Historic Resources of Linn County
Tracing the ongoing story of historic preservation.
The Beginning
The land that is now called Linn County exists on the traditional homeland of the Kalapuya Peoples, The Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde, and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians. These peoples have lived in the Willamette Valley since time immemorial, and continue to live here in the present day. You can learn more about their history by clicking the links below.
In 1847, out of a U.S. territory that hadn't yet reached statehood, Linn County was established. Soon after its establishment, pioneers began traveling along the Oregon Trail to settle here in search of wealth, farmland, and a new life.
Pioneers formed settlements along rivers and got to work farming the land. Most of what was built in the early days of Linn County did not survive to the present day. A few of Linn County's earliest pioneer settlements didn't even survive past the 19th century. The town of Orleans was washed away in a flood in 1862, just twelve years after it was founded. What remains today is the town's church and cemetery. Many settlements, however, would soon turn into small bustling towns in the coming decades.
An old map showing the town of Orleans
Growth and Expansion
Like many towns in the western United States, towns in Linn County experienced a great deal of economic growth during the Gilded Age, which roughly spanned from the 1870s to the 1890s. New towns sprang up along railroad lines, and the farming and logging industries flourished. This era is praised for its iconic and timeless architecture, both in residential homes and commercial and public buildings. Many Linn County communities during this period saw the construction of their main streets and commercial districts.
Towns and communities continued to grow and expand their downtowns and residential neighborhoods into the 20th century, through World War I, the Roaring Twenties, and even somewhat through the Great Depression.
Residents attend an event in downtown Lebanon
Changing Times
In the last hundred years, no other invention reshaped the U.S. landscape quite like the invention of the automobile. To make way for this new form of transportation, the United States began constructing new roads, highways, and parking lots across the country. By the 1930s, the Santiam Wagon Road that connected commercial trade between the Willamette Valley and Central Oregon was transformed into a new highway, and many more roads and highways would follow.
"June 20, 1905, as gate keeper J.L. Nye looked up the road and saw a strange sight. There was a contraption of iron and tin approaching, which came swiftly..."
Pictures from the 1920s depict the transition period from the horse and buggy to the automobile
After World War II, the United States experienced another economic boom, which lead to the rapid development of homes and car infrastructure. Historic buildings were demolished at a rapid pace to make way for new roads, highways and parking lots.
New economic trends shifted the population from cities into the suburbs. Downtown commercial districts and main streets had to compete with the rise of suburban shopping centers, and by the 1960s, many of them were in decline, with dwindling funding to maintain them.
Some historic buildings simply became victims to passing time. Over the years, maintenance costs became too expensive for many property owners to keep up with, and these structures slowly deteriorated until demolition seemed like the only realistic option.
Citizens across the country were alarmed at the loss of their historic sites and buildings. Beginning in the 1950s, they began to organize in droves to save these spaces, oftentimes with little success. But with each failed attempt to save a historic building from the wrecking ball, more and more citizens began to make demands for meaningful policy change. Policymakers at the national level began to pay attention to these trends, and decided to take action.
Historic Preservation Gets Government Support
In 1966, Congress passed the National Historic Preservation Act, the most comprehensive legislation in the field of historic preservation in American history. This act created the blueprint still used today in coordinating historic preservation between the federal government, states, tribal and local governments. Soon after, Oregon would set their own unique standards for historic preservation within the state.
Beginning in the 1960s, Oregonians noticed the rapid growth happening in their communities, and set out to demand change in the way the state and local governments handled future land development. State legislators began drafting legislation that would address this problem. Out of this work came the state's 19 Statewide Planning Goals, and the 5th goal on that list focused on protecting cultural and historic Resources. By the late 1970s, communities across the state were tasked with inventorying their historic resources and putting barriers in place to protect them.
A Race Against the Clock
Beginning in the 1970s, residents across Linn County began to organize to save their historic resources. With the adoption of Oregon's Statewide Planning Goals, it gave the county a blueprint for how to tackle this enormous task. By the late 1970s, Linn County had established their Historic Resources Commission, and they immediately got to work researching and adding sites to their historic register. Communities across the county followed suit, forming their own local commissions and advocating for threatened historic sites. The people were organized, and there was much work to be done. Properly evaluating historic sites takes time, and many sites faced demolition during this period. For the next few decades, the residents of Linn County would have their hands full researching and preserving their historic assets before they were lost to future generations.
Residents of Mill City rally around a 19th-century home facing demolition
The newspaper article to the right describes the planned demolition of Elkin's Mill in Lebanon. Built in the 1870s, the building was in poor shape by 1993, and the land it sat on was slated for commercial development. Linn-Benton Community College purchased the mill in 1994, saving it from demolition. The Lebanon Historic Resources Commission were able to place the mill on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995, and it is still standing today.
Linn County's Covered Bridges
By the 1970s, there were ten remaining covered bridges in Linn County, and several of them faced demolition. For those wanting to save the bridges, the race was on to get them listed on the National Historic Register. A group of students from Scio Middle School formed the Scio Bridge Brigade to advocate for the preservation of covered bridges in their community. They later received an award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for their work. The images below were taken from a booklet produced by the Scio Bridge Brigade in 1980. Click on the images to expand and learn more.
Looking Forward
Tracing the history of preservation uncovers a story of strong citizen involvement. Community members across the United States, and across Linn County, have been rallying around the historic places they care about for decades, and the work still continues today. Historic preservation is ongoing, and cannot be done without the teamwork and collaboration of governments, citizens, and local institutions and businesses.
We thank the people, both young and old, who've dedicated their time to preserving the many historic places we appreciate and enjoy today. They cared enough to save the places that made their communities special. Their hard work, both in advocacy, research, and obtaining legal protections for historic sites has paid off in many ways.
"You may ask why we should keep these bridges. I'll tell you. These bridges are a part of us."
The future of historic preservation will require creativity and collaboration between citizens, stakeholders, and governments in order to continue. Some of Linn County's greatest successes have come from strong citizen advocacy, repurposing or relocating buildings to make way for future developments and trends, and the broader support network of governments, organizations, and businesses. Truly, it takes a village. We can look back towards the past to learn how historic places have been saved, what worked and what didn't, to better guarantee future success.
