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Heroes and rascals...
shipwrecks and lost gold ...

Welcome to Offbeat Oregon History, a public-history resource for the state we love. Here's what you'll find here:

A weekly newspaper column published in about a dozen Oregon community newspapers;
An archive of columns we've published since 2008, with pictures (arranged by date of first publication);
A daily podcast (7 to 12 minutes long) optimized for mobile-device listening via iTunes, Stitcher, or the podcatcher of your choice;
A weekly RSS feed optimized for smartphone newsreader apps like Pulse or Feedly;
An active Facebook page, Twitter feed, Pinterest boards.

Enjoy! And if you have any comments on stories, suggestions for column topics or other feedback — or if you're coming by the OSU campus and have time for a cup of coffee with a fellow history dork — drop me a note at fj-@-offbeatoregon-dot-com any time!

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— 1966, LANE COUNTY — COLUMN N° 529 — JANUARY 6, 2019 —

Filming of “worst Western” was an unforgettable spectacle

— 1900, CROOK COUNTY — COLUMN N° 530 — JANUARY 13, 2019 —

Sheepman’s disappearance may be Oregon’s oldest cold case

— 1852, LINN COUNTY — COLUMN N° 531 — JANUARY 20, 2019 —

“Uncle Joab” Powell was West’s most famous pioneer preacher

— 1859, MARION COUNTY — COLUMN N° 532 — JANUARY 27, 2019 —

Plain-talking “Uncle Joab” too blunt for Legislature’s comfort

— 1874, MULTNOMAH COUNTY — COLUMN N° 533 — FEBRUARY 3, 2019 —

Portland’s “Temperance War of 1874”: The backstory

— 1874, MULTNOMAH COUNTY — COLUMN N° 534 — FEBRUARY 10, 2019 —

Stubborn saloonkeeper wouldn't play nice with crusading ladies

— 1874, MULTNOMAH COUNTY — COLUMN N° 535 — FEBRUARY 17, 2019 —

Riot at saloon led to charges … but not against the rioters

— 1874, MULTNOMAH COUNTY — COLUMN N° 536 — FEBRUARY 23, 2019 —

“Temperance Crusade” failed when leaders got too preachy

— 1920s, TILLAMOOK COUNTY — COLUMN N° 537 — MARCH 3, 2019 —

Old-time country doctors led colorful and interesting lives

— 1892, CLATSOP COUNTY — COLUMN N° 538 — MARCH 10, 2019 —

Shyster lawyer planned to steal man’s land by shanghaiing him

— 1886, CLATSOP COUNTY — COLUMN N° 539 — MARCH 17, 2019 —

Letter from afar gave man's family a view to a shanghaiing

— 1916, UMATILLA COUNTY — COLUMN N° 540 — MARCH 25, 2019 —

Umatilla mayor’s wife had an ‘election-day surprise’ for him

— 1886, MULTNOMAH COUNTY — COLUMN N° 541 — MARCH 25, 2019 —

“Prepaid shanghaiing” plot went off the rails — fatally

— 1920s, TILLAMOOK COUNTY — COLUMN N° 542 — APRIL 7, 2019 —

Skunk’s “beautiful pelt” woulda been best admired from afar

— 1930s, TILLAMOOK COUNTY — COLUMN N° 543 — APRIL 14, 2019 —

Old-time loggers, millworkers were tough, stoic characters

— 1924, DESCHUTES COUNTY — COLUMN N° 544 — APRIL 21, 2019 —

Trappers’ disappearance had relative suspecting foul play

— 1924, DESCHUTES COUNTY — COLUMN N° 545 — APRIL 28, 2019 —

Lava Lake murders are still officially unsolved, but …

— 1898, OFF LINCOLN COUNTY — COLUMN N° 546 — MAY 5, 2019 —

Ship captain doubled down on ill-considered wager … and lost

— 1883, COOS COUNTY — COLUMN N° 547 — MAY 12, 2019 —

Life station keeper’s cowardice cost 11 sailors their lives

— 1912, WASHINGTON COUNTY — COLUMN N° 548 — MAY 19, 2019 —

“Diamond Bill” Barrett was “The Heiress Whisperer”

— 1920s, MULTNOMAH COUNTY — COLUMN N° 549 — MAY 26, 2019 —

Portland’s “Shanghai Tunnels”: Mostly myth, but not entirely

— 1903, MULTNOMAH COUNTY — COLUMN N° 550 — JUNE 2, 2019 —

Billy Smith: World champion by day, shanghaier by night

— 1904, MULTNOMAH COUNTY — COLUMN N° 551 — JUNE 9, 2019 —

Oregon tried to regulate crimps with monopoly for worst one

— 1907, MULTNOMAH COUNTY — COLUMN N° 552 — JUNE 16, 2019 —

Bungling attempt by old crimps marked end of shanghaiing era

— 1897, MARION COUNTY — COLUMN N° 553 — JUNE 23, 2019 —

“Hold-Up Session” of 1896-97 featured a giant house party

— 1860s, MARION COUNTY — COLUMN N° 554 — JUNE 30, 2019 —

Surge of confederate refugees made big changes in Oregon

— 1910, MULTNOMAH COUNTY — COLUMN N° 555 — JULY 7, 2019 —

How a banana peel changed the course of Oregon history

— 1450, HOOD RIVER COUNTY — COLUMN N° 556 — JULY 14, 2019 —

Was the Bridge of the Gods a real thing? Almost certainly

— 1925, TILLAMOOK COUNTY — COLUMN N° 557 — JULY 21, 2019 —

“Lobster trap for bootleggers” was a huge but costly success

— 1861, GRANT COUNTY — COLUMN N° 558 — JULY 28, 2019 —

Chasing a rumor, prospectors turned backs on a fortune twice

— 1871, DESCHUTES COUNTY — COLUMN N° 559 — AUGUST 4, 2019 —

Mining law a response to plot to seize gold mines with troops

— 1930s, JACKSON COUNTY — COLUMN N° 560 — AUGUST 11, 2019 —

Oregon’s “Miner 29ers” beat Depression with a gold pan

— 1860, DESCHUTES COUNTY — COLUMN N° 561 — AUGUST 18, 2019 —

Eugene’s first university died when president started gunfight

— 1968, CLATSOP COUNTY — COLUMN N° 562 — AUGUST 25, 2019 —

Haystack Rock was once a target for daredevil climbers

— 1910s, TILLAMOOK COUNTY — COLUMN N° 563 — SEPTEMBER 1, 2019 —

Cape Kiwanda dory fleet launches into teeth of breakers

— 1890s, MALHEUR COUNTY — COLUMN N° 564 — SEPTEMBER 8, 2019 —

Horse racing, and race fixing, used to be wildly popular

— 1854, MARION COUNTY — COLUMN N° 565 — SEPTEMBER 15, 2019 —

Oregon’s literary legacy built on a “True Confession” novel

— 1854, MARION COUNTY — COLUMN N° 566 — SEPTEMBER 22, 2019 —

West Coast’s first published novel a torrid page-turner

— 1882, MULTNOMAH COUNTY — COLUMN N° 567 — SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 —

Carrie Bradley was the Brigid O’Shaughnessy of old Portland

— 1882, MULTNOMAH COUNTY — COLUMN N° 568 — OCTOBER 6, 2019 —

Brothel madam’s sidekicks were bad at corpse disposal

— 1942, MULTNOMAH COUNTY — COLUMN N° 569 — OCTOBER 13, 2019 —

Battleship U.S.S. Oregon lost in Pearl Harbor attack — sort of

— 1850s, STATEWIDE — COLUMN N° 570 — OCTOBER 20, 2019 —

Law in frontier Oregon was rough, but not always ready

— 1854, MARION COUNTY — COLUMN N° 571 — OCTOBER 27, 2019 —

Oregon’s first murder convict saved from gallows by his wife

— 1841, CLATSOP COUNTY — COLUMN N° 572 — NOVEMBER 3, 2019 —

Skill and a stout ship kept U.S.S. Peacock shipwreck fatality-free

— MULTNOMAH COUNTY — COLUMN N° 572 — NOVEMBER 10, 2019 —

Frontier-era mayors were a surprisingly dramatic bunch

— CLACKAMAS COUNTY — COLUMN N° 574 — NOVEMBER 17, 2019 —

In 1800s Portland, at least one mayor paid to play

This column will go live on January 24, 2020.

— CLACKAMAS COUNTY — COLUMN N° 575 — NOVEMBER 24, 2019 —

Mayors Lee, Schrunk set tone for Portland’s mid-century modern era

This column will go live on January 31, 2020.

— CLACKAMAS COUNTY — COLUMN N° 576 — DECEMBER 1, 2019 —

How Abe Tichner hustled the rubes at 1870s county fairs

This column will go live on February 7, 2020.

— 1852, BENTON COUNTY — COLUMN N° 577 — DECEMBER 8, 2019 —

Neighbor’s theft of widow and orphans’ home was too much for jury

This column will go live on February 14, 2020.

— 1858, MARION COUNTY — COLUMN N° 578 — DECEMBER 15, 2019 —

Asahel Bush crossed swords with Oregon’s first woman doctor, and lost

This column will go live on February 21, 2020.

— 1810s, CLATSOP COUNTY — COLUMN N° 579 — DEC. 22, 2019 —

Astoria, San Francisco were once the Detroit of the marine-engine industry

This column will go live on February 28, 2020.

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