News - Page 25 of 30 - Oregon Travel Information Council

Deschutes River Crossing

Posted on: September 23rd, 2011 in Historical Marker Details |

Subject: Point where the Oregon Trail crossed the Hazardous Deschutes River.
The Oregon Trail crossed the hazardous Deschutes River at this point by floating the prairie schooners and swimming the livestock. An island at the river mouth was often utilized when the water was high and the ford dangerous. Pioneer women and children were frequently ferried across the stream by Native canoe men who made the passage in exchange for bright colored …

Beall Black Walnut

Posted on: September 23rd, 2011 in Heritage Tree Details |

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 Maria …

Barlow Road Tollgate Maples

Posted on: September 23rd, 2011 in Heritage Tree Details |

Acer macrophyllum
Two bigleaf maple trees stand on each side of a replica tollgate that marks the western-most and last tollgate to operate on the Barlow Road — the branch of the Oregon Trail that crossed the southern flank of Mt Hood. The original tollgate was in operation on this site from 1879 until 1915, and the tollgate maples are believed to have been planted in the 1880’s by Daniel Parker …

Baker/Russell Black Walnut

Posted on: September 23rd, 2011 in Heritage Tree Details |

Andrew J. Baker, who arrived in the Oregon Territory in 1843 as part of the Great Migration, planted the black walnut in 1870 next to his house, built in 1852. The house, which still stands at this site, was used as a stage coach stop in the late 1800s. The property was purchased in 1899 by William S. Russell and is still owned by Russell’s heirs.

Tree facts

Approx. height: 105′
Planted in: …

Aspen Arborglyph Trees

Posted on: September 23rd, 2011 in Heritage Tree Details |

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 etched into the bark to make notes about the sheep and leave drawings or as a means of letting one another know who had passed by each place.

Tree facts

Approx. height: 50′
Trees date …

10th Mountain Division Memorial Grove

Posted on: September 23rd, 2011 in Heritage Tree Details |

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 descendants and discharged members of the 10th Mountain Division.

Visit these trees

US26, milepost 54, eastbound, …

Indian Trails

Posted on: September 19th, 2011 in Historical Marker Details |

An ancient trail passed through here as part of an extensive Indian trade network linking peoples of the Northern Great Basin and Columbia Plateau to those living west of the Cascades. Obsidian, bear grass, and slaves were transported over these trails to major trading locations along the Columbia River in exchange for dried salmon, smelt, sturgeon and decorative sea shells. The long established route was later used by Peter Skene …

Homeland of the Cow Creeks

Posted on: September 19th, 2011 in Historical Marker Details |

Subject:History of the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians
This portion of the southwest Oregon is homeland to the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians. They thrived here for thousands of years before contact with Euro-Americans. Living in plank-house villages, they followed a seasonal round of resource use. Moving from summer camas meadows and salmon fisheries along the rivers to the high country, they picked huckleberries and hunted for deer in …

Homeland of the Burns Paiute

Posted on: September 19th, 2011 in Historical Marker Details |

Homeland of the Burns Paiute marker

This region is the homeland of the ‘Wadatika’ (wada seed eaters), a nomadic band of Northern Paiute Indians. Today, the descendants of these people are known as the Burns Paiute.
Armed conflicts between ranchers and the ‘Wadatika’, during the late 1800s, led President Ulysses S. Grant to create the 1.8 million-acre Malheur Reservation in 1872. Pressure from settlers opened portions of the reservation to grazing and …

Heppner Flood

Posted on: September 19th, 2011 in Historical Marker Details |

OREGON HISTORY – SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 1903
A flash flood swept down on Heppner, and caught residents unaware, killing hundreds and destroying nearly the entire town. A cloudburst hit in Balm Fork Canyon, south of Heppner. The rushing waters tore down the narrow canyon, picking up haystacks, chicken pens and livestock and piled it all up behind a steam laundry that straddled the canyon near the edge of town. This very …