Editing Oakridge, Oregon (section)

==History==
[[File:Oakridge Ore. Highway 58.jpg|thumb|left|Highway 58 in Oakridge, {{Circa|1940}}]]
[[File:Oakridge, Oregon, from the North Fork Trail.JPG|thumb|right|alt=Oakridge as seen from a hill to the north|Oakridge as seen from the north, along the North Fork Trail, with snow-capped Diamond Peak in the distance]]
The area now known as Oakridge was first explored by Euro-Americans in 1852 as a possible route for pioneers coming from [[Central Oregon]] to the [[Willamette Valley]]. Before that Oakridge was the land of the [[Kalapuya]] who had villages on the rivers since time immemorial. A post office was named "Hazeldell" in 1888, and the place's name later changed to "Big Prairie", and then "Oak Ridge".<ref name=oregonbusiness>{{cite news |url= http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/72-november-2009/2478-trouble-in-timber-town |title= Trouble in Timber Town |work= Oregon Business |first= Ben |last= Jacklet |access-date= 2010-12-13 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091030064514/http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/72-november-2009/2478-trouble-in-timber-town |archive-date= 2009-10-30 |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref name=citywebsite>{{cite web|url=http://www.ci.oakridge.or.us/Default.aspx?tabid=1728|title=History|publisher=City of Oakridge|access-date=2013-03-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Engeman |first= Richard H. |title= The Oregon Companion: An Historical Gazetteer of The Useful, The Curious, and The Arcane |year= 2009 |publisher= Timber Press |location= Portland, Oregon |isbn= 978-0-88192-899-0 |page= 274}}</ref> In 1912, a new community was formed and officially named Oakridge.  Since its beginnings as a mountain ranch, Oakridge has been a [[Southern Pacific Transportation Company|railroad]] boomtown, a [[Lumberjack|logger]]s' haven,<ref name=oregonbusiness/> and an [[outdoor recreation|outdoor enthusiast's]] destination.<ref name=motto/><ref name=npr>{{cite news |url= https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129186583 |title= Former Oregon Lumber Town Tries To Reinvent Itself |work= National Public Radio | first= Al |last=Letson |date=2010-08-14 |access-date=2010-12-04}}</ref>

The early boom for Oakridge can be attributed to the [[Southern Pacific Transportation Company|Southern Pacific Railroad]].  By 1910, work had already begun on Tunnel 22, a short route connecting Oakridge to the area now known as [[Westfir, Oregon|Westfir]]. Oakridge was a station on Southern Pacific's Cascade subdivision, a line that goes over [[Willamette Pass]] via the Natron Cutoff that was built in 1926, and the railroad played an integral part of the economy and lifestyle in Oakridge. The [[Union Pacific Railroad]] still operates the rails and trains are a common sight in Oakridge.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.frograil.com/railroad/or.htm |title= Railfan Sites in Oregon |publisher= Frograil Rail Tours | access-date=2010-12-04}}</ref> Today, Amtrak's ''[[Coast Starlight]]'' passes through the town but does not stop.

On July&nbsp;2, 1946, the Pope and Talbot Lumber Company purchased [[timber]]land near Oakridge.  By 1948, the company had built a large [[sawmill]] and had begun a massive timber [[logging]] operation.  While the railroad and Westfir's [[Edward Hines Lumber Company|Hines]] sawmill began to slow down, the Pope and Talbot mill expanded and eventually employed more than 500 people.  The combined economic base of the railroad and sawmills accounted for the population growth of the 1960s and 1970s, when the community of Willamette City was consolidated into Oakridge.<ref name=citywebsite/><ref name=tobe>{{cite news |url= http://www.sierrainstitute.us/neai/OR_case_studies/Oakridge%20OR.pdf |title= Oakridge, Oregon |publisher= Sierra Institute |first1= Lisa |last1= Tobe |first2= Lita |last2= Buttolph |access-date= 2010-12-04 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120306031806/http://www.sierrainstitute.us/neai/OR_case_studies/Oakridge%20OR.pdf |archive-date= 2012-03-06 |url-status= dead }}</ref> However, in 1978, the Hines mill in Westfir closed, and by 1985 the Pope and Talbot Mill had laid off all of its workers.  The City of Oakridge now owns the property that formerly housed the Pope and Talbot sawmill.<ref name=tobe/>

In February 2019, an [[Amtrak]] ''Coast Starlight'' train was stranded near Oakridge for over 36 hours, after a rare heavy snowstorm.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/02/26/698089129/180-amtrak-passengers-on-the-move-after-36-hours-stranded-in-oregon-amid-heavy-s |title=183 Amtrak Passengers Rescued After 36 Hours Stranded In Oregon Amid Heavy Snow |newspaper=NPR |date=February 26, 2019 |first=Amy |last=Held}}</ref>