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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.

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Check latest episodes from Offbeat Oregon History podcast podcast

The Prineville Vigilantes: Part Two — The Shadow Government

2026/10/22

Crook Count was formed at the height of Vigilante ascendancy, so when the governor named prominent locals to leadership positions in the new county government, he ended up stocking it with members of the gang. Their official rule would be bloody and chaotic. (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2408c-1211d.prineville-vigilantes-663.199.html)

The Prineville Vigilantes: Part 1 — The Lynch Mob, and the Rise.

2026/10/21

In Crook County, the early 1880s were like something out of a Louis L'Amour novel: Masked riders galloping around by night, dispensing what they saw as justice. It all started with the lynching of an innocent man. (Part 1 of 3) (Prineville, Crook County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2408c-1211d.prineville-vigilantes-663.199.html)

Tillamook Guerillas were ready for enemy invasion

2026/10/20

When the Oregon National Guard was called up at the start of World War II, Oregonians felt vulnerable to Japanese invasion. So they loaded their rifles and possed up ready to give 'em hell! (Tillamook County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1802b.tillamook-guerillas-ready-to-fight-off-invasion-482.html)

Joseph Drake: Murderer, or just an innocent patsy?

2026/10/19

It's nearly certain that Drake was guilty only of extreme naivete — and his landlord, after murdering a neighbor, knew he could pin the crime on him because Drake was Black. (Salem, Marion County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1801d.joseph-drake-murderer-or-innocent-patsy-480.html)

Innocent man’s sacrifice averted deadly ‘tong war’

2026/10/16

It was obvious to nearly everyone that Chee Gong was innocent. But one of his tong brothers had murdered Lee Yik and disappeared, and blood had to answer for blood. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1802c.tong-war-in-portland-averted-with-hanging-483.html)

Schooner crew locked in a race with fiery death

2026/10/15

Below decks, a chemical fire burned freely through the hold of the Challenger; above deck, her crew worked desperately in a hurricane windstorm to find a port they could put into before the fire broke through the deck. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1602a.challengers-race-with-time-and-fire-377.html)

A deadly marine concert of timidity, incompetence

2026/10/14

The wreck of the steamship Czarina: A cascade of bad decisions by nearly everyone involved resulted in the worst possible outcome: 23 mariners slowly dying in the surf as friends and family members watched from the beach. (Coos Bay Spit, Coos County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1302d-czarina-shipwreck-tragic-concert-of-incompetence.html)

Union squabbles were part of life on the waterfront

2026/10/13

Every few years, in the early 1900s, burly and hard-fisted dock workers got into a battle of wills with the autocratic sea-captains who ran the shipping companies. Most of the time, the dock workers got the worst of it. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1900s, 1910s, 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1303e-union-squabbles-on-portland-waterfront.html)

Davy Crockett in Oregon? Yes, but only in ‘tall tales’

2026/10/12

In the tall tales of 1840s almanacs, the “King of the Wild Frontier” had a lively interest in the Beaver State. But he did get a few of his facts wrong! (Statewide; 1840s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1801c.davy-crockett-tall-tales-about-oregon-479.html)

Was legendary city of Quivira on Oregon Coast?

2026/10/09

Native Americans told Coronado there was a fabulous gold-and-turquoise city called Quivira just to the east - or was it the north? All he found were Indian villages. But, was there a real city behind the legend? More specifically, was that city near Port Orford? (Port Orford, Curry County; 1540s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1802d.legendary-city-of-quivira-on-oregon-coast-484.html)

Skipper’s refusal to leave ship angered rescuers

2026/10/08

At great personal risk, Coast Guardsmen had to rescue the skipper twice, because he insisted on staying aboard the stranded steamship to defend its cargo from marauding salvagers. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1601e.shipwreck-laurel-stubborn-captain-376.html)

“Camp Castaway” was an inconvenient miracle

2026/10/07

Feeling lucky to be alive, the soldiers and sailors of the shipwrecked schooner Captain Lincoln got busy salvaging everything off their stranded ship. But then the Army had a problem: How were they going to retrieve it? (Coos Bay Spit, Coos County; 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1302c-shipwreck-camp-castaway-inconvenient-miracle.html)

Bridge-building scandal aroused Portlanders’ fury

2026/10/06

Crafty county commissioners tried to rig the bidding so their favorite bid, padded to the tune of half a million 1924 dollars, would win —but they didn't move quite fast enough. Three months later, they'd all been thrown out of office. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1303d-bridge-scandal-aroused-fury-of-1920s-portland.html)

State government was ‘decapitated’ by crash

2026/10/05

When it came out just after the war, the Beechcraft Bonanza was the hottest private plane in the sky — a sleek, speedy, fuel-efficient hot rod. But it was very easy for a novice to get in deadly trouble flying one. (Rural south Lake County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1801a.earl-snell-plane-crash-bonanza-477.html)

Rancher saved pioneer aviator's life on a stormy night

2026/10/02

WHEN RALPH GROVE heard the airplane engine droning outside, he knew exactly what that meant. It was the middle of the night, and some stormy weather was coming in. Nobody would be out flying on a night like this unless he was in serious trouble. He lit a lantern and hurried out to the shed... (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2406d-1103c.ted-barbers-night-flight-115.655.html)