Harlan, Oregon
Encyclopedia
Harlan is an unincorporated
community in Lincoln County
, Oregon
, United States, about 30 miles west of Corvallis
. It is located in a valley of the Central Oregon Coast Range
in the Siuslaw National Forest
. The community's economy was once based on logging
and sawmill
s. Cattle ranching
is another mainstay of the local economy.
James R. Harlan helped establish a post office at this locale and the office was named for him. Harlan post office ran from 1890 until 1968; Harlan was the first postmaster. Harlan Cemetery was also founded in 1890.
In 1915, Harlan had a public school and a population of 200. A new school and a store were built in 1926. Harlan School closed in 1967 and students then attended school in Eddyville
. The store, which housed the post office and was also a gas station, closed in 1971 and is now a private residence. In 1993, author Ralph Friedman
reported that there was "nothing much" in Harlan. Chapel of the Valley church, built in 1961, still serves a congregation. The last commercial sawmill in Harlan shut down in the early 1980s. As of 2008, a small one-man hobby sawmill still operated.
44.5398422°N 123.6931645°W
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 Lincoln County
Lincoln County, Oregon
-National protected areas:*Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge *Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge*Siuslaw National Forest -Demographics:...
, 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, about 30 miles west of Corvallis
Corvallis, Oregon
Corvallis is a city located in central western Oregon, United States. It is the county seat of Benton County and the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 54,462....
. It is located in a valley of the Central Oregon Coast Range
Central Oregon Coast Range
The Central Oregon Coast Range is the middle section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, and located in the west-central portion of the state of Oregon, United States roughly between the Salmon River and the Umpqua River and the Willamette Valley and the...
in the Siuslaw National Forest
Siuslaw National Forest
Siuslaw National Forest is a national forest in western Oregon, United States. Established in 1908, the Siuslaw is made up of a wide variety of ecosystems, ranging from coastal forests to sand dunes.- Geography :...
. The community's economy was once based on logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
and sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s. Cattle ranching
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
is another mainstay of the local economy.
James R. Harlan helped establish a post office at this locale and the office was named for him. Harlan post office ran from 1890 until 1968; Harlan was the first postmaster. Harlan Cemetery was also founded in 1890.
In 1915, Harlan had a public school and a population of 200. A new school and a store were built in 1926. Harlan School closed in 1967 and students then attended school in Eddyville
Eddyville, Oregon
Eddyville is an unincorporated community in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. Eddyville's estimated population as of 2007 was 962 residents....
. The store, which housed the post office and was also a gas station, closed in 1971 and is now a private residence. In 1993, author Ralph Friedman
Ralph Friedman
Ralph Friedman was an American author best known for his books about Oregon.Ralph Friedman was born and raised in Chicago. He hitchhiked to Oregon in 1933 at the age of 16. He wrote 10 books, and contributed to many other books, magazines, and newspapers...
reported that there was "nothing much" in Harlan. Chapel of the Valley church, built in 1961, still serves a congregation. The last commercial sawmill in Harlan shut down in the early 1980s. As of 2008, a small one-man hobby sawmill still operated.
External links
- Gallery of Harlan images from the Corvallis Gazette-TimesCorvallis Gazette-TimesThe Corvallis Gazette-Times is a daily newspaper in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The newspaper, along with its sister publication, the Albany Democrat-Herald is owned by Lee Enterprises of Davenport, Iowa...
- Historic images of covered bridges in the Harlan area from Salem Public Library
- Images of the Harlan area from FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
44.5398422°N 123.6931645°W