It’s Oregon’s birthday, everyone! 155 years ago our particular piece of geography went from being a territory to a full-fledged member of these United States. In celebration of our state’s birthday, here are some facts about Oregon that you might not know.

-Oregon has a double-sided flag, just like Paraguay!

-Oregon is America’s ninth largest state. We cracked the top ten, everyone!

-Oregon’s first state motto was “The Union,” because in the 1850s mottos didn’t need verbs. Now the official state motto is “Alis Volat Propriis,” which means “She flies with her own wings.”

–Oregon was the first state with a bottle bill. You know that episode of Seinfeld where Kramer tries to recycle all of his bottles and cans in Michigan because they have a greater redemption value there? That would have never happened without Oregon!

-Oregon’s official state beverage is not beer for some reason. It’s milk.

-The Oregon coastline is public land. If you want to walk up to the Pacific Ocean you can just, well, do that. Thank Oswald West and Tom McCall! They were a pair of cranky governors who saved us from the scourge of private beaches.

-Our official state song is Oregon My Oregon!

-Oregon has more ghost towns than any other state!

-Oregon is home to the humongous fungus, the largest organism in the world!

-No one really knows where the name “Oregon” comes from. It’s mystified people for a long time. Maybe it had something to do with large ears?

Happy birthday, Oregon! You’re swell. Here’s to another 155 years!

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Joe Streckert is the author of Storied & Scandalous Portland, Oregon: A History of Gambling, Vice, Wits, and Wagers. He writes about books, history, and comics.

7 replies on “Happy Oregon’s Birthday, Everyone!”

  3. Hmmm, though I tend to vote Democrat, and have worked for both Clinton and Kerry campaigns, it should be noted that McCall was a Republican.
    Keeping Oregons coastlines free for all peoples may seem rather blase’ now, but others are envious of this enlightened position.
    And a EVIL REPUBLICAN did it, no less.

  5. Well, a moderate-to-liberal Republican, disliked by much of his party, working in tandem with his Democratic Secretary of State brought about the beach bill. (McCall and Straub often had problems debating, since their ideas on so many things were similar or identical.)
    And Oswald West was a Democrat, of the old and often genuinely evil kind.

  6. Actually, Oregon fell under joint British/American rule and Fort George (later to become Fort Astoria) was British, flying under the Union Jack. The UK’s Richard Pakenham and U.S. Secretary of State James Buchanan drew up a formal treaty, known as the Oregon Treaty, which was ratified by the Senate on June 18, 1846 by a vote of 41–14. The border was set at the 49th parallel, the original U.S. proposal, with navigation rights on the Columbia River granted to British subjects living in the area. Until this time, the area comprising the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and parts of Montana and Wyoming were under joint British/American occupation with Washington’s San Juan Islands not being formally granted to the US until 1872. The US and Great Britain have had a long and complex relationship that continued well past the Revolutionary War. History and Geography are fascinating!

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