Oregon

In the desert, water is king. Prior to the arrival of irrigation canals in 1906, the Central Oregon region that would become Redmond was little more than a collection of determined settlers, many living in tents, bent on proving up their Carey Act homesteads. By 1910, the Redmond Spokesman, one of two newspapers publishing in the newly incorporated town, was bragging, "Redmond is situated in the heart of the best irrigated farming section in Central Oregon, where abundant crops are grown by an intelligent and progressive class of farmers and ranchers." By 1911, Redmond cemented its reputation as the hub of Central Oregon when the Oregon Trunk Railroad line arrived, boosting Redmond commerce by taking it out of the horse-and-wagon movement of goods and people. After World War II , the City of Redmond purchased an army airbase for $1 and built it into Oregon's largest regional airport east of the Cascade Mountains.

The large number of immigrants traveling along the Oregon Trail bypassed Grant County because of its location. Most wagon trains used the northern route to the Columbia River. A few used the southern route toward southern Oregon. Grant County was left in between. When gold was discovered in the Canyon Creek area in 1862, the population swelled from scarcely 200 to more than 5,000, many of them Chinese. Today, Grant County's population is approximately 7,500, with John Day, the largest city, at slightly less than 2,000. From the 1860s to near 1900, gold and the mining industry reigned, as upward of $26 million worth of gold was mined. As the supply of gold diminished, so did the population, and timber became the number one industry. Settlers from the East saw potential in the large stands of tall, straight ponderosa pine, and many sawmills came into existence. The sawmills have since greatly declined, but other settlers discovered that the acres of bunchgrass provided excellent cattle feed. Today, cattle is king. In the spring, the cattle herds are moved off their winter grounds to higher elevations; in the fall, they are herded back into the valley. In the past, these movements often took them through the heart of many cities.

Street railways arrived early in Portland and made lasting social and economic contributions that are still apparent in the layout and character of the city's neighborhoods today. During the 1890s, streetcar lines spread rapidly into the West Hills and across the Willamette River. The technological prowess of the growing "Rose City" was reflected in the largest horsecar in the Northwest, the second steepest cable car grade in the nation, the first true interurban railway, and an annual illuminated trolley parade. By the dawn of the 20th century, Portland could boast of the largest electric railway system in the West, as well as its first eight-wheeled streetcar. The streetcars lasted into the late 1950s here, and then, after a hiatus of nearly 30 years, were rediscovered by a new generation of urban planners.

Oregon's military heritage goes back thousands of years, including native people's warrior traditions. Most of the cultures in this region were relatively peaceful, even welcoming visiting strangers, such as the Lewis and Clark overland Army expedition in 1805–1806. Then, overwhelming numbers of fur trappers, merchants, settlers, and miners began taking over traditional native grounds. From 1847 to 1880, native peoples experienced eight major conflicts with Army and volunteer forces. Army units built several forts from Oregon's coast to the Great Basin. Oregonians adopted militia laws, served in volunteer units, and organized the Oregon State Militia, which became the Oregon National Guard in 1887. The Guard benefited the state in many civil-support actions and served the nation in major overseas conflicts from the Spanish-American War to the current Operation Enduring Freedom.