Offbeat Oregon History podcast www.offbeatoregon.com (finn @ offbeatoregon.com)
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- History
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The Offbeat Oregon History Podcast is a daily service from the Offbeat Oregon History newspaper column. Each weekday morning, a strange-but-true story from Oregon's history from the archives of the column is uploaded. An exploding whale, a few shockingly scary cults, a 19th-century serial killer, several very naughty ladies, a handful of solid-brass con artists and some of the dumbest bad guys in the history of the universe. Source citations are included with the text version on the Web site at https://offbeatoregon.com.
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Skill, stout shipbuilding kept wreck fatality-free
Really, the only reason the U.S.S. Peacock didn’t break into pieces and drown all hands within hours of slamming into the sand was that it was a United States Navy ship. That meant it was crewed by some of the best-trained sailors in the world, and built solidly enough for iron shot to bounce off its sides. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1840s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1911a.peacock-spit-shipwreck.html)
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Guild Lake was P-town’s water wonderland
The hordes of awestruck visitors who admired the scenery at the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition would have been shocked if they'd known the beautiful little lake would be gone in 20 years — filled in for industrial lands. Not a trace remains. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1210d-guilds-lake-portlands-water-wonderland.html)
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Wreck of the U.S. Grant: A weird historical mystery
The little riverboat came loose from its moorings during a storm and floated downriver and onto the deadly bar with the owners aboard. How could such a thing have happened? Did someone do it on purpose? (Astoria, Clatsop County; 1870s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1411c.313.us-grant-suspicious-shipwreck.html)
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Politicians’ plan for Army to seize gold mines foiled
Some Eastern politicians had a plan for paying down Civil War debt: Send in the Army, with the aid of foreign troops, and seize all the productive gold-mining operations in the West. Luckily, a Nevada Senator had a plan to pre-empt it. (Washington, D.C.; 1860s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1908a.origins-of-american-mining-law-559.html)
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What riding the transcontinental railroad was like (WPA oral-history interview with Mrs. Hortense Watkins)
When we get the story of early-day Oregon emigrants' journeys, usually they involve covered wagons. This is a story of a lady who came to Oregon on the newly built transcontinental railway, which she did the same year the connection was finished: 1883. This is WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Mrs. Hortense Watkins, a widow and Portland resident, in 1938 -- 50 years after her journey. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001979/ )
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Oregon’s first murder defendant saved by wife
It was the first murder trial ever held in the Oregon Territory. The prosecution alleged that Nimrod O’Kelley was a land pirate who had invented an imaginary wife in order to fraudulently claim extra land, and that he had murdered Jeremiah Mahoney to prevent losing it, and to intimidate his other neighbors so that none would challenge him. But when the 'imaginary' wife arrived, everything changed. (Marysville/Corvallis, Benton County; 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1910d.nimrod-okelly-murder.html)
Customer Reviews
Native Oregonian learning a bit more about “Gods Country.”
I came upon this podcast accidentally and love what I’ve heard so far… easy listen chock-full of informative Oregon history. Thank you from an appreciative Portlander now in Texas.
Informative, funny and adorable!
I just love this podcast. I binged every episode and look forward to the new ones. Finn is an amazing orator and storyteller who makes history fascinating. I came to this podcast during a very dark time in my life and it brought me a sense of joy and connection with my local history. It also inspires me artistically, for some reason. I get great inspiration from the tales of the past, and it connects me with the humanity that we all have no matter what century we reside in the great state of Oregon. Never stop, love it! In fact, I’d love to see a live show sometime!
Excellent mostly unknown stories of Oregon
Excellent, mostly unknown stories of Oregon