Editing Antelope, Oregon (section)

===Rajneesh movement ===
[[Image:AntelopePlaque.jpg|thumb|A plaque at the Antelope post office commemorates local resistance to the Rajneeshee movement]]
[[Rajneeshpuram]], a farming and meditation commune founded by the [[Rajneesh movement]], followers of [[Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh]], was established near the town in 1981. The town attempted to disincorporate in April 1982 to avoid a takeover by the Rajneesh followers, who registered to vote in Antelope en masse and rejected the measure. The Rajneeshees gained a majority on the town council following the November 1982 elections and resignation of two other members.<ref>{{cite news |last=Senior |first=Jeanne |date=December 15, 1982 |title=Council hands control of Antelope to Rajneeshee |page=C1 |work=The Oregonian |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oregonian-council-hands-control-of-a/155687212/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |accessdate=September 20, 2024}}</ref> On September 18, 1984, the city was renamed "Rajneesh".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/rajneesh/index.ssf/1985/07/incorporation_of_city_opens_do.html|title=Incorporation of Rajneeshpuram opens door to development (part 9 of 20)|work=OregonLive.com|access-date=June 9, 2018|language=en-US|quote=Sangeet also became city attorney for Antelope, Rajneeshpuram's nearest neighbor, which was taken over by sannyasins and renamed Rajneesh. Sangeet is an acharya.}}</ref>

The organization collapsed in 1985 following the discovery by the authorities of criminal activities, such as a [[1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack|bioterror attack]] a year prior that exposed non-Rajneeshees in Wasco County to [[salmonella]] to prevent them from voting. On November&nbsp;6, 1985, the remaining residents, which included both original residents and some remaining Rajneeshees, voted 34 to 0 to restore the original name, and it was subsequently restored in 1986.<ref name=AntelopeOfficial/> The [[United States Postal Service|U.S. Postal Service]] had never recognized the change of name.<ref name="OGN" />

Subsequent to the collapse of the commune, the property reverted to ownership by the State of Oregon for non-payment of taxes, and was sold to Montana billionaire [[Dennis Washington]] in 1991 for $3.65 million.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/20/us/antelope-journal-oregon-ranch-with-a-troubled-past-faces-a-dubious-future.html|title=Antelope Journal;Oregon Ranch With a Troubled Past Faces a Dubious Future|last=Egan|first=Timothy|work=The New York Times |date=October 20, 1995 |access-date=May 3, 2018|language=en}}</ref> Currently, the ranch, {{convert|18|mi|km}} from Antelope,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Abbott|first=Carl|title=Rajneeshees|encyclopedia=The Oregon Encyclopedia|url=http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/rajneeshees/|publisher=Portland State University|access-date=August 12, 2013}}</ref> is operated by [[Young Life]], a Christian [[parachurch organization]], as a Christian youth camp known as "Washington Family Ranch".<ref>{{cite web|title=Washington Family Ranch |url=http://sites.younglife.org/camps/washingtonfamilyranch/default.aspx |publisher=Young Life |access-date=August 11, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130330080945/http://sites.younglife.org/camps/washingtonfamilyranch/default.aspx |archive-date=March 30, 2013 }}</ref>

The events of the mid-1980s that involved the Rajneesh group were the subject of the 2003 ''[[Forensic Files]]'' TV series episode "Bio Attack", and the 2018 [[Netflix]] documentary ''[[Wild Wild Country]]''.