Oregon
Oregon names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Oregon a state of the American Union
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a state of the American Union. It is situated on the Pacific coast between the states of Washington and California. The Columbia River forms the greater part of the northern boundary. The southern boundary is the parallel of 42 deg. N. The state borders also with Idaho on the east and with Nevada on the south. The general shape is rectangular. The area is 94,560 square miles, fresh water included. TOPOGRAPHY. The surface is both level and mountainous. The Coast Range follows along the coast from ten to thirty miles inland. It is about 4,000 feet high and is clothed with dense forests to its very summit. The Cascade Mountains , an extension of the Sierra Nevada, run parallel to the Coast Range about 150 miles inland. The highest peaks are Mount Hood, having an altitude of 11,500 feet; McLaughlin, 11,000 feet; and Jefferson, 10,500. The summit of this range is covered with perpetual snow. Forests extend upward to the snow line. A third, shorter range. having the same general direction, occupies the northeastern part of the state. A series of rivers, as the Willamette, the Des Chutes, John Day, and the Umatilla drain the northern half of the state into the Columbia. The western shore of the Coast Range is drained by short mountain torrents. The southwest portion, including the region of Klamath Lake, is drained by streams that force their way through the Coast Range to the Pacific. A considerable district in the south central portion is covered chiefly with sage brush. It lies in the great American interior drainage region. The southeastern region is drained into the Snake River , on the eastern boundary. MINERALS. The mountains are known to contain silver, zinc, mercury, platinum, lead, antimony, iron, copper, nickel, lignite, coal, and cinnabar; but gold is as yet the only mineral product of importance. The state is well supplied with granite, sandstone, and limestone building material. There are pits of excellent clay suitable for brick and tiling. CLIMATE. Owing to the influence of the Japan Current, which here flows southward along the coast, the winters of Oregon are mild. The mean coast temperature for January is about 42 deg. The summers are cool. July, the hottest month, has a coast temperature of about 62 deg. Extremes of heat and cold are rare. The central temperature rarely reaches zero. The rainfall in different portions of the state varies greatly. A fall of 85 or 90 inches may be expected on the coast; 50 inches in the Willamette Valley; 13 inches in the northeastern portion of the state, and about 6 inches in the south central or sagebrush region. FORESTS. The crest of the Cascade range is the natural eastern boundary of the timber region. West of this line evergreen forests predominate. The trees are chiefly pine, fir, cedar, spruce, tamarack, juniper, and yew. Species of alder, maple, ash, oak, willow, birch, poplar, and cherry are also found. The tree most valuable for lumber is the Oregon fir. It is estimated that there are 200,000,000,000 feet yet standing in the state. It is said that there is more standing timber in Oregon than in any other state. The annual cut varies,--776,000,000 feet were reported for 1900; 987,000,000 feet for 1905. The general government has established a forest reserve of 4,500,000 acres. AGRICULTURE. The next industry of importance is agriculture. The principal farming regions are found along the Columbia and its tributaries, and in the valleys between the Cascade and the Coast ranges. In general, the soil is of volcanic origin. It is universally fertile. Even the sagebrush region needs only water to make it exceedingly productive. Named in order of bulk, the principal farm crops are wheat, oats, hay, corn, potatoes, and barley. The ordinary farm and garden vegetables are raised with ease. Sweet potatoes and watermelons do well. The soil of the state is well adapted to the production of sugar beets. Hop raising is an important industry. The state, especially the region between the two ranges, is noted for fruit. The production of apples, plums, pears, peaches, cherries, and apricots reaches about 7,000,000 bushels a year. Small fruits yield abundantly. A number of irrigation systems have been started. The water thus obtained is used chiefly for orchards and alfalfa meadows. An enormous yield of alfalfa may be obtained in this way. Dairying has become an important industry in the cultivated portions of the state. There are extensive cattle ranges east of the Cascades. In 1905 Oregon claimed second place in the production of wool, with a clip of 22,000,000 pounds. COMMERCE AND TRADE. Portland is situated on the Willamette twelve miles above its junction with the Columbia, and is at the head of deep sea navigation. It is also the eastern terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad. A southern railway system runs southward up the Willamette Valley in the direction of San Francisco . Valuable waterpower exists at The Dalles, Cascades, and Oregon City. The canning of Columbia salmon is an important industry. Lumber and lumber products are manufactured at numerous points. Car building, woolen manufactures, meat packing, and publishing give employment to many persons. There are in all sixteen shipbuilding plants. The wheat of the state is milled chiefly at home and exported in the form of flour. HISTORICAL. Oregon is a portion of the region claimed by the United States by virtue of the discovery of the Columbia River in 1791 and the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1805-6. In 1811 a trading station was established in Astoria, near the mouth of the Columbia, by the American Fur Company of which John Jacob Astor was the leading spirit. Immigration began to enter the state in the thirties. Marcus Whitman led a colony of Presbyterians overland in 1836. The territory of Oregon was organized in 1849. The territory of Washington was organized in 1853. Oregon was admitted to the Union in 1859. In 1900 women were authorized to vote at all elections. In 1908 the referendum was adopted. The capital is Salem on the Willamette. Oregon has had its share of difficulty with the Indians, especially with the Shoshones and the Modocs. EDUCATION, ETC. The state has received not far from 5,000,000 acres of land from the general government for educational purposes. A system of common schools reaches all parts of the state. The larger towns maintain high schools. There are a large number of denominational colleges and schools. In point of membership, the leading denominations are the Roman Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, Congregational, Episcopal, and United Brethren. A state university was opened in 1876 at Eugene. There is a state agricultural college at Corvallis. The population in 1900 was reported at 413,536, including 10,397 Chinese and 4,951 Indians. The latter live chiefly on reservations, or along the rivers, where they depend on game and fish for their support. A training school is maintained for their benefit at Chemawa. In 1905 the state census showed a population of 464,538. The estimated population in 1909 was 600,000. STATISTICS. The following statistics are the latest to be had from trustworthy sources: Land area, square miles 94,560 Water area 1,470 Population (1908) 600,000 Portland (1909) 119,607 Astoria (1906) 9,701 Number counties 33 Members of state senate 30 Representatives 60 Salary of governor $5,000 U. S. representatives 2 Presidential electors 4 Assessed valuation of property $320,000,000 Bonded indebtedness none State revenue $5,000,000 Irrigated land, acres 500,000 U. S. forest reserves, acres 6,072,000 Agricultural Products-- Corn, bushels 445,000 Wheat, bushels 15,000,000 Oats, bushels 9,500,000 Rye, bushels 162,000 Barley, bushels 1,798,000 Potatoes, bushels 4,250,000 Hay, tons 828,000 Wool, pounds 16,500,000 Beet sugar, pounds 3,190,000 Dairy produce $1,700,000 Domestic Animals-- Horses 285,000 Milk cows 158,000 Other cattle 758,000 Sheep 2,661,000 Swine 279,000 Manufacturing establishments 1,602 Capital invested $44,000,000 Operatives 18,523 Raw material $30,596,000 Output of manufactures $55,525,000 Flour output, barrels 1,740,000 Lumber output, feet 1,604,000,000 Salmon, pounds 25,000,000 Silver output $63,000 Gold output $1,222,000 Tons of coal mined 71,000 Miles of railway 2,500 Teachers in public schools 4,243 Pupils enrolled 160,042 Average monthly salary of men teachers $65.64 Average salary of women teachers $50.16 See Columbia ; Salmon ; Lewis And Clark; Portland , etc.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a State in the Pacific Division of the North American Union; bounded by Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California, and the Pacific Ocean; admitted to the Union, Feb. 14, 1859; capital, Salem; counties, 36; area, 96,699 square miles; pop. (1890) 313,767; (1900) 413,536; (1910) 672,765; (1920) 783,389. Topography. The surface of the State is mountainous, three ranges dividing it from N. to S.; the Coast Range from 10 to 30 miles from the ocean; the Cascade Mountains, from 110 to 150 miles inland; and the Blue Mountains in the E. The Coast Range has an extreme altitude of 4,000 feet, and is covered with dense forests. The Cascade Mountains, a continuation of the Sierra Nevadas, have an extreme height of 7,000 feet, with several peaks rising 2,000 to 5,000 feet higher. Mount Hood reaches an altitude of 11,500 feet, McLoughlin, 11,- 000 feet; and Jefferson, 10,500 feet. The Cascades are heavily timbered to the snow line. Four transverse ranges connect the Coast Range with the Cascades; the Calpooia, Umpqua, Rouge River and Siskiyou Mountains. The Willamette river valley, lying between the Coast Range and Cascade Mountains, and the Columbia river and California spur, is 150 miles long, from 30 to 70 miles wide, and is extremely fertile. Eastern Oregon, embracing two-thirds of the State, is a high table-land, with little rainproduction 4,230,000 bushels, value $6,fall, and sparsely populated. There are 345,000. fertile valleys along the rivers and lakes in the S., and in the Blue Mountains. 2,320 manufacturing establishments, em- The rivers flowing into the ocean are the Roque, Coquille, Umpqua, Sinslaw, Alsace, Yaquina, Nestuca, and Nehalem; those emptying into the Columbia, Lewis value of the materials used was $63,and Clark, Clatskaine, Youngs, Sandy, Willamette, Des Chutes, Hood, Umatilla, and John Day; and those feeding the Snake river, the Owybee, Malbeur, Burnt, Powder, and Grande Ronde. The principal lakes are, Klamath, Goose, manufacturing Warner, Salt, Christmas, Albery, Summer, Silver, Henry, and Malheur. Crater Lake in the Cascades, 8,000 feet above sea-level, is the crater of an extinct flouring mills, lumber and timber, printvolcano, 10 miles in circumference, and surrounded by bluffs 2,000 feet high. It is the deepest body of fresh water in ture of woolen goods. America. The coast line of Oregon is very abrupt and rocky and but little indented, the mouth of the Columbia river being the best harbor. There are other harbors at Port Orchard, Roque river, Coos Bay, Tillamook Bay, and Yaquina Bay. Geology. The The geolog geological structure of the State is quite varied. The Coast Range and Blue Mountains are of Eozoic formation; the Cascade ranges and the E. part of the State, of volcanic, with its preceding year of $11,686,829. ridges and hills of obsidian; and the Pacific Coast, Willamette valley, and part of the Umpqua valley, are of Ter- 1918 was 207,158, tiary formation. The Cretaceous fossil of 106,546. The deposits are found in the upper valleys ance was 111,832. of Des Chutes, Crooked and John Day elementary schools rivers, and the Grande Ronde valley. total expenditures The Glacial, Champlain, and Terrace is about $ 10,000,000 periods are well represented. In 1919 the principal mineral productions included gold, silver and coal. The gold production was valued at $1,071,000. The building stones are granite, sand- Park. stone, and limestone. Soil and Agriculture. The soil is of volcanic origin, with alluvial deposits in fertile. In the valleys, eys, and is extremely fertile. the central and S. E. portions of the State the rainfall is very light and the United Brethren farming depends largely upon irrigation. Grapes, prunes and other fruits thrive abundantly, and the wool growing in dustry is very large. The acreage, production and value of the principal crops in 1919 were as follows: corn, 71,000 acres, production 1,860,000 bushels, value $2,883,000; oats, 347,000 acres, producwas $990,435,472. tion 11,104,000 bushels, value $10,216,- 000; barley, 82,000 acres, production 1,886,000 bushels, value $2,829,000; wheat, 1,126,000 acres, production 20,- 495,000 bushels, value $43,449,000; hay, 854,000 acres, production 1,452,000 tons, and California. value $27,733,000; potatoes, 45,000 acres, Manufactures. There were in 1914 ploying 28,829 wage earners. The capital invested amounted to $139,500,000, and the wages paid to $20,921,000. The 258,000, and the value of the finished production was $109,762,000. The natural advantages of the State are extensive, furnishing material for its various enterprises, and its streams furnish abundant power at the Dalles, the Cascades, and Oregon City, The principal ncipal indu industries include railroad cars and shop construction, fish canning, ing and publishing, shipbuilding, slaughtering, meat packing, and the manufac- Banking. On Oct. 31, 1919, there were reported 87 National banks in operation, having $10,661,000 capital, $6,371,- 000 in outstanding circulation, and $25,- 793,000 in United States bonds. There were also 171 State banks, with $8,155,- 000 capital, and $2,980,000 surplus. The exchanges at the United States Clearing House at Seattle, during the year ending Sept. 30, 1919, amounted to $2,013,- 736,000, an increase over those of the Education. The school population in with a total enrollment average daily attend- There were in the 5,913 teachers. The for public education annually. The colleges include the University of Oregon, at Eugene; Pacific University at Forest Grove; Willamette University, at Salem; and Portland University at University Churches. The strongest denominations in the State are the Roman Catholic; Methodist Episcopal; Regular Baptist; Disciples of Christ; Presbyterian; Congregational; Methodist Episcopal, South; Protestant Episcopal; and Finances. The receipts for the fiscal year 1919 was $17,784,693; and the disbursements $17,604,604. The balance on Jan. 1, 1919 was $3,128,790, and on Dec. 31, 1919, $3,308,879. The State indebtedness amounted to $10,665,750. The assessed value of taxable property Railways. The total length of main line track in 1919 was 2,937 miles. The roads having the longest mileage were the Oregon and Washington Railroad and Navigation Company, and the Oregon State Government. The governor is elected for a term of four years. Legislative sessions are held biennially, and are limited to 40 days each. The Legislature has 30 members in the Senate, and 60 in the House. There are 3 Representatives in Congress. History. The name Oregon was long applied to all the territory claimed by the United States on the Pacific coast, extending from lat. 42° to 54° 40′ N. By the treaty of 1846, a boundary line was fixed between Great Britain and the United States at lat. 49°. The discovery of the Columbia river, in 1792, was succeeded by an exploration under Captains Lewis and Clark, 1804-1805. In 1808 the Missouri Fur Company established trading-posts in the country; and, in 1811, the American Fur Company founded a settlement at the mouth of the Columbia, and named it Astoria. In 1839, the emigration of Americans commenced overland by way of the South Pass, and the territory continued to receive settlers yearly till 1848, when the California "gold-fever" quota of her citizens away. In 1850, however, the land-donation law, passed by Congress, had the effect of registering 8,000 citizens in Oregon, which was formally organized Territory, as a Aug. 14, 1848. On March 2, 1853, Washington Territory was formed out of the N. half of Oregon; Nov. 5, 1857, a 5,188 State constitution was adopted; and Feb. 14, 1859, the State was admitted into the Union by Act of Congress under the constitution previously ratified. From 1845 till 1855, a desultory warfare was kept up with the Indian aborigines, and a resumption of the same occurred in 1858, and again in 1872-1873. OREGON AGRICULTURAL COL- LEGE. An institution supported by the state, situated at Corvallis, Ore. It was founded in 1885 and now includes fifteen large buildings and has an enrollment in all courses of 4,158. Instruction is given in forestry, agriculture, engineering, mining, commerce, and home economics. Like other western state universities its income is largely derived from the proceeds of the sale of lands ceded to it by the State. This source of income plus the State appropriation yields about $800,000 annually. The college possesses a library of about 30,000 volumes.
Oregon UNIVERSITY OF, a coeducational non-sectarian institution in Eugene
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
UNIVERSITY OF, a coeducational non-sectarian institution in Eugene, Ore.; founded in 1872; reported at the close of 1919: Professors and instructors, 118; students, 1,960; president, P. L. Campbell.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Aiton's 1910 account describes a state of standing timber and salmon canneries, with gold "as yet the only mineral product of importance" — Oregon then held about 673,000 people, against roughly 4.2 million today, more than half of them in the Portland metropolitan area. The Columbia has since been dammed at Bonneville (1937) and above, ending the great commercial salmon runs the canneries lived on, and federal logging on the scale described collapsed after the northern spotted owl was listed as threatened in 1990; the state's largest private employers are now firms such as Intel and Nike. The mountain heights have also been corrected downward: Mount Hood is 11,239 feet rather than 11,500, Jefferson 10,497, and Mount McLoughlin only about 9,495 feet, not the 11,000 given here. The topography, rainfall contrast between wet coast and dry sagebrush interior, and the orchard and hop country of the Willamette Valley would all still be recognisable to the writer.
Written for this edition, 2026.