Offbeat Oregon History podcast
By www.offbeatoregon.com (finn @ offbeatoregon.com)
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Category: History
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Subscribers: 141
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Episodes: 235
Description
A daily (5-day-a-week) podcast feed of true Oregon stories -- of heroes and rascals, of shipwrecks and lost gold. Stories of shanghaied sailors and Skid Road bordellos and pirates and robbers and unsolved mysteries. An exploding whale, a couple shockingly scary cults, a 19th-century serial killer, several very naughty ladies, a handful of solid-brass con artists and some of the dumbest bad guys in the history of the universe. From the archives of the Offbeat Oregon History syndicated newspaper column. Source citations are included with the text version on the Web site at https://offbeatoregon.com.
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
|
Six iconic food items that were invented in Oregon (Part 1 of 2)
|
Aug 24, 2026 |
|
Express clerk’s silence foiled Eugene train robber
|
Aug 21, 2026 |
|
All-metal steam-powered zeppelin: Could it work?
|
Aug 20, 2026 |
|
Alsea lad became ‘The Nikola Tesla of Oregon’
|
Aug 19, 2026 |
|
I-25 submarine gave Oregon its first wartime bombardment
|
Aug 18, 2026 |
|
Japanese sub blasted its way into Oregon history
|
Aug 17, 2026 |
|
Japanese shipwrecks on coast predate Columbus
|
Aug 14, 2026 |
|
‘Automo-bubble’ a part of Deschutes railroad war
|
Aug 13, 2026 |
|
Gun-toting ‘Wildcat’ was nation’s first ‘shock jock’
|
Aug 12, 2026 |
|
Portland’s Pioneer Square pitched as ‘crystal palace’
|
Aug 11, 2026 |
|
Mountain town of Bourne was home of a magnificent swindle
|
Aug 10, 2026 |
|
History happenings at OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY in Portland, next few months
|
Aug 07, 2026 |
|
Did primitive Hug Point Road save our beaches?
|
Aug 07, 2026 |
|
Pioneer Chinese doc was a city treasure in John Day
|
Aug 06, 2026 |
|
Valley was Oregon Trail’s eden, used-ox dealership
|
Aug 05, 2026 |
|
The world’s smallest natural harbor used to be even smaller
|
Aug 04, 2026 |
|
Atlantis in Oregon: The underwater lost cities
|
Aug 03, 2026 |
|
Grisly slasher murder still baffling a century later (2 of 2)
|
Jul 31, 2026 |
|
State tried to pin Grisly slasher murder on victim's 'grim widow' (1 of 2)
|
Jul 30, 2026 |
|
Astronaut left a piece of Oregon lava on the moon
|
Jul 29, 2026 |
|
Beavercreek Bomber: Pay $1 million or out go the lights
|
Jul 28, 2026 |
|
Pilot boat’s entire crew mysteriously disappeared
|
Jul 27, 2026 |
|
Oregon’s tiger pimp went on the lam, became big problem for Idaho (2 of 2)
|
Jul 24, 2026 |
|
Oregon had its own 'Tiger King,' only ours was worse (Part 1 of 2)
|
Jul 23, 2026 |
|
Iconic movies filmed in Oregon, Part 3: 1975-1989
|
Jul 22, 2026 |
|
Iconic movies filmed in Oregon, Part 2: 1965-1975
|
Jul 21, 2026 |
|
Iconic movies shot in Oregon, part 1: 1908-1952
|
Jul 20, 2026 |
|
Scenic highway was pitched as a 'park to park' experience (Part 2 of 2)
|
Jul 17, 2026 |
|
Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway set the tone for Oregon roadbuilding for decades (Part 1 of 2)
|
Jul 16, 2026 |
|
Getting trapped in ship’s wreckage saved mariner
|
Jul 15, 2026 |
|
For ex-spy Claire Phillips, fame was fleeting but her PTSD was not (Part 2 of 2)
|
Jul 14, 2026 |
|
Portland woman ran U.S. spy ring in World War II (Part 1 of 2)
|
Jul 13, 2026 |
|
Bloody 1925 prison break ended badly for everyone involved (2 of 2)
|
Jul 10, 2026 |
|
Rampant Klan cronyism led to bloody 1925 prison break (1 of 2)
|
Jul 09, 2026 |
|
Brutal ‘Oregon Boot’ made our state prison infamous
|
Jul 08, 2026 |
|
Meteorites that have fallen on the Beaver State (2 of 2)
|
Jul 07, 2026 |
|
Man found meteorite on his neighbor's land ... so he stole it. (1 of 2)
|
Jul 06, 2026 |
|
The last-minute choice that made aviation legend Jim Wright a true hero (Part 3 of 3)
|
Jul 03, 2026 |
|
Aviator Jim Wright's day of triumph: A new world record at Reno Air Races (Part 2 of 3)
|
Jul 02, 2026 |
|
The heroic final flight of Cottage Grove's Jim Wright: Part 1 of 3
|
Jul 01, 2026 |
|
Trail Blazers’ fate hung on an extra-long bathroom break: Part 2 of 2
|
Jun 30, 2026 |
|
Trail Blazers came to Portland thanks to amazing promoter: Part 1 of 2
|
Jun 29, 2026 |
|
Lola Baldwin's life mission: Battle human trafficking in Portland
|
Jun 26, 2026 |
|
First policewoman was a municipal Rescuer — like Bianca
|
Jun 25, 2026 |
|
Did ‘Vortex I’ prevent riots in downtown Portland?
|
Jun 24, 2026 |
|
McCall expected ‘Vortex I’ to cost him re-election
|
Jun 23, 2026 |
|
Riot at PSU set the stage for ‘Governor’s Pot Party’
|
Jun 22, 2026 |
|
Yachter’s treasure caught FBI’s interest too late
|
Jun 19, 2026 |
|
Portland's Vaudeville mayor made city famous as well as notorious
|
Jun 18, 2026 |
|
When The Oregonian newspaper burgled a candidate’s home
|
Jun 17, 2026 |
|
How Stewart Holbrook became Oregon's great storyteller (Part 2 of 2)
|
Jun 16, 2026 |
|
Stewart Holbrook: The literary spirit of mid-century Oregon (Part 1 of 2)
|
Jun 15, 2026 |
|
How a national mythology was made from massacre
|
Jun 12, 2026 |
|
Marcus Whitman: The man behind the myths and the massacre
|
Jun 11, 2026 |
|
Portland home of world’s only working P.T. boat
|
Jun 10, 2026 |
|
After logger’s murder, bordello madam vanished
|
Jun 09, 2026 |
|
Cayuse tribe’s amazing ponies are now very rare
|
Jun 08, 2026 |
|
Famous dance hall hosted Berry, Cash, many more
|
Jun 05, 2026 |
|
The notorious Tusko led
a colorful and tragic life
|
Jun 04, 2026 |
|
Lotus Isle, Oregon’s most surreal amusement park
|
Jun 03, 2026 |
|
Pirates were defeated in Yaquina Bay Oyster Wars
|
Jun 02, 2026 |
|
NASA’s ‘Moon Trees’ have roots in Oregon forest fire
|
Jun 01, 2026 |
|
‘Rajneesh’ or ‘Osho’? In Oregon, his name is mud (Part 4 of 4)
|
May 29, 2026 |
|
Rajneeshees’ doom sealed by scheme to seize power (Part 3 of 4)
|
May 28, 2026 |
|
Rajneeshees got on well with neighbors ... at first (Part 2 of 4)
|
May 27, 2026 |
|
Rajneeshpuram: Oregon’s most (in)famous ashram (Part 1 of 4)
|
May 26, 2026 |
|
Opium culture a forgotten part of urban underworld
|
May 25, 2026 |
|
The ex-Oregonian who got the U.S. into World War II: Yosuke Matsuoka (#6 of series of 6 related episodes)
|
May 22, 2026 |
|
Japan's most influential diplomat of all time grew up in Portland (#5 of series of 6 related episodes)
|
May 21, 2026 |
|
World's most incompetent drug smugglers lost tons of opium to theft, seizure (#4 of series of 6 related episodes)
|
May 20, 2026 |
|
Blum and Dunbar smuggled opium by the steamship load (#3 of series of 6 related episodes)
|
May 19, 2026 |
|
Lotan's venture into opium smuggling was doomed from the start (#2 of series of 6 related episodes)
|
May 18, 2026 |
|
The blind ferryman from Tillamook who could 'see' just fine — and an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ...
|
May 16, 2026 |
|
Minor politician became opium king of West Coast (1 of series of 6 related episodes)
|
May 15, 2026 |
|
When the last geyser in Pacific Northwest went still in Lakeview
|
May 14, 2026 |
|
Fossil Lake: Oregon’s answer to the LaBrea Tar Pits
|
May 13, 2026 |
|
Town destroyed by its founder’s favorite garden shrub
|
May 12, 2026 |
|
Steam excursion train line is now a new bike path
|
May 11, 2026 |
|
How Sheriff Bentley arrested legendary outlaw Hank Vaughan — and an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ...
|
May 09, 2026 |
|
World champion hired
to humiliate town bully
|
May 08, 2026 |
|
Oregon Indian prince was Japan’s intro to the West
|
May 07, 2026 |
|
An unrecognized Indian prince’s quest to see Japan
|
May 06, 2026 |
|
Bike business in P-town ruined by ... prostitutes?
|
May 05, 2026 |
|
Schemers sought to steal Peter Iredale shipwreck
|
May 04, 2026 |
|
Uncle Dave's Incredible Shrinking Horse Story — and an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ...
|
May 02, 2026 |
|
The legendary lies and tall tales of Reub Long (2 of 2)
|
May 01, 2026 |
|
Rancher Reub Long, the legendary Sage of Fort Rock (1 of 2)
|
Apr 30, 2026 |
|
War-games campaign blanketed Central Oregon
|
Apr 29, 2026 |
|
Camp Adair hardened recruits with combat training — and poison oak (Part 2 of 2)
|
Apr 28, 2026 |
|
Oregon's second-largest city was built in six months (Part 1 of 2)
|
Apr 27, 2026 |
|
Before news “crusade,” milk was killing babies
|
Apr 24, 2026 |
|
Quest for lost gold mine led to 12,000-acre jewel
|
Apr 23, 2026 |
|
Did L. Ron Hubbard battle Japanese subs off Astoria?
|
Apr 22, 2026 |
|
‘Desperado’ became
P-town’s first police chief
|
Apr 21, 2026 |
|
Busting out of the joint was job for a safecracker
|
Apr 20, 2026 |
|
Rusty derelict turned out to be Liberty Ship lifeboat
|
Apr 17, 2026 |
|
How Oregon almost lost public access to beaches
|
Apr 16, 2026 |
|
Childhood tree-planting memories for thousands
|
Apr 15, 2026 |
|
Tillamook Burn ‘blew up’ with shocking speed
|
Apr 14, 2026 |
|
Tillamook Burn sprang from loggers’ bad gamble
|
Apr 13, 2026 |
|
Bunco Kelley, Coyote of
P-town waterfront legend
|
Apr 10, 2026 |
|
Oregon’s most notorious shanghaier: Bunco Kelley
|
Apr 09, 2026 |
|
Legendary ‘Chief Bigfoot’ elusive as, well, Bigfoot
|
Apr 08, 2026 |
|
In 1880s, salmon were the “most dangerous catch”
|
Apr 07, 2026 |
|
Steamer wrecked by future Costa Rica admiral
|
Apr 06, 2026 |
|
Frankie Baker found a home, and some peace, in Oregon
|
Apr 03, 2026 |
|
‘Johnny’s’ Frankie lived in Portland, hiding from "her song"
|
Apr 02, 2026 |
|
Charming gentleman by day, robber-poet by night
|
Apr 01, 2026 |
|
Rosecrans rescue one of Coast Guard’s finest hours
|
Mar 31, 2026 |
|
Cursed or not, Rosecrans
was one unlucky ship
|
Mar 30, 2026 |
|
Town’s police chief was later executed for murder
|
Mar 27, 2026 |
|
Rooftop stunt made local aero-daredevil famous
|
Mar 26, 2026 |
|
Giant skeleton hinted at
legend of pirate treasure
|
Mar 25, 2026 |
|
Mass murderer honored in courthouse monument
|
Mar 24, 2026 |
|
‘Ship of Romance and Death’ met a dramatic end
|
Mar 23, 2026 |
|
Prison break happened during “conjugal visit”
|
Mar 20, 2026 |
|
Portland lost world’s biggest log cabin in 1964 fire
|
Mar 19, 2026 |
|
The mysterious demise of the S.S. South Coast
|
Mar 18, 2026 |
|
Horrific 'Trunk Murders' made headlines nationwide (Part 2 of 2)
|
Mar 17, 2026 |
|
Locals drawn into 1930s’ most notorious murder (Part 1 of 2)
|
Mar 16, 2026 |
|
Oregon’s Doolittle raiders and their startling stories (3 of 3)
|
Mar 13, 2026 |
|
The Oregonians who flew
over Tokyo with Doolittle (2 of 3)
|
Mar 12, 2026 |
|
Famous ‘Doolittle Raid’ roots in Pendleton air base (1 of 3)
|
Mar 11, 2026 |
|
Mona Bell was like Annie Oakley with an edge
|
Mar 10, 2026 |
|
Columbia River was a wild, frothy, dangerous place once
|
Mar 09, 2026 |
|
Storm-tossed ships shared a double date with destiny
|
Mar 06, 2026 |
|
“Roaring 20s” murder solved by cop’s diligence
|
Mar 05, 2026 |
|
Oregon’s highest, smallest city once had its jail stolen
|
Mar 04, 2026 |
|
Miracle saved sailors from death on Columbia bar
|
Mar 03, 2026 |
|
Historic lighthouse saved by a nonexistent ghost ... but was she, really?
|
Mar 02, 2026 |
|
Heppner's devastation brought out heroism in face of watery death (2 of 2)
|
Feb 27, 2026 |
|
Worst natural flash flood in U.S. history struck here (Part 1 of 2)
|
Feb 26, 2026 |
|
Mount Angel Abbey owes grandeur to colorful monk
|
Feb 25, 2026 |
|
‘Unwritten Law’ no help for man who murdered his wife's brother
|
Feb 24, 2026 |
|
Frontier murder was even darker than it appeared
|
Feb 23, 2026 |
|
Pixieland and Oregon's midcentury culture
|
Feb 20, 2026 |
|
‘Daredevil Al’ Fossett was Evel Knievel of the ’20s
|
Feb 19, 2026 |
|
West’s first female lawyer:
A legal Mother Teresa?
|
Feb 18, 2026 |
|
Pioneering “lady lawyer” deserved a better legacy
|
Feb 17, 2026 |
|
Acquitted murder suspect became first ‘lady lawyer’
|
Feb 16, 2026 |
|
Fiery explosive shipwreck gave Boiler Bay its name
|
Feb 13, 2026 |
|
Bob Straub stopped plan to put highway on the beach
|
Feb 12, 2026 |
|
Shanghaied in Astoria: A once-perilous port city
|
Feb 11, 2026 |
|
Secretary imposed martial law on rowdy town
|
Feb 10, 2026 |
|
Legislators shut down Salem with a raging party
|
Feb 09, 2026 |
|
Wolf Creek Tavern was a refuge for Hollywood stars
|
Feb 06, 2026 |
|
How Marie Dorion earned title ‘Oregon’s Revenant’ (Part 3 of 3)
|
Feb 05, 2026 |
|
Astorian party’s decision to follow river proved fatal (Part 2 of 3)
|
Feb 04, 2026 |
|
Marie Aioe Dorion was a wilderness-survival ninja (Part 1 of 3)
|
Feb 03, 2026 |
|
Legendary Civil War ship met a sad end in Coos Bay
|
Feb 02, 2026 |
|
Dispute over 'McQuinn Strip' lasted more than a century (Part 2 of 2)
|
Jan 30, 2026 |
|
Dispute over Indians’
land lasted for 101 years (Part 1 of 2)
|
Jan 29, 2026 |
|
Bungling ex-crimps book-ended shanghaiing era
|
Jan 28, 2026 |
|
Plan to stop shanghaiing: Give Sullivan a monopoly
|
Jan 27, 2026 |
|
World boxing champ by day, shanghaier by night
|
Jan 26, 2026 |
|
Shanghaiing in Portland: P-town's time as shanghaiing capital of the world (2 of 2)
|
Jan 23, 2026 |
|
Shanghaiing in Portland: How the 'crimping' business worked (1 of 2)
|
Jan 22, 2026 |
|
How ‘FBI’s Most Wanted’ gangster was busted
|
Jan 21, 2026 |
|
‘Hold-up session’ featured big drunken house party
|
Jan 20, 2026 |
|
‘Oregon’s Outback’ a real moonshiner’s paradise
|
Jan 19, 2026 |
|
Bing cherry has its roots on the Oregon Trail
|
Jan 16, 2026 |
|
Gov. T.T. Geer is Oregon’s ‘patron saint of bicyclists’
|
Jan 15, 2026 |
|
For Oregon pioneer family, highway robbers were lifesavers
|
Jan 14, 2026 |
|
‘Diamond Bill’ Barrett was a modern Mr. Wickham
|
Jan 13, 2026 |
|
Rescue station keeper’s cowardice got 11 killed
|
Jan 12, 2026 |
|
Oregon Vortex: 95 years of keeping experts guessing
|
Jan 09, 2026 |
|
The crazy story of U.S.’s first woman governor (Part 2 of 2)
|
Jan 08, 2026 |
|
The crazy story of U.S.’s first woman governor (Part 1 of 2)
|
Jan 07, 2026 |
|
Land-fraud swindlers plundered Oregon badly (Part 2 of 2)
|
Jan 06, 2026 |
|
Land-fraud swindlers plundered Oregon badly (Part 1 of 2)
|
Jan 05, 2026 |
|
'Most Wanted' desperadoes found a home and respect in Oregon(Part 2 of 2)
|
Jan 02, 2026 |
|
Running from FBI? Hide in a friendly Oregon town!
|
Jan 01, 2026 |
|
P-town mansion was once home of starvation cult
|
Dec 31, 2025 |
|
Oregon man’s wife killed his SCOTUS appointment
|
Dec 30, 2025 |
|
‘Cape Foulweather Light’ built on the wrong cape
|
Dec 29, 2025 |
|
Body snatchers' incompetence actually saved them from more serious charges (Part 2 of 2)
|
Dec 26, 2025 |
|
Body snatchers plotted to steal dead mayor’s corpse (Part 1 of 2)
|
Dec 25, 2025 |
|
‘Blue Ruin’ drove Oregon to drink—and prohibition
|
Dec 24, 2025 |
|
Larry Sullivan's 'second act' career dwarfed his first (Part 2 of 2)
|
Dec 23, 2025 |
|
Boss shanghaier Sullivan’s mining-stock fraud career (Part 1 of 2)
|
Dec 22, 2025 |
|
Brides were stripped of U.S. citizenship at the altar
|
Dec 19, 2025 |
|
Oregonians had the jump on California Gold Rush
|
Dec 18, 2025 |
|
Palatial riverboat caught in hurricane on open sea
|
Dec 17, 2025 |
|
Drunk looting party broke out at scene of shipwreck
|
Dec 16, 2025 |
|
Civil War plotters hoped to get West Coast to secede
|
Dec 15, 2025 |
|
Buster Keaton brought Hollywood to Cottage Grove (Part 2 of 2)
|
Dec 12, 2025 |
|
Buster Keaton brought Hollywood to Cottage Grove (Part 1 of 2)
|
Dec 11, 2025 |
|
Prohibition sting ended with a deadly gunfight
|
Dec 10, 2025 |
|
Town’s emergency wood money is still legal tender
|
Dec 09, 2025 |
|
Bunny-massacre parties were big social events
|
Dec 08, 2025 |
|
Corvallis man found cows make lousy boat engines
|
Dec 05, 2025 |
|
Alcoholic shipmate drank snake-preserving whiskey
|
Dec 04, 2025 |
|
Schemers’ plans to exploit Multnomah Falls failed
|
Dec 03, 2025 |
|
Shanghai tunnels mostly a myth...or are they?
|
Dec 02, 2025 |
|
Tarzan fans are grateful for gold miner’s failure
|
Dec 01, 2025 |
|
Riverboat party turned out to be shanghaiing trick
|
Nov 28, 2025 |
|
Skipper doubled down on a bad bet ... and lost it all
|
Nov 27, 2025 |
|
Bad recording technique led to FBI investigation
|
Nov 26, 2025 |
|
P-town’s rabbi got in gun fight at President’s hotel
|
Nov 25, 2025 |
|
Shipwrecked sailors had to paddle 200 miles to safety
|
Nov 24, 2025 |
|
City-bus-powered cable car scheme was epic flop (Part 2 of 2)
|
Nov 21, 2025 |
|
Timberline could have been a gaudy skyscraper (Part 1 of 2)
|
Nov 20, 2025 |
|
Outlaw Bill Miner’s first train robbery was a fiasco
|
Nov 19, 2025 |
|
Taming of the Rascal: Chambreau’s redemption (Part 2 of 2)
|
Nov 18, 2025 |
|
A crooked gambler’s-eye view of frontier Oregon (Part 1 of 2)
|
Nov 17, 2025 |
|
Was suspicious death in ‘boneyard’ really murder?
|
Nov 14, 2025 |
|
'Mother of Oregon History' earned praise, but little money (Part 2 of 2)
|
Nov 13, 2025 |
|
Legendary Oregon author started with poetry, pulps (Part 1 of 2)
|
Nov 12, 2025 |
|
Supreme Court: Slavery is legal, but only for sailors
|
Nov 11, 2025 |
|
Lafe Pence’s crazy plan: Wash mountain into lake
|
Nov 10, 2025 |
|
Oregon's Modern Prometheus: The forced-sterilization advocate (Part 3 of a 3-part series on Bethenia Owens-Adair)
|
Nov 07, 2025 |
|
Oregon's Modern Prometheus: The Pioneer 'Lady Doctor'(part 2 of a 3-part series on Bethenia Owens-Adair)
|
Nov 06, 2025 |
|
Pioneer ‘lady doctor’ was Oregon's 'Modern Prometheus': Part 1 of 3-part series on Bethenia Owens-Adair
|
Nov 05, 2025 |
|
How the War of 1812 changed Oregon's fate (Part 2 of 2)
|
Nov 04, 2025 |
|
How Oregon almost became part of Canada once, eh? (Part 1 of 2)
|
Nov 03, 2025 |
|
Vigilantes overreached with murder of ‘rustler’
|
Oct 31, 2025 |
|
Bold bandits robbed train 3 miles from Roseburg
|
Oct 30, 2025 |
|
Cow Creek train robbers were liberal with the dynamite
|
Oct 29, 2025 |
|
Oregon crooks have always loved their dynamite
|
Oct 28, 2025 |
|
How to rob trains with dynamite: Tips from a pro
|
Oct 27, 2025 |
|
‘Prepaid shanghaiing’ plot went off the rails — fatally
|
Oct 24, 2025 |
|
Old Oregon loggers, millworkers were tough characters
|
Oct 23, 2025 |
|
When the Confederate flag flew over Oregon soil
|
Oct 22, 2025 |
|
Lava Lake murders still officially unsolved, but ...
|
Oct 21, 2025 |
|
Missing trapper’s mom suspected foul play
|
Oct 20, 2025 |
|
Lawyer schemed to steal land by shanghaiing its owner
|
Oct 17, 2025 |
|
'Oregon's Native Stepson' Hoover saved millions from starving to death
|
Oct 16, 2025 |
|
Lonely Newburg orphan grew up to be President
|
Oct 15, 2025 |
|
Mayor’s wife gave him a real election-day surprise
|
Oct 14, 2025 |
|
Skunk’s pelt would be best admired from far away
|
Oct 13, 2025 |
|
‘12 Angry Men’ couldn’t have happened in Oregon
|
Oct 10, 2025 |
|
The life and death of a
P-town gangster and moll
|
Oct 09, 2025 |
|
Hank Vaughan, Oregon’s legendary outlaw: Part 3
|
Oct 08, 2025 |
|
Hank Vaughan, Oregon’s legendary outlaw: Part 2
|
Oct 07, 2025 |
|
Hank Vaughan, Oregon’s legendary outlaw: Part 1
|
Oct 06, 2025 |