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PODCAST

Offbeat Oregon History podcast

www.offbeatoregon.com (finn @ offbeatoregon.com)

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

history places & travel

All Episodes

00:08:50

Oregon's Modern Prometheus: The forced-sterilization...

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/11/07

THE YEARS JUST after the discovery of germ theory were a great time to be a mainstream physician. By understanding, for the first time, the true vectors of disease, doctors suddenly found they were able to make real and undeniable changes in patient outcomes. But understanding those vectors — microbes — did something else too.... (Astoria, Clatsop County; 1900s, 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2504b1008c.bethenia-owens-adair-oregons-prometheus-697.084.html)

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00:10:27

Oregon's Modern Prometheus: The Pioneer 'Lady...

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/11/06

It was a remarkable start to an even more remarkable career — the more so as Bethenia was over 30 years old when she launched it. It was also not a “second act” career, but a fourth — she’d been a wife, then a teacher, then a hat-shop entrepreneur, and now a physician. She had seen much of the world, and conquered more than most. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1880s, 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2504b1008c.bethenia-owens-adair-oregons-prometheus-697.084.html)

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00:12:05

Pioneer ‘lady doctor’ was Oregon's 'Modern...

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/11/05

In Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Shelley tells the story of a brilliant and gifted scientist-physician who reaches too far in his quest for knowledge, and dares to lay his hands on the power that rightly belongs only to the gods: that of the creation of life. Oregon history has its own Modern Prometheus. She didn’t create and animate a monster out of corpse-parts, and the product of her overreach didn’t hunt her down with vengeance on its

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00:10:54

How the War of 1812 changed Oregon's fate (Part 2 of 2)

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/11/04

Yesterday, in Part One of this story, we had just gotten to the part where the Tonquin had been blown up, marooning the Astorians on the far side of the continent. But the damage done by the Tonquin and its captain, Jonathan Thorn, went far beyond the loss of the ship. Thorn’s bargaining style had not only cost the expedition its ship and stranded Fort Astoria in the wilderness, it had sent a really powerful message that the “Bostons” were dangerous and untrustworthy.... (Astoria, Clatsop County;

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00:09:40

How Oregon almost became part of Canada once, eh?

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/11/03

For most people today, the story of the original colony of Astoria is remembered — if it’s remembered at all — as a dismal failure. It was an ill-equipped party sent out by a rich guy in New York, which failed and was forced to sell out at fire-sale prices to the British.And yeah, that’s all kind of true … but the most interesting thing about Fort Astoria is, if John Jacob Astor’s explorers had stayed home — or even left a year later than they did — the Oregon country would probably be part of

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00:08:46

Vigilantes overreached with murder of ‘rustler’

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/10/31

Everyone thought John Hawk was stealing cattle, and he refused to talk about it. So one night, a group of cattlemen snuck into his camp and assassinated him — and were shocked by the frontier community's response. (Joseph, Wallowa County; 1870s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1310d-john-hawk-murder-by-vigilantes.html)

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00:08:07

Bold bandits robbed train 3 miles from Roseburg

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/10/30

The job got off to a bad start when the fireman escaped and sprinted for the nearby town. The main suspect in the robbery quickly left town, and a few months later was killed in a streetcar holdup in Washington. (Roseburg, Douglas County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1502c.roseburg-train-robbery-jack-case.326.html)

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00:08:12

Cow Creek train robbers were liberal with the dynamite

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/10/29

The “Baritone Bandit” led a small group of desperados with a large cache of dynamite, and they got away with a good bit of loot from the Douglas County robbery. But one of the passengers saw behind the bandit's mask ... (Cow Creek Canyon, Douglas County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1502b.cow-creek-train-robbery.325.html)

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00:11:18

Oregon crooks have always loved their dynamite

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/10/28

Extortionists, jailbreakers, safecrackers, jealous lovers and even truant students have, throughout the early years of Oregon history, found high explosives a powerful aid to their nefarious schemes. (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1501d.crime-and-dynamite.html)

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00:10:14

How to rob trains with dynamite: Tips from a pro

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/10/27

Award-winning criminal mastermind/ motivational speaker Blackie DuQuesne shares a few key insights for aspiring train robbers on how to avoid “n00b mistakes” on a railroad heist. (1890s, 1900s, 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1501c.how-to-rob-trains-with-blackie-duquesne.html)

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00:11:16

‘Prepaid shanghaiing’ plot went off the rails — fatally

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/10/24

The sailor wanted to quit, but the captain didn't want him to; so he deposited a $60 'blood money' bonus with the British consul, as a reward if shanghaier Jim Turk could swindle him back aboard. Unfortunately, they killed him in the attempt. This kicked off a three-act courtroom drama oddly reminiscent of a Three Stooges episode. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1903e.frederick-kalashua-shanghaied-541.html)

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00:08:35

Old Oregon loggers, millworkers were tough characters

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/10/23

For workers in the 'bad old days' of working in the woods and in janky, underengineered sawmills, the occasional loss of a finger or two just came with the territory. (Garibaldi, Tillamook County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1904b.loggers-were-tough-guys-543.html)

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00:08:16

When the Confederate flag flew over Oregon soil

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/10/22

Smithfield rebels' gesture of defiance on the main stagecoach route caused shock and outrage, but nobody was outraged enough to risk being shot over it; so the flag waved there until federal troops arrived and confiscated it. (Franklin, Lane County; 1860s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1502a.rebel-flag-over-oregon.324.html)

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00:09:16

Lava Lake murders still officially unsolved, but ...

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/10/21

The evidence against Charles Kimzey was circumstantial, but police had the goods on him for an attempted murder the year before, so he was sent up the river on a life stretch. But clearly two men had done the killing -- and no one ever really got a line on who his partner might have been. (Big Lava Lake, Deschutes County; 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1904d.trapper-murders-lava-lake-part2-545.html)

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00:10:21

Missing trapper’s mom suspected foul play

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/10/20

Ed Nickols hadn't wanted to spend the winter by himself at the remote cabin, because he'd made a dangerous enemy in a former coworker who turned out to be an escaped convict. So Roy Wilson and Dewey Morris spent the winter there with him ... and all three disappeared halfway through it. (Lava Lake, Deschutes County; 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1904c.trapper-murders-lava-lake-part1-544.html)

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00:10:03

Lawyer schemed to steal land by shanghaiing its owner

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/10/17

Astoria shyster L.G. Carpenter coveted Darius Norris's valuable acreage on Long Beach Peninsula. So he got the police chief to arrest Norris on bogus charges, swindled him into signing over his property, and shanghaied him off out of town on a sailing ship. (Astoria, Clatsop County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1903b.darius-norris-shanghaied-538.html)

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00:10:35

'Oregon's Native Stepson' Hoover saved millions from...

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/10/16

When World War I broke out, Herbert Hoover was the world's most successful mining engineer. He abandoned all that to build an organization to feed the starving, first in Belgium and then throughout war-torn Europe. (London, UK; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1702c.herbert-hoover-in-belgium-431.html)

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00:07:37

Lonely Newburg orphan grew up to be President

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/10/15

He arrived in Oregon at age 9, and people called him “Poor Little Bertie.” He left Oregon for good to go to college at Stanford when he was 17. But Herbert Clark Hoover remained a member of the Salem Quaker church until his death. (Newburg, Yamhill County; 1880s, 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1702b.herbert-hoover-raised-in-oregon-430.html)

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00:10:12

Mayor’s wife gave him a real election-day surprise

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/10/14

Laura Starcher and her friends were fed up with the halfhearted, desultory service they were getting from city government. So they got organized, ran for all the public offices, and won ... much to the chagrin of the defeated mayor: Starcher's husband. (Umatilla, Umatilla County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1903d.umatilla-petticoat-revolution-540.html)

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00:11:48

Skunk’s pelt would be best admired from far away

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2025/10/13

Clarence the logger was running a trapline as a side hustle. One day, he decided a passing skunk would look great on his stretching rack, and impulsively seized the skunk with his bare hands. This did not turn out to be one of Clarence's better ideas. (Garibaldi, Tillamook County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1904a.tillamook-county-wildlife-encounters-542.html)

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565 results

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