Offbeat Oregon History podcast
Latest Episodes
Autobiography of an Oregon Trail pioneer (Part 3 of 3)
In 1847, while a lad of 15, Mr. Brown crossed the great prairies and mountains of the Oregon Trail in a wagon train with his father, grandfather, and sundry other relatives. ...
‘Automo-bubble’ a part of Deschutes railroad war
SOMETIME IN THE late spring of 1909, at the Oregon Railway and Navigation Companys ticket booth in Portland, a 19-year-old man named Jim Morrell laid down his last $2 for a ticket on the Bailey Gatze
Shipwreck of Brother Jonathan is ground zero in treasure squabble
Sidewheel steamers sinking was a major maritime disaster for Oregon; treasure hunters found the gold-laden wreck in 1993...
SPADs, Sopwith Camels made with Oregon spruce
The famous First World War aircraft were made of spruce, and ...
Fossil hunters' ‘Bone Wars’ came to Oregon, but just barely
It's probably just as well that no actual dinosaur bones were found here...
Autobiography of an Oregon Trail pioneer (Part 2 of 3)
In 1847, while a lad of 15, Mr. Brown crossed the great prairies and mountains of the Oregon Trail in a wagon train with his father, grandfather, and sundry other relatives....
State government was ‘decapitated’ by crash
When it came out just after the war, the Beechcraft Bonanza was the hottest private plane in the sky a sleek, speedy, fuel-efficient hot rod. But...
“Wonder Dog’s” 2,500-mile odyssey put Silverton on the map
Lost in Illinois, the affable collie crossed the Rocky Mountains on foot in the dead of winter
Gun-toting ‘Wildcat’ was nation’s first ‘shock jock’
Robert Gordon Duncan was the first radio broadcaster ever to be sent to prison for cursing on the air. For the first six months of 1930, the entire city was riveted to his radio show,...
Portland ‘jitney wars’ were monopoly vs. small-biz
Regular motorists would swing by streetcar stops and offer to take passengers faster and in greater comfort for the same nickel. But...