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On This Day in Oregon History

March 2, 2015 by Dave Leave a Comment

This Day in Portland and Oregon HistoryAt some point in 2010 I realized that with my Multnomah County library card I had access to The Oregonian Historical Archive, among other research databases and sites. That, plus an obsession with Oregon history, gave me the bright idea to write a “Day in History” post for every day in 2011.

Naturally, and innocently, I started on January 1st. Ends up writing the pieces was the easy part – for most posts I didn’t delve into the topic too deeply. But the project ended up to be much more of a time sink than I had anticipated. Some days it was easy to find a historical event to write about, other days it took me literally hours to find something. But thanks to my obsessive compulsive tendencies I completed the task, with my final post on December 31, 2011.

Nowadays I don’t have time for such an endeavor – what with twin toddlers and all – but at the beginning of each month this year I will be cataloging each month’s posts. Here’s what I have so far:

  • January
  • February
  • March

On This Day in Portland and Oregon History: February

February 1, 2012 by Dave Leave a Comment

This Day in Portland and Oregon HistoryAt some point in 2010 I realized that with my Multnomah County library card I had access to The Oregonian Historical Archive, among other research databases and sites. That realization gave me the bright idea to write a “Day in History” post for every day in 2011. I started innocently enough on January 1st. Ends up writing the pieces was the easy part – for most posts I didn’t delve into the topic too deeply. But the project ended up to be much more of a time sink than I had anticipated. Some days it was easy to find a historical event to write about, other days it took me literally hours to find something. But thanks to my obsessive compulsive tendencies I completed the task, with my final post on December 31, 2011.

Below is the list of the February historical events, assembled here in one place for your edification and amusement. (I’ve also assembled January’s list – look for a new list of events on the first of each month this year!)

February 1, 2010: Streetcar Tracks Laid on Portland’s Eastside
February 2, 1950: Temperature in Portland Drops to Minus Three
February 3, 1892: “Sharp Earthquake” Strikes Portland
February 4, 1999: The New Carissa Runs Aground
February 5, 1846: Oregon Gets its First Printed Newspaper
February 6, 1961: OPB First Airs
February 7, 1841: The First Champoeg Meeting
February 8, 1853: Oregon and Washington Territories Part Ways
February 9, 1996: Flood Waters Subside
February 10, 1996: OR&N 197 Removed from Oaks Park
February 11, 1990: Arlington Club Admits Women
February 12, 1927: Oregon, My Oregon Adopted State Song
February 13, 1913: Mimi Runs Aground on Nehalem Spit
February 14: Portland’s Union Station Opens its Doors
February 15, 1934: OLCC Opens First Liquor Stores
February 16, 1893: First Electric Interurban Connects Portland and Oregon City
February 17, 1913: Oregon Enacts First Minimum Wage Law
February 18, 1891: Port of Portland Established
February 19, 1903: St. Johns Incorporated as City
February 20, 1891: North Yamhill Incorporated
February 21, 1887: Oregon Passes Country’s First Labor Day Legislation
February 22, 1819: Adams-Onís Treaty Cedes Oregon to the United States
February 23, 1877: The Oregon Electoral College Controversy Resolved
February 24, 1967: Portland Built Car Ferry “Hiyu” Launches
February 25, 1919: Oregon Taxes Gasoline
February 26, 1925: Oregon Decides on a Flag
February 27, 1851: William Sargent Ladd Heads West
February 28, 1944: Portland Delivers First Victory Ship

On This Day in Portland and Oregon History: January

January 1, 2012 by Dave 1 Comment

This Day in Portland and Oregon HistorySometime in 2010 I realized that with my Multnomah County library card I had access to The Oregonian Historical Archive, among other research databases and sites. That realization gave me the bright idea to write a “Day in History” post for every day in 2011. I started innocently enough on January 1st. Ends up writing the pieces was the easy part – for most posts I didn’t delve into the topic too deeply. But the project ended up to be much more of a time sink than I had anticipated. Some days it was easy to find a historical event to write about, other days it took me literally hours to find something. But thanks to my obsessive compulsive tendencies I completed the task, with my final post on December 31, 2011.

Below is a list of the January historical events I found, assembled here in one place for your edification and amusement.

January 1, 1916: Oregon Goes Dry
January 2, 1895: Bull Run Water Comes to Portland
January 3, 1916: Robbery in Seattle Followed by Flight to Portland
January 4, 1905: Bend Becomes a City
January 5, 1846: No More Sharing Oregon With Britain
January 6, 1994: Tonya Harding’s Gang of Bumbling Criminals Attacks!
January 7, 1806: Sacagawea Scouts Locations for The Goonies
January 8, 1961: Memorial Coliseum Dedicated
January 9, 1950: Three Snow Storms
January 10, 1969: The Old Spaghetti Factory Opens
January 11, 1854: Behemoth Wasco County Created
January 12, 1920: Oregon Ratifies the 19th Amendment
January 13, 1855: Corvallis Controversially Christened Capital
January 14, 1969: TriMet is Born
January 15, 1888: Portland’s Deep Freeze
January 16, 1905: Second Morrison Bridge Opens to the Public
January 17, 1914: Ride the Red Electrics
January 18, 1854: She Flies With Her Own Wings
January 19, 1909: Oregon Republicans Elect Democrat to Senate
January 20, 1983: Poison Idea Records Debut Album
January 21, 2011: Portlandia Premieres
January 22, 1974: Nike Bags the Swoosh
January 23, 1975: Portland Awarded an NASL Franchise
January 24, 1917: Trolley Crosses Columbia on Rails for First Time
January 25, 2006: SP&S 700 Declared a Historic Place
January 26, 1700: The Great Cascadia Earthquake
January 27, 2007: Portland Aerial Tram Opens to the Public
January 28, 1944: Portland’s Final Liberty Ship Launches
January 29, 1904: H.D. Egbert Hanged For Double Murder
January 30, 1855: By Act of Congress, George Washington Bush Keeps his Land
January 31, 1960: Ten Oregonian and Oregon Journal News Trucks Dynamited

December 31, 1915: Prohibition Eve in Oregon

December 31, 2011 by Dave Leave a Comment

Morning Oregonian headline, 31 December 1915Three years before Prohibition took effect nationwide, the Oregon Legislative Assembly passed the Anderson Act, which prohibited the consumption and sale of alcohol in Oregon after December 31, 1915.

On the last day Oregonians could legally consume a beer, the Morning Oregonian employed the death penalty metaphor:

Here we are at the saloon’s last day on Oregon earth.

The gibbet is ready. The rope is rigged and tested. All the formalities of the execution are arranged.

Capital punishment has been taken off the shelf for the great occasion, and it will be a public hanging.

January 1, 1916 was a dark day in Oregon history.

Of course, prohibition was a failure – soon enterprising individuals -and organized crime- filled the void with illegal stills, rumrunning, and speakeasies.

Mercifully in 1933 the failed experiment was repealed on both the federal level and in Oregon.

In Oregon this did not, however, mark the end of government control of liquor – the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) was established that year, and continues operating today, to selectively regulate liquor production and sale throughout the state.

Cartoon on Morning Oregonian front page, 31 December 1915

December 30, 1950: Governor McKay Dedicates New Sauvie Island Bridge

December 30, 2011 by Dave Leave a Comment

Sauvie Island span dedication photos and headline in The Oregonian, 31 December 1950The Sauvie Island Bridge, the first physical link between the island and the mainland in the island’s history, was officially opened with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting at noon on Saturday, December 30, 1950 (The Sunday Oregonian, 31 December 1950).

Sauvies islanders Saturday dedicated the new bridge which has ended their 100-year isolation from the mainland.

Mrs. J. W. Frater, mother of Governor Douglas McKay and early day resident of the island, cut the ceremonial ribbon to open the bridge to traffic.

Governor McKay, who lived on the island as a boy, in a dedicatory speech called the $900,000 bridge one step in a giant building program which will be necessary to put Oregon’s highway network in the shape to meet the demands of the state’s increased population and industrial growth.

The bridge replaced a nearly 100 year old ferry service, which had its last run on Sunday, December 31, 1950. A new bridge replaced the original in 2008.

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