I
put YOU first!
Richard "FrizzB" Baker
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Portland, Oregon
History of Oregon - Spanish and
English sailors are believed to have sighted the Oregon coast in the 1500s and 1600s.
Capt. James Cook, seeking the Northwest Passage, charted some of the coastline in 1778. In
1792, Capt. Robert Gray, in the Columbia, discovered the river named after his ship and
claimed the area for the U.S. In 1805 the Lewis and Clark expedition explored the area.
John Jacob Astor's fur depot, Astoria, was founded in 1811. Disputes for control of Oregon
between American settlers and the Hudson Bay Company were finally resolved in the 1846
Oregon Treaty in which Great Britain gave up claims to the region. Oregon has a $3.3
billion lumber and wood products industry, and an $859 million paper and allied
manufacturing industry. Its salmon-fishing industry is one of the world's largest. In
agriculture, the state leads in growing peppermint, cover seed crops, blackberries,
boysenberries, loganberries, black raspberries, and hazelnuts. It is second in raising
hops, raspberries, sweet cherries, prunes, snap beans, and onions. Oregon has the only
nickel smelter in the United States. With the low-cost electric power provided by
Bonneville Dam, McNary Dam, and other dams in the Pacific Northwest, Oregon has developed
steadily as a manufacturing state. Leading manufactures are lumber and plywood, metalwork,
machinery, aluminum, chemicals, paper, food packing, and electronic equipment. Crater Lake
National Park, Mount Hood, and Bonneville Dam on the Columbia are major tourist
attractions. Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area has been established near Florence.
Other points of interest include the Oregon Caves National Monument, Cape Perpetua in
Siuslaw National Forest, Columbia River Gorge between The Dalles and Troutdale, Hells
Canyon, Newberry Volcanic National Monument, and John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.
Portland is home to
more than 1,200 technology companies, from Intel -- the largest private sector employer
with 11,000 workers -- to Hewlett-Packard, Epson, NEC and scores of small software firms.
That's made it one of the best job markets in the country. The region ranks in the top 20
percent of all metro areas in recent job growth and is expected to see a 26 percent
increase in jobs in the next 10 years.
Three decades of keen planning have reined in
urban sprawl and given rise to a mini-metropolis with short, easy-to-stroll blocks
renowned for their java joints, brewpubs, and bookstores. A superb light rail network and
a new streetcar system are helping to make it a cinch to get around. There's loads of
culture, from the Portland Art Museum to local rock clubs.
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