Oregon has been home to many indigenous nations for thousands of years. The first European traders, explorers, and settlers began exploring what is now Oregon's Pacific coast in the early to mid-16th century. As early as 1564, the Spanish began sending vessels northeast from the Philippines, riding the Kuroshio Current in a sweeping circular route across the northern part of the Pacific. In 1592, Juan de Fuca undertook detailed mapping and studies of ocean currents in the Pacific Northwest, including the Oregon coast as well as the strait now bearing his name. The Lewis and Clark Expedition traversed Oregon in the early 1800s, and the first permanent European settlements in Oregon were established by fur trappers and traders. In 1843, an autonomous government was formed in the Oregon Country, and the Oregon Territory was created in 1848. Oregon became the 33rd state of the U.S. on February 14, 1859.
Today, with 4.2 million people over 98,000 square miles (250,000 km2), Oregon is the ninth largest and 27th most populous U.S. state. The capital, Salem, is the third-most populous city in Oregon, with 175,535 residents. Portland, with 652,503, ranks as the 26th among U.S. cities. The Portland metropolitan area, which includes neighboring counties in Washington, is the 25th largest metro area in the nation, with a population of 2,512,859. Oregon is also one of the most geographically diverse states in the U.S., marked by volcanoes, abundant bodies of water, dense evergreen and mixed forests, as well as high deserts and semi-arid shrublands. At 11,249 feet (3,429 m), Mount Hood is the state's highest point. Oregon's only national park, Crater Lake National Park, comprises the caldera surrounding Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States. The state is also home to the single largest organism in the world, Armillaria ostoyae, a fungus that runs beneath 2,200 acres (8.9 km2) of the Malheur National Forest. (Full article...)
Shemanski Fountain, also known as Rebecca at the Well, is an outdoor fountain with a bronze sculpture, located in the South Park Blocks of downtown Portland, Oregon in the United States. The sandstone fountain, designed in 1925 and completed in 1926, is named after Joseph Shemanski, a Polish immigrant and businessman who gifted the structure to the city. Carl L. Linde designed the trefoil, which features a statue designed by Oliver Laurence Barrett. The sculpture, added to the fountain in 1928, depicts the Biblical persona Rebecca. Shemanski Fountain includes two drinking platforms with three basins each, with one platform intended for dog use. The fountain underwent major renovations during 1987–88 and in 2004. It has been vandalized multiple times and has also been used as a reference point for gatherings. In addition, it has been included in public art guides and walking tours of Portland. According to "cultureNOW", the statue Rebecca at the Well is part of the City of Portland and Multnomah County Public Art Collection courtesy of the Regional Arts & Culture Council, the agency that maintains the sculpture. The fountain surrounding the statue, often considered part of the artwork, is maintained by the Portland Water Bureau with assistance from the Regional Arts & Culture Council.
Kermit Alan Washington (born September 17, 1951 in Washington, D.C.) is an American former professional basketball player. Washington is best remembered for punching opposing player Rudy Tomjanovich during an on-court fight in 1977. The punch nearly killed Tomjanovich, and resulted in severe medical problems that ultimately ended his playing career. During his playing career and after his retirement, Washington has struggled with the negative perception of him that resulted from the punch. Washington was not a highly coveted player coming out of high school and barely got into college on an athletic scholarship. He averaged a mere four points per game (ppg) during his senior season of high school. He improved rapidly once at American University, and became one of only seven players in NCAA history to average 20 points and 20 rebounds throughout the course of their career. A big defensive forward, Washington was known for his ability to gather rebounds. He averaged 9.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in ten National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons and played in the All-Star Game once. Washington was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers and later played for the Boston Celtics, San Diego Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors. Washington played for the Blazers from 1979 to 1982 and after retirement worked for a time as the team's strength and condition coach.
... that it has been a goal of Oregon state senator Bill Hansell to get the potato officially designated as the state vegetable?
... that while George C. Brownell played no part in the Oregon land fraud scandal, a published cartoon showed him as the "Pretty Moth" that flew too close to the land fraud limelight?
... that the only remaining artifact in the ghost town of Fremont, Oregon, is a juniper stump notched with steps that women travelers used to mount horses in a modest fashion?
... that future state senator William T. Vinton was sent to jail for contempt of court when he refused to sign a city paving contract, but was later vindicated by an Oregon Supreme Court decision?
Today, I honor the memory of those brave settlers of Oregon, and pay tribute, as well, to the native Americans already inhabiting this land before pioneers like my great-great-grandparents arrived here in the mid-1800’s. Such dreams those pioneers had for this territory. Some instinct drew them here, a fate a pulling, a desire for deep and lasting change in their lives. They embraced that change. They sought it out. Theirs was a quest for new horizons, for new beginnings. For a new homeland. They rode. They walked. They staved. They forge. And they died. But they kept their eyes westward. They gave us Oregon.
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