Think Oregon Archives - 1859 Oregon's Magazine

July 19, 2017 July 17, 2017

Exploring the Oregon Trail

For many, the words “Oregon Trail” conjure happy childhood memories of hopping on old-school computers to transform oneself into a fearless wagon leader. Hours swiftly passed as we guided settlers from Independence, Missouri to Oregon’s Willamette Valley along the 2,170-mile emigrant wagon trail. On a good day in this wildly popular fantasy-land set in the 1850s, you’d hunt enough game for a hearty bison dinner for you and your team; on a really bad day, you’d die of cholera or a pesky snakebite.

July 19, 2017 July 17, 2017

Into the Woods: Pickathon

For the 19th year, Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon, transforms into an “elaborate fantasy setting” of sensational live music, local food and drink and feel-good community. At Pickathon, stages pop up inside dreamy barns draped with twinkly lights and built into wooded alcoves, where haystacks and hammocks lure listeners of all ages.

July 19, 2017 July 18, 2017

StumpTown Kilts

If clothes make the man then kilts suggest the wearer has a corporeal level of confidence. StumpTown Kilts is a destination location in Portland. Appointments are encouraged but there are Saturday store hours at the makers space Manifestation Warehouse. Within the studios is hipster couture you can’t find downtown: kilts.

July 13, 2017 July 13, 2017

Stephanie Whitlock

Stephanie Whitlock is the new executive director of the Architectural Heritage Center in Portland, a nonprofit that seeks to conserve the art, craft and context of historic buildings and places in an effort to promote the city’s cult

July 11, 2017 July 11, 2017

Oregon City—Then & Now

In 2018, the Oregon Trail celebrates its 175th anniversary. Traders laid the 2,170-plus-mile wagon route from about 1811 to 1840. Between the boom years of 1840 and 1860, more than 400,000-plus pioneers traveled its path. Connecting the Missouri River to Oregon’s lush valleys, the east-west trail was only passable on foot or by horseback, and those who braved it faced challenges like wagon accidents, disease outbreaks and rushing river crossings.