Birkenfeld is an unincorporated

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 community in Columbia County

Columbia County, Oregon

Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was named for the Columbia River, which forms its eastern and northern borders. As of 2010, its population was 49,351. The county seat is St. Helens.-Economy:...

, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, United States, in the Nehalem Valley

Nehalem River

The Nehalem River is a river on the Pacific coast of northwest Oregon in the United States, approximately long. It drains part of the Northern Oregon Coast Range northwest of Portland, originating on the east side of the mountains and flowing in a loop around the north end of the range near the...

 on Oregon Route 202 between Jewell

Jewell, Oregon

Jewell is an unincorporated community in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. The logging community is located at the junction of Oregon Route 103 and Oregon Route 202, near the Nehalem River.-History:...

 and Mist

Mist, Oregon

Mist is an unincorporated community in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the atmospheric conditions of the Nehalem Valley.On July 6, 2001, the Mist store, which was built in 1874, caught fire and was destroyed...

.

German immigrant Anton Birkenfeld settled in the Nehalem Valley in 1886 and founded Birkenfeld in about 1910. Birkenfeld's post office was founded in 1916, bringing much-needed mail service on a more local basis. As of 2010, the Birkenfeld post office has been closed permanently. Although mail can still be addressed directly to the defunct post office, the community has a Clatskanie

Clatskanie, Oregon

Clatskanie is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the Clatskanie River, which empties into the Columbia River within the city limits. The population was 1,528 at the 2000 census. The 2007 estimate is 1,710 residents.-History:...

 ZIP code

ZIP Code

ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

, 97016 and all mail directed toward Birkenfeld is automatically redirected there.

As of the 1990s the community had a store, a café, a tavern, a garage, and a church.

External links

• Historic image of Birkenfeld store from Salem Public Library
• Image of barn in Birkenfeld from Oregon State Archives
  Oregon State Archives
  The Archives Division of the Office of the Secretary of State of Oregon, or Oregon State Archives, is an agency of the Office of the Oregon Secretary of State charged with preserving and providing access to government records. It also publishes the Oregon Blue Book and Oregon Administrative Rules...
  
  

45.9906668°N 123.3376214°W