OTE - Oregon Travel Experience

Many Oregonians may not realize that we owe a great deal of our driving pleasure to Lady Bird Johnson. The story behind the 1965 Highway Beautification Act (HBA) and its connection to our scenic roadways and the nation’s former First Lady bears retelling.

Untangling obstructed views

In her role as First Lady during the tenure of her husband President Lyndon B. Johnson, Lady Bird Johnson’s tireless support for the HBA was one …

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Crossing the state to maintain history

Oregon Travel Experience is the state’s official administrator of the Oregon Historical Marker Program. Oregon’s historical markers tout a history all their own—many of the famous Port Orford cedar “Beaver Boards” were built by the Oregon Department of Transportation in the 1940s, 50s and 60s.
OTE adopted the program in 1991 and works with a team of dedicated volunteers in preserving the signs for future generations. The …

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Do any of you recall the Heritage Tree dedication at the Shipley-Cook Farm? Well the farm (also an Oregon Century Farm) recently hosted Restore Oregon’s annual historic barn workshop at the 1862 Shipley-Cook Barn—one of only 18 remaining Pioneer-era barns still standing in the Willamette Valley. The event featured speakers, a tour of restored barns, hands-on training, and sessions on barn construction and rehabilitation.
Check out Clackamas County’s video below, and …

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And what exactly you might ask, is a “TOD?” In the highway sign industry, TOD is an acronym for Tourist Oriented Directional—a secondary roadway sign directing travelers to attractions such as wineries or other businesses of interest to leisure travelers. TODs often direct traffic to businesses within a cluster—breweries or cheese tasting rooms, farm restaurants and art galleries—all within a short distance of one another. The business name, number of …

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On August 6, 2015, a new Oregon historical marker was dedicated by the community of Pendleton and Oregon Travel Experience. The marker’s installation and historic text revision was sponsored by the 2015 Leadership Pendleton Class. A brief ceremony took place in front of the new marker on the eastern end of Pendleton, along Highway 30.
OTE’s Annie von Domitz and Oregon Historical Marker Committee member George Forbes attended the dedication and …

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Oregon Heritage Tree summer gallery

At their 2015 summer meeting, the Oregon Heritage Tree Committee met at the farm of the late Peter McDonald. McDonald was a former long-time tree committee member. His century-old hazelnut farm was the perfect meeting spot for heritage tree lovers. Jill McDonald (McDonald’s wife) invited the committee to meet on the veranda that overlooks the Willamette River from the old farm house.
Committee members were ushered around …

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