OTE - Oregon Travel Experience

Juglans nigra

This black walnut was planted c. 1884 by the Zimmerman family who were prominent members of the Aurora Colony. Early Aurora settlers were talented and industrious. Their products gained a wide reputation for excellence during the early days of Willamette Valley settlement. As a carpenter, Christian Zimmerman helped build the village and likely planted the tree and others like it for the valuable hardwood.

Tree Facts

Height: 70 ft

Date of dedication: …

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Populus tremuloides

The carvings on the trees in this aspen grove are called “arborglyphs.” Most of the arborglyphs here were carved by Basque sheepherders who worked the top of the Steens Mountain in the early-to-middle 20th century. These historic carvings were lightly carved into the bark to make notes about the sheep, leave drawings, or as a means of letting one another know who had passed by each place.

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Mixed species grove

This grove of mixed trees species was started as a memorial for Oregon members of the 10th Mountain Division who fought in Italy during WWII. They were the only US Army Division trained in mountain warfare and were trained to fight on skis. In 1996 the first tree in this memorial grove was planted. The grove is maintained by decedents and discharged members of the 10th Mountain Division.

Location: …

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Juglans nigra

In 1863, on this site, Robert Vinton Beall, an Oregon Trail pioneer and relative to four Maryland governors, built one of the first frame buildings in Jackson County, a Gothic Revival house that is listed on the National Historic Register. Beall and his brother Thomas were eventually to become Jackson County’s most prosperous farmers. In 1864, Robert Beall planted this Illinois black walnut to commemorate his marriage to Ann …

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Sequoiadendron giganteum

These trees were planted by homesteader John R. Porter (1827-1886) in 1880. The 3-year-old seedlings were brought from California and planted to enhance the entrance to the 1873 courthouse.

Tree Facts

Approx. height: 150ft

Age at dedication: 120 years

Date of dedication: April 11, 1997

Learn More: Visit Oregon Encyclopedia

Audio Tour:

Location: Washington County Courthouse, 1st Ave & Main Street, Hillsboro

Sequoia giganteum

On March 22, 1862, the day of his son Emil’s birth, Peter Britt planted this giant sequoia by his home. Britt was a pioneer photographer, skilled horticulturalist, and leader in Southern Oregon’s lucrative fruit industry. From its vantage point, this majestic tree has witnessed the unfolding of Jacksonville’s rich history — the gold rush prosperity of the mid 1800s, the decline at the turn of the century and the …

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Abies grandis: Grand fir

The giant grand fir along this trail is the centerpiece of several trees already large in 1939 when Northrup Creek Forest Grassland was dedicated by Governor Charles Sprague. Sprague also initiated the Forest Acquisition Act encouraging counties to deed foreclosed lands to the State Board of Forestry to build a sustained revenue stream for the counties. Through efforts by Judge Guy Boyington, Clatsop County became the first …

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Picea sitchensis

This Sitka spruce, spared by early loggers, stood over Water Street in the township of West Yaquina, now a ghost town. The community was platted in the 1800s after the Oregon Pacific Railroad terminated across the bay in Yaquina City. With a railroad and seaport, Yaquina Bay competed with Portland for San Francisco’s shipping commerce. This tree witnessed the boom and bust of Oregon’s early shipping industry.

Tree Facts

Height: 158′

Circumference: …

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