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Portland Monthly

Slideshow

Slide Show: Top Oregon Towns for History

December 18, 2012

ANTELOPE: This ghost town was home to the 1980s Rajneeshees community. After poisoning several hundred people with salmonella through salad bars in The Dalles, the heads of the group were arrested, and their followers quickly dissipated.

DON'T MISS: Antelope Café & Store, once used as a post office by the Rajneeshees; multiple cabins from the cult takeover; the foundation of Rajneesh’s home and pool; Shaniko (a fellow ghost town 7.9 miles away)

Photography by Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives

ASTORIA: From Lewis and Clark to fur trade to canning, Astoria is no stranger to history books. Clark Gable even saw its charm, having lived at the Weinhart Hotel and acted at the Astoria Liberty Hall Theatre before his big break in Hollywood.

DON'T MISS: Heritage Museum; Oregon Film Museum; Bumble Bee Cannery Museum; Astoria-Megler Bridge; Astoria column; Flavel houses (the museum and the abandoned one); Fort Clatsop; Fort Stevens State Park; Liberty Theatre; Fort Canby State Park; Maritime m

Photography by By Another Believer (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

WARM SPRINGS: Warm Springs is known for its spa retreats and casino play, but if you look a little closer you'll discover the history of the Wasco, Tenino, and Paiute tribes (now the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs).

DON'T MISS: The Museum at Warm Springs; the Living Traditions Artists in Residence; Spa Wanapine; New Years Celebration; New Years Day Feast; Simnasho Church (an old Presbyterian church that hasn't been used since the 1960s) and other derelict buildings

Photography by Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives

JACKSONVILLE: Home to Oregon's first Chinatown, Jacksonville's growth halted when the railroad was built through Medford. The good news: the lack of development left 100+ buildings preserved, so today the entire town is a National Historic District.

DON'T MISS: Britt Festival; historic trolley tour; Victorian Christmas; Chinese New Year; Jacksonville Museum; Jacksonville Cemetery; historic downtown such as Tavern Corner (a series of taverns near one corner) and Jacksonville Inn (the hotel is one of

Photography by Jared Cruce

BANDON: Once home to the Coquille tribe, Bandon was founded by a shipwrecked Irishman and gradually became an agricultural hub. Despite massive fires in 1914 and 1936, many historical wonders, such as the 1895 Coquille River Lighthouse remain.

DON'T MISS: 1895 Coquille River Lighthouse; Annual Cranberry Festival; the local boardwalk; historic downtown offering places like the Second Street Gallery for artistic desires and Bandon Fish Market to refuel while catching a seaside view; Bandon Histo

Photography by Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives

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We kick off our "High Five" series exploring Oregon towns with five destinations loaded with history and lore. These precious places offer rare glimpses of our state's vivid and varied history, from the Native Americans who first roamed the land to the Gold Rush of the 1850s to 1980s cults.
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