That Oregon Life · Stories & discoveries
History
Explore History stories, features, and local discoveries from That Oregon Life.
More History stories
Keep exploring
History
Oregon’s Drowned Towns Were Abandoned, Flooded, Razed, But Not Forgotten
Most Oregonians and tourists have driven right past them without a second thought. You've fished and boated there. Swam and picniced nearby. Beneath the deep blue water of some of Oregon's most familiar reservoirs lie hidden…
Six Of Oregon’s Greatest Unsolved Mysteries Are Of Lost Gold, Buried Riches, and Shipwreck Treasure
There’s something about Oregon that feels like it was designed for a treasure hunt. Maybe it’s the fog curling through the Coast Range. Maybe it’s the abandoned mining roads disappearing beneath sword ferns, the black-sand beaches,…
A Forgotten Newspaper Clipping Reveals Oregon’s Wildfire Debate Was Already Raging More Than 120 Years Ago
Smoke had drifted into Lane County again, turning the sky a sickly-yellow and the surrounding hills into indistinct hazy blue, when I found myself remembering an old newspaper clipping I’d saved during some research into western…
Oregon’s Timber Crisis Is Real And So Is the Threat to Its Ancient Forests
Part two of two. Read Part One here. At the bottom of Crabtree Valley, the argument seems impossibly far away. Crabtree Lake lies dark beneath the trees. Water gathers along fallen logs. Moss hangs from branches…
A New Oregon Trail Is Transforming a Historic Railroad Corridor Into an 82-Mile Path
Ten years ago, That Oregon Life introduced readers to the Salmonberry corridor, a place that seemed to exist somewhere between Oregon history and an outdoor legend. Back in 2016, the old railroad through the Coast Range…
Paul Bunyan Still Welcomes Coast-Bound Travelers To This Legendary Oregon Roadside Pizza Stop
For a lot of Oregonians, the drive to the coast has never just been about the destination. It's about the traditions. It's the excitement of packing up the car before sunrise. The smell of Douglas fir…
This Historic Sunset Highway Restaurant Has Been Feeding Oregon Coast Travelers Since 1939
There are certain places in Oregon that become part of your family's story. Not because they're famous. Not because they're trendy. But because they were simply there, year after year, waiting for you on the journey.…