Otis, Oregon
Encyclopedia
Otis is an unincorporated
community in Lincoln County
, Oregon
, United States, a half mile north of Otis Junction
on Oregon Route 18. It is near the Salmon River
.
Otis post office was established in 1900 and was named after Otis Thompson, nephew of Archibald S. Thompson, the postmaster.
U.S. Route 101
used to pass through Otis until a curvy and hilly section of road was rerouted in the 1960s. Otis Junction is at the intersection of the former terminus of Oregon Route 18 and the former alignment of U.S. 101.
The Sitka Center for Art and Ecology
has an Otis mailing address but is located nearer to the coast on Cascade Head
. The Otis ZIP code
, 97368, also covers the community of Rose Lodge
. Today Otis and Otis Junction are considered synonymous.
Otis made the national headlines in 1999 and again in 2004, when it was announced that the town was for sale for $3 million. The news stories describe the Otis Café and other amenities that are at Otis Junction; it is unclear if the 193 acre (0.78104398 km²) that were for sale included the land in Otis proper. Owner Vivian Lematta's grandfather bought the land from descendants of the Siletz Indians
for $800 in 1910. Lematta left Otis in 1957. Included in the sale were the gas station and mini grocery store, a Pronto Pup
corn dog
stand, two houses, an empty 25-stall horse barn, a helicopter storage shed, a garage, a Grange hall, the Otis post office, the Otis Café, an auto-repair garage and 190 acre (0.7689034 km²) of farmland. Part of the land was used for raising cattle and part was undergoing timber conservation.
45.02444°N 123.94528°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, a half mile north of Otis Junction
Otis Junction, Oregon
Otis Junction is an unincorporated locale in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States, at the junction of the former route of U.S. Route 101 and Oregon Route 18, a half mile south of Otis. It is a mile and a half east of where OR 18 intersects with the modern route of U.S. 101.Otis Junction is the...
on Oregon Route 18. It is near the Salmon River
Salmon River (Lincoln County, Oregon)
The Salmon River flows from the Central Oregon Coast Range to the Pacific Ocean coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. About long, it begins and ends in Lincoln County but also flows briefly through western Polk and southern Tillamook counties....
.
Otis post office was established in 1900 and was named after Otis Thompson, nephew of Archibald S. Thompson, the postmaster.
U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101 in Oregon
In the U.S. state of Oregon, U.S. Route 101, a major north–south U.S. Highway, runs through the state along the coastline near the Pacific Ocean. In Oregon, it runs from the Oregon–California border, south of Brookings, to the Oregon–Washington border on the Columbia River, between Astoria,...
used to pass through Otis until a curvy and hilly section of road was rerouted in the 1960s. Otis Junction is at the intersection of the former terminus of Oregon Route 18 and the former alignment of U.S. 101.
The Sitka Center for Art and Ecology
Sitka Center for Art and Ecology
The Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, located in Otis, Oregon, United States, was established in 1970 as an entity of the Neskowin Coast Foundation, which was founded May 8, 1970...
has an Otis mailing address but is located nearer to the coast on Cascade Head
Cascade Head
Cascade Head is a headland and UNESCO biosphere reserve and United States Forest Service Experimental Forest. It is situated southwest of Portland, Oregon on the Oregon Coast between Lincoln City and Neskowin...
. The Otis 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...
, 97368, also covers the community of Rose Lodge
Rose Lodge, Oregon
Rose Lodge is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States, along the 45th parallel. The population was 1,708 at the 2000 census....
. Today Otis and Otis Junction are considered synonymous.
Otis made the national headlines in 1999 and again in 2004, when it was announced that the town was for sale for $3 million. The news stories describe the Otis Café and other amenities that are at Otis Junction; it is unclear if the 193 acre (0.78104398 km²) that were for sale included the land in Otis proper. Owner Vivian Lematta's grandfather bought the land from descendants of the Siletz Indians
Siletz (tribe)
The Siletz people are a Native American tribe from Oregon and an Indigenous people of the Northwest Plateau. Today they are enrolled in the federally recognized Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon....
for $800 in 1910. Lematta left Otis in 1957. Included in the sale were the gas station and mini grocery store, a Pronto Pup
Pronto Pup
The Pronto Pup Company is a company based in Portland, Oregon that manufactures the Pronto Pup corn dog mix.-History:The Pronto Pup was invented by the husband and wife team of George and Versa Boyington in the late 1930s in Rockaway Beach, Oregon. The Boyingtons ran a small hot dog stand on the...
corn dog
Corn dog
A corn dog is a hot dog sausage coated in a thick layer of cornmeal batter and deep fried in oil, although some are baked. Almost all corn dogs are served on wooden sticks, though some early versions had no stick.-History:...
stand, two houses, an empty 25-stall horse barn, a helicopter storage shed, a garage, a Grange hall, the Otis post office, the Otis Café, an auto-repair garage and 190 acre (0.7689034 km²) of farmland. Part of the land was used for raising cattle and part was undergoing timber conservation.
External links
- Historic images of Otis from Salem Public Library
45.02444°N 123.94528°W