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

Oregon mother jailed for treating daughter’s cancer with homeopathic remedies

In a highly controversial case, an Oregon mother was sentenced to 90 days of jail and 3 years of probation for essentially making health decisions for her now 17-year-old daughter that the state didn’t like. The details are found in an Oregon Live article by Noelle Crombie on Feb. 27. The article explains that the mother, Christina Gale Dixon, 39, decided to treat her daughter with CBD and other homeopathic remedies instead of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery (conventional treatments for cancer). This wasn’t always the case, as her daughter, Kylee Dixon, was first diagnosed with liver cancer in 2018 and underwent three rounds of chemotherapy. The article explains that the Oregon Department of Human Services got involved in late 2018 when the mother wasn’t allowing her daughter to be treated according to the allelopathic physicians. The state then took custody of her daughter, yet allowed her to live with her mother until Christina fled with her daughter to Las Vegas to avoid a sch

New Book Release: Staying Optimistic While Being Realistic

  My 9th book has been published called Staying Optimistic While Being Realistic . It is a collection of 13 society articles from the perspective of a Protestant Christian, middle-aged, married, Oregonian man from Dec. 2022 until Nov. 2023. Essentially, this book is a social analysis of 2023 American culture, society, politics, and Christian faith. With an added introduction and 13 color photos, this book is 80 pages in print and around the same as an eBook. The main theme is society, specifically American society, yet drawing on the general term as a way to explore the complexities and challenges of people in terms of finding the truth of themselves and the reality around them beyond the periphery. I have a B.S. in Human Services, so this is part of my service to fellow humans. Making it easier to digest my writing efforts in hopes readers will find valuable inspiration inside that will direct their course with more stability, reason, peace, and faith in a loving God. Eventually, wit

Views are Like Customers to Writers

Writing online entails considering how many impressions, views, visitors/reads, comments, shares, and reactions each article gets. These digital assets symbolize the money made from each article. How many views did that article get — that poem, story, blog post, picture, art piece? The number will determine how much money the article made. While most writers appreciate even one single read, this doesn’t pay much. On the high end, this might bring .02 cents. Usually, around half a cent, or $5 RMP. Different Writing Platforms and Efforts At Medium views don’t turn into a specific amount of money, rather they are merely an indication of possible money — reads are more important at Medium, as they correlate closely with any money made. Each read at Medium this month made me around that .02 cent mark! The reads at Medium might not be from members, so may not make us money. Still, on average, both views and reads equal a certain estimated amount for each Medium writer. At Vocal, they make it

Making Substack the Center of a Writing System

Focusing Distractions with Complexity With all of the options writers and content creators have now, finding the right one for each system sometimes takes experimentation. Flops and failures often come with such brimming efforts of zeal, yet the glimmer of hope remains in pictures of automated simplicity. In the beginning, things were simple; then came the expansion, the maintenance, building, creating, researching, and other such effort and time into what can only be called a writing system. Organizing this complex miasma of disparate platforms, the writer (insert content creator as needed) has become a blogger, marketer, promotor, maintenance tech, and organizing master. The actual writing is pushed to the side. Finding Balance Each writer organizes their system differently according to their needs and abilities. I’ve always admired someone who focuses on one platform and doesn’t get stretched too thin. We can get distracted by constantly expanding and trying new things. What’s neede