Editing Antelope, Oregon

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Antelope, Oregon
|settlement_type          = [[City]]<ref name=AntelopeOfficial/>
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    = 
|image_skyline            = Antelope Oregon post office.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = Post office and abandoned building in Antelope
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               = 
|image_map = Wasco_County_Oregon_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Antelope_Highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location in [[Oregon]]
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             = 
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Oregon]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Oregon|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Wasco County, Oregon|Wasco]]
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = [[Mayor]]
|leader_name              = Rodney Shanks{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}
|established_title        = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
|established_date         = 1901
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_sq_mi         = 0.46
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/5/query?where=STATE='41'&outFields=NAME,STATE,PLACE,AREALAND,AREAWATER,LSADC,CENTLAT,CENTLON&orderByFields=PLACE&returnGeometry=false&returnTrueCurves=false&f=json|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 12, 2022}}</ref>
|area_total_km2           = 1.19
|area_land_sq_mi          = 0.46
|area_land_km2            = 1.19
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00
|area_water_km2           = 0.00
|population_footnotes     = <ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly"/>
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_total         = 37
|population_metro         = 
|population_urban         = 
|population_density_km2   = 30.96
|population_density_sq_mi = 80.26
|timezone                 = [[Pacific Standard Time Zone|Pacific]]
|utc_offset               = -8
|timezone_DST             = Pacific
|utc_offset_DST           = -7
|coordinates              = {{coord|44|54|41|N|120|43|25|W|region:US-OR|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_ft             = 2667
|website                  = [http://cityofantelope.us/ cityofantelope.us]
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 97001
|area_code                = [[Area code 541|541]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 41-02250<ref name="wwwcensusgov"/>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 2409714<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2409714}}</ref>
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_footnotes        = 
|unit_pref                = Imperial
}}

'''Antelope''' (known as '''Rajneesh''' from 1984 to 1986) is a city in rural [[Wasco County, Oregon|Wasco County]], [[Oregon]], United States.  Antelope had an estimated population of 47 people in 2012.<ref name="2012 Pop Estimate">{{cite web|title=Population Estimates |url=https://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012.html |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=June 2, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130611010502/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012.html |archive-date=June 11, 2013 }}</ref><ref name=AntelopeOfficial>{{cite web|url=https://www.cityofantelope.us|title=Antelope Oregon|website=Official City of Antelope Oregon Website|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref>

The city was established in 1872 at a stage and freight wagon road stop on the old Dalles to Canyon City Trail. It was incorporated as the City of Antelope in 1901.

In the early 1980s, hundreds of members of the [[Rajneesh movement]] moved in and built [[Rajneeshpuram|a small city]] in previously unoccupied land they purchased. The Rajneeshees effectively took over the government of the city by outnumbering the original residents with new [[voter registration]]s. On September 18, 1984, a vote was held, and the city was renamed Rajneesh, Oregon. By 1985, after several of the Rajneesh movement leaders were discovered to have been involved in criminal behavior (including a [[1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack|mass food poisoning attack]] and an [[1985 Rajneeshee assassination plot|aborted plot to assassinate a U.S. Attorney]]), leader [[Rajneesh]] left the country as part of a plea deal for federal immigration fraud charges, and the Rajneesh commune collapsed. On November 6, 1985, the city voted to revert to the name Antelope.

==History==
The Antelope Valley was probably named by European-American members of [[Joseph Sherar]]'s party, who were packing supplies to mines in the [[John Day Fossil Beds National Monument|John Day]] area.<ref name="OGN">{{cite book | last = McArthur | first = Lewis A. | author-link = Lewis A. McArthur | author2 = Lewis L. McArthur | title = Oregon Geographic Names |orig-year = 1928 | edition = 7th | year = 2003 | publisher = Oregon Historical Society Press | location = Portland, Oregon | isbn = 0-87595-277-1 | page = 27}}</ref> Sherar became known as the operator of a toll bridge across the [[Deschutes River (Oregon)|Deschutes River]], on a cut-off of the [[Barlow Road]].<ref name=OHS>{{cite web|last=Jette|first=Melinda|title=Sherar's Hotel & Toll Bridge, c. 1910|url=http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm?doc_ID=8A131DA8-92FB-C912-7A9F8C3B09FBF50D|work=The Oregon History Project|publisher=[[Oregon Historical Society]]|year=2004|access-date=September 20, 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070927025345/http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm?doc_ID=8A131DA8-92FB-C912-7A9F8C3B09FBF50D| archive-date= September 27, 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> In the early 19th century, the area supported many [[pronghorn]]s, which are not true antelopes, but are often called "pronghorn antelopes".<ref name="OGN"/>

===19th century beginnings===
In the mid-19th&nbsp;century, Antelope began as a station along the wagon road connecting [[The Dalles, Oregon|The Dalles]] on the [[Columbia River]] with gold mines near [[Canyon City, Oregon|Canyon City]]. After about 1870, the wagon road became known as [[The Dalles Military Road]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Regional History|url=http://www.paleolands.org/find/time/here/C45|publisher=Oregon Paleo Lands Institute|year=2013|access-date=August 11, 2013}}</ref> The road crossed the Deschutes River on Sherar's Bridge.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Corning|editor-first=Howard McKinley|title=Dictionary of Oregon History|publisher=Binford & Mort Publishing|location=Portland, Oregon|edition=2nd|year=1989|orig-year=1956|page=241|isbn=0-8323-0449-2}}</ref>
[[File:Antelope Schoolhouse (Wasco County, Oregon scenic images) (wascDA0063).jpg|thumb|The historic [[Antelope School]] building, which currently houses municipal offices and various community functions including the annual harvest dinner event]]

The Antelope post office was established in 1871, with [[Howard Maupin]], founder of [[Maupin, Oregon]], as the first postmaster.<ref name="OGN"/> The town's population peaked around 1900,<ref name="Moffatt"/> shortly after the [[Columbia Southern Railway]] completed a {{convert|70|mi|km|adj=on}} rail line from [[Biggs, Oregon|Biggs]], on the Columbia River, to [[Shaniko, Oregon|Shaniko]], a few miles north of Antelope.<ref name="Culp">{{cite book|last=Culp|first=Edwin D.|title=Stations West: The Story of the Oregon Railways|pages=100&ndash;101|publisher=Bonanza Books|location=New York|year=1978|oclc=4751643}}</ref> The railroad timetable for September&nbsp;9, 1900, lists a daily stagecoach run from the train terminal in Shaniko to Antelope and beyond.<ref name="Culp"/> Antelope was [[incorporation (municipal government)|incorporated]] by the [[Oregon Legislative Assembly]] on January&nbsp;29, 1901.

===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]]''.

==Geography==
[[File:2017-07-15 Antelope 07.jpg|thumb|The closed Antelope Café]]
Antelope, in Wasco County in north-central Oregon, is along [[Oregon Route 218]] just north of its intersection with [[Oregon Route 293]].<ref name="DeLorme">{{cite book|title=Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer|publisher=DeLorme|location=Yarmouth, Maine|page=76|year=2008|edition=7th|isbn=978-0-89933-347-2}}</ref> By highway, the city is {{convert|34|mi|km}} northeast of [[Madras, Oregon|Madras]] and {{convert|143|mi|km}} east of [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Antelope Community Profile |publisher=Infrastructure Finance Authority |url=http://www.orinfrastructure.org/profiles/Antelope/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105065216/http://www.orinfrastructure.org/profiles/Antelope/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 5, 2010 |year=2009 |access-date=August 11, 2013 }}</ref> Antelope Creek, in the [[Deschutes River (Oregon)|Deschutes River]] watershed, flows by Antelope.<ref name="DeLorme"/>

The city is {{convert|2654|ft|m}} above sea level.<ref name="gnis"/> According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|0.48|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, all of it land.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web|title=U.S. Gazetteer: 2010, 2000, and 1990|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/gazetteer.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 10, 2013}}</ref>

===Climate===
According to the [[Köppen climate classification]] system, Antelope has a [[warm-summer Mediterranean climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] Csa).

{{Weather box
|location = Antelope, Oregon, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1924–present
|single line = Yes

|Jan record high F = 70
|Feb record high F = 72
|Mar record high F = 78
|Apr record high F = 90
|May record high F = 98
|Jun record high F = 108
|Jul record high F = 107
|Aug record high F = 109
|Sep record high F = 101
|Oct record high F = 91
|Nov record high F = 76
|Dec record high F = 72

|Jan avg record high F = 57.6
|Feb avg record high F = 59.1
|Mar avg record high F = 66.1
|Apr avg record high F = 75.5
|May avg record high F = 84.4
|Jun avg record high F = 91.7
|Jul avg record high F = 98.8
|Aug avg record high F = 98.3
|Sep avg record high F = 92.6
|Oct avg record high F = 79.9
|Nov avg record high F = 65.1
|Dec avg record high F = 56.0
|year avg record high F = 100.4

|Jan high F = 42.9
|Feb high F = 46.1
|Mar high F = 52.8
|Apr high F = 58.7
|May high F = 68.4
|Jun high F = 75.7
|Jul high F = 87.3
|Aug high F = 86.5
|Sep high F = 78.2
|Oct high F = 63.5
|Nov high F = 49.7
|Dec high F = 41.6
|year high F =

|Jan mean F = 34.2
|Feb mean F = 36.2
|Mar mean F = 41.1
|Apr mean F = 45.6
|May mean F = 53.6
|Jun mean F = 60.2
|Jul mean F = 68.9
|Aug mean F = 68.3
|Sep mean F = 61.2
|Oct mean F = 49.8
|Nov mean F = 39.5
|Dec mean F = 32.7
|year mean F =

|Jan low F = 25.6
|Feb low F = 26.2
|Mar low F = 29.4
|Apr low F = 32.5
|May low F = 38.9
|Jun low F = 44.6
|Jul low F = 50.5
|Aug low F = 50.1
|Sep low F = 44.1
|Oct low F = 36.0
|Nov low F = 29.3
|Dec low F = 23.8
|year low F =

|Jan avg record low F = 10.1
|Feb avg record low F = 11.2
|Mar avg record low F = 18.6
|Apr avg record low F = 22.3
|May avg record low F = 27.1
|Jun avg record low F = 33.8
|Jul avg record low F = 40.2
|Aug avg record low F = 39.6
|Sep avg record low F = 32.3
|Oct avg record low F = 22.8
|Nov avg record low F = 14.6
|Dec avg record low F = 8.0
|year avg record low F = 0.5

|Jan record low F = -27
|Feb record low F = -22
|Mar record low F = 5
|Apr record low F = 11
|May record low F = 13
|Jun record low F = 25
|Jul record low F = 29
|Aug record low F = 30
|Sep record low F = 20
|Oct record low F = 8
|Nov record low F = -7
|Dec record low F = -20

|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 1.50
|Feb precipitation inch = 1.29
|Mar precipitation inch = 1.22
|Apr precipitation inch = 1.52
|May precipitation inch = 1.99
|Jun precipitation inch = 1.04
|Jul precipitation inch = 0.34
|Aug precipitation inch = 0.34
|Sep precipitation inch = 0.50
|Oct precipitation inch = 1.23
|Nov precipitation inch = 1.76
|Dec precipitation inch = 1.81
|year precipitation inch =

|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 10.9
|Feb precipitation days = 9.7
|Mar precipitation days = 9.7
|Apr precipitation days = 9.7
|May precipitation days = 9.7
|Jun precipitation days = 6.3
|Jul precipitation days = 2.5
|Aug precipitation days = 2.7
|Sep precipitation days = 3.8
|Oct precipitation days = 7.9
|Nov precipitation days = 10.3
|Dec precipitation days = 12.1

|Jan snow inch = 2.0
|Feb snow inch = 1.0
|Mar snow inch = 0.7
|Apr snow inch = 1.0
|May snow inch = 0.0
|Jun snow inch = 0.0
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.0
|Oct snow inch = 0.2
|Nov snow inch = 1.2
|Dec snow inch = 3.6
|year snow inch =

|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 2.0
|Feb snow days = 1.6
|Mar snow days = 0.6
|Apr snow days = 0.2
|May snow days = 0.0
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.1
|Nov snow days = 0.9
|Dec snow days = 2.4

|source 1 = NOAA<ref name = NOAA>
{{cite web
|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00350197&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|title = U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Antelope 6 SSW, OR
|access-date = April 15, 2023
}}
</ref>
|source 2 = National Weather Service<ref name = NOWData>
{{cite web
|url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=pdt
|publisher = National Weather Service
|title = NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Pendleton
|access-date = April 15, 2023
}}
</ref>
}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1890= 184
|1900= 249
|1910= 175
|1920= 199
|1930= 136
|1940= 90
|1950= 60
|1960= 46
|1970= 51
|1980= 39
|1990= 34
|2000= 59
|2010= 46
|2020= 37
|footnote=source:<ref name="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website <!-- The search term is "Antelope city, Oregon" -->|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|url=https://www.census.gov|access-date=August 10, 2013|quote=(As of 2018-06-14, the archive is not functioning to provide the cited information and the original link is not a dead link.) }}</ref><ref name="Moffatt">{{cite book|last=Moffatt|first=Riley Moore|title=Population History of Western U.S. Cities and Towns, 1850–1990|location=Lanham, Maryland|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=1996|page=206|isbn=978-0-8108-3033-2}}</ref><ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly">{{cite web|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=P1_001N,NAME&for=place:*&in=state:41&key=5ccd0821c15d9f4520e2dcc0f8d92b2ec9336108|title=Census Population API|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 12, 2022}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Rajneesh City (Antelope).jpg|thumb|left|Sign on the entrance to Antelope reading "City of Rajneesh", circa 1985]]

===2010 census===
As of the [[census]] of 2010, there were 46 people, 28 households, and 10 families residing in the city. The [[population density]] was {{convert|96|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 43 housing units at an average density of {{convert|90|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the city was 91.3% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (42 people), 2.2% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]] (1 person), 2.2% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]] (1 person), and 4.3% from two or more races (2 people).<ref name="wwwcensusgov"/>

There were 28 households, of which 11% (3 households) had children under the age of 18 living with them, 21% (6 households) were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 4% (1 household) had a female householder with no husband present, 11% (3 households) had a male householder with no wife present, and 64% (18 households) were non-families. About 61% (17 households) of all households were made up of individuals, and 46% (13 households) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.64 and the average family size was 2.70.<ref name="wwwcensusgov"/>

The median age in the city was 62 years. About 15% of residents (7 people) were under the age of 18; 2% (1 person) were between the ages of 18 and 24; 11% (5 people) were from 25 to 44; 30.3% (14 people) were from 45 to 64; and 41% (19 people) were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 52% (24 people) male and 48% (22 people) female.<ref name="wwwcensusgov"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==

* Carl Abbott, "Utopia and Bureaucracy: The Fall of Rajneeshpuram, Oregon," ''[[Pacific Historical Review]],'' vol. 59, no. 1 (Feb. 1990), pp.&nbsp;77–103. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3640096 In JSTOR]
* Donna Quick, ''A Place Called Antelope: The Rajneesh Story'' (August Pr.), 1995.
* Arthur H. Campbell, ''Antelope: The Saga of a Western Town'', 1990.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Antelope, Oregon}}
* [https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Pages/local/cities/a-d/antelope.aspx Entry for Antelope] from the ''[[Oregon Blue Book]]''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080511180637/http://www.a2zgorge.info/community/towns/antelope.htm Antelope, Oregon] from a2zgorgeinfo.com (contains entire text of "Antelope" and "Rajneeshpuram" from ''[[Oregon Geographic Names]]'')
* {{Oregon Encyclopedia|city_of_antelope_muddy_ranch|City of Antelope and Muddy Ranch|Ramsey, Jarold}}
* [https://darksky.org/news/antelope-oregon/ "Antelope, Oregon certified as the first International Dark Sky Community in Oregon by DarkSky International"], [[DarkSky International]] (December 4, 2024)

{{Wasco County, Oregon}}
{{Osho movement}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Oregon]]
[[Category:Cities in Wasco County, Oregon]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1871]]
[[Category:Rajneesh movement]]
[[Category:1871 establishments in Oregon]]