Silverton is the gateway to Silver Falls State Park, Oregon's largest state park. It is also the home of the Oregon Gardens, an 80 acre (320,000 m²) botanical park.
Each summer, Silvertonians celebrate their most famous citizen in the Homer Davenport Days festival and parade
The first bank robbery and chase scene in the movie Bandits (starring Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton) was filmed in Silverton.[3]
Notable People
Bobbie, the Wonder Dog
Greg Craven, climate change activist who produced a viral video on YouTube[4]
Homer Davenport, political cartoonist
Scott Gragg, NFL tackle, Silverton High School varsity football coach
Bill Grier, head men's basketball coach at the University of San Diego
Donald Pettit, astronaut
Stu Rasmussen, first openly transgender mayor in the United States
Ken Ruettgers, former professional football player
Chris Klug, Olympic Snowboarder
St. Helens
The town is home to sets of many films. These include Halloweentown, and Stephanie Meyer's Novel Twilight
Notable People
Holly Madison, model, reality TV personality on The Girls Next Door
Frank A. Moore, Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
Katee Sackhoff, actress
Chris Wakeland,[citation needed] baseball player
St. Paul
Notable People
Herman Pillette[citation needed] (1896–1960), baseball player
The Dalles
In 1963, Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was published featuring the narrator, Chief, who is from The Dalles
In 1986, Penalty Phase, a film starring Peter Strauss and Melissa Gilbert, was filmed in and around The Dalles
In 1984, The Dalles was the scene of a bioterrorist incident launched by the Rajneeshee cult in an attempt to gain control of the local government of Wasco County.[10] It was the first known bioterrorism attack of the 20th century in the United States.
The Enchanted Forest is an amusement park located in Turner, Oregon, on a small patch of hilly wooded land next to Interstate 5, just south of Salem, Oregon.
Veneta
On August 27, 1972, the Grateful Dead played a concert—the first "Field Trip"—at the Oregon Country Fair site. The concert, a benefit for Springfield Creamery, has become legendary to Deadheads and is documented in the film Sunshine Daydream.[4]
The city's name is used on Veneta, Oregon, a 2004 release by New Riders of the Purple Sage, which is a live recording of the group's opening performance at the 1972 Field Trip
Warrenton
Notable People
Brian Bruney, Major League Baseball pitcher
Robert W. Lundeen, chemical engineer
West Linn
Notable People
Steve Blake, basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers[11]
Darlene Hooley, United States Congresswoman
Nate McMillan, head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers[12]
Cade McNown, football player
Robert Moore, founder of Linn City
Jeff Scurran, professional football coach
Chael Sonnen, mixed martial arts fighter[citation needed]
Mitch Williams, baseball player[13]
Monty Williams, former NBA player, former assistant coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, head coach of the New Orleans Hornets
Oregon Detour by Nard Jones
Weston
Weston is best known for its connection with novelist Nard Jones (1904–1972), who lived in the city with his parents between 1919 and 1927, and whose first novel Oregon Detour was set in an Oregon town of 600 inhabitants called "Creston".[citation needed] When his novel, written according to the tenets of the New Realism literary movement (established years before by Sherwood Anderson, Sinclair Lewis and others) was published in 1930, many of the residents were convinced that his characters were based on local inhabitants, and considered the work a slander against the town.[citation needed] While the legend that Jones was sued and ran out of town for his book is not true,[citation needed] members of the town made an effort to local suppress access to the book: copies of the novel were stolen from the local library; after the novel became the subject for a high school student's book report, his English teacher removed the book from both the reading list and the high school library.[citation needed] According to George Venn, local literary historian, even in the 1980s "trying to figure out or trying to remember who the 'real people' in the novel is still a local pastime
Wilsonville
Notable People
former governor George Law Curry,[90]
Congresswoman Edith Green,[91]
former mayor and state representative Jerry Krummel.[92]
football player Derek Devine,[93]
professional golfer Brian Henninger,[94]
baseball player and manager Del Baker.[95]
children's author Walt Morey,[99]
ferryman Alphonso Boone,
businessman Tom Bruggere,[100]
baseball coach Mel Krause
Winston
Notable People
Josh Bidwell - professional football player, NFL, Punter, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Troy Polamalu - professional football player, NFL, Strong Safety, Pittsburgh Steelers
Woodburn
Notable People
Stacy Allison (born 1958), a 1975 graduate of Woodburn High School and a 1984 Oregon State University alum, was the first American woman to summit Mount Everest during her second attempt on September 29, 1988.[15][16][17] That same year, when Woodburn Mayor Nancy Kirksey declared November 17 "Stacy Allison Day," she visited and spoke at several Woodburn venues and attended ceremonies when a street in the city, Stacy Allison Way, was dedicated to her.[18]
Kat Bjelland of the punk band Babes in Toyland, grew up in Woodburn. Her first performance was at the now-closed tavern Flight 99
Yachats
Yachats was chosen among the top 10 U.S. up-and-coming vacation destinations by Virtualtourist
Yamhill
Notable People
Beverly Cleary, children's author; her first memoir was called A Girl from Yamhill
Jeri Ellsworth, entrepreneur and self-taught computer chip designer
Merle C. "Hap" Johnson (March 17, 1918 - October 9, 2007), a decorated United States Air Force colonel who served in France and Spain during World War II. He is interred in Pike Cemetery near Yamhill.[6]
Nicholas Kristof, columnist for the New York Times, grew up on a sheep and cherry farm in Yamhill
