Skip to main content

What is the oldest city in Oregon?



When learning about the history and culture of Oregon, there’s one area that continues to come up in the conversation. Located in northwestern Clatsop County, the oldest city in Oregon has likely been featured in more famous movies than any other city in the state. This small city is also not far from the oldest golf course in Oregon and west of the Mississippi; interestingly, this city is also the oldest settlement west of the Rocky Mountains too. Have you guessed it yet?

The oldest city in Oregon is none other than Astoria, located near the mouth of the Columbia River with close ties to the historical Lewis & Clark Trail, it was first settled by fur trappers in 1811. Although incorporated later in 1856, it was first settled by John Jacob Astor and his American Fur Company which built Fort Astoria. This important fort and the deepwater Port of Astoria were integral to making this area a hub for settlers for many decades to come.

Astoria is also only 15 miles from Gearhart Golf Links, which is the oldest golf course in Oregon and west of the Mississippi, founded in 1892.

Astoria is also known for having famous movies filmed in the area such as “Kindergarten Cop,” “Short Circuit,” “Goonies,” and “Black Beauty.”

Looking at the population census, Astoria has the same population now as it did in 1930, with just over 10k residents. The biggest it ever got was in the 1920s with over 14k residents. In 1860 it had a population of only 252 residents.

Astoria was mainly the fur trading center of the American Northwest until it started growing with settlers from the Oregon Trail in the 1840s and immigrants in the late 1800s, including Nordic, Swedes, Finns, and Chinese. It became a large fishing, canning, brewing, and logging hub as it grew into the 1900s. Now, Astoria is more of a tourist destination with a flourishing art scene, the restored 1920s Liberty Theater, the Astoria Riverfront Trolly (the featured picture), the Astoria Column, museums, microbreweries, an important fishing and travel port, and a rich history for travelers to enjoy.


Originally published at NewsBreak

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

6 Tips for Setting Up Community Gardens in HOA Neighborhoods

In the modern digital age we're living in, setting up a community garden may be exactly what HOA neighborhoods need to get their members off their digital devices and back to nature a bit. Community gardens promote positive relationships within neighborhoods , provide healthy activities for people of all ages, and if done well produce a good amount of healthy food. In an effort to help planners get their thoughts aligned, here are 6 tips for setting up community gardens in HOA neighborhoods. Gain and Gauge Support from Homeowners Board members and homeowners interested in starting a community garden should start by gauging the support for the idea with community members. Planners can gain and gauge support with methods such as: surveys emails text messages phone calls flyers word of mouth announcements at board meetings articles fundraiser events  The main idea is to see how much support there is for such an idea; just keep in mind that some people may get excited...

Writing Success Comes from Volume and Quality in Balance

Our success is up to us. Success, as a general term to describe the results that constitute a success in a writer’s mind, as it meets or exceeded our expectations. And volume is how many articles/content pieces it takes for each writer to succeed with various levels of quality involved. Each writer will have their personal goals and ways to measure the results achieved through writing an article. Each writer has differing perspectives on what constitutes quality with a finished product. With these important variables in mind, let’s explore how many articles it might take with a theoretical estimation based upon experience and what I’ve seen in my decades-long online writing journey. Most writers can’t expect to attract a lot of views when writing only one article a month, or 12 a year. They may be able to stay in the game at the base line level and maintain some trickle of income, yet it isn’t the volume needed to reach that level of success to maintain. Still, we must first appreciate...

5 Topics Hotels Can Consistently Blog About

Starting a blog to complement a website and other digital marketing efforts is a great idea for hotels, yet what should their blogs be about? Consistently posting blogs about interesting topics sometimes isn't that easy. In an effort to help, let's discuss 5 topics hotels can consistently blog about to gain traction online. 1. Local Attractions and Destinations: cc from pxhere.com Local SEO is vitally important to gain attention from search engines, in order to stand out to prospective guests interested in staying in the hotel's local area. Blogging about local attractions gives hotels a large topic to draw upon when brainstorming blog ideas. Even if the hotel is in a relatively isolated location or smaller town, there's always something to write about when it comes to local attractions or destinations. Restaurants, bars, nightclubs, concert halls, sports stadiums, race tracks, wilderness attractions, parks, historical sites, and more can be highlighted in a ho...

An Ode to Grandpa Lee

An old-time pioneer amid modern vanity and "progress." The man stood tall in the wind with the sun beating down on his flat-brim cowboy hat. He was a working man, focused on his pioneer family in the western country they called home. Building and designing structures high and wide, the man skipped across wooden beams high in the air, under shadows cast only by moving clouds; wide open spaces watched the scene as death-defying feats were carried out in relative obscurity, as just another day of work. The man was an old-timer with relatively few years to boast, a before his time pioneer with an adventurous and loving wife plotting business in sagebrush lands far beyond the hyped city life bustling with seemingly meaningless activities. His skin was as leather, scorched in the sun and beaten with high winds containing drifting sand mixed with alkaline dirt. The dry mountain air in the high desert cleansed his heart with comfortable respite from the high temps and harsh weather e...