Fort Rock, Oregon

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Homestead Era Catholic church in the museum

This article is about the community in Oregon. For the natural feature in Oregon, see Fort Rock. For the cave, see Fort Rock Cave.

Fort Rock is an unincorporated community in Lake County, Oregon, United States, southeast of Fort Rock State Natural Area.

The community of Fort Rock was named after the natural feature Fort Rock by the town's founder, Ray Nash.^[1] Fort Rock post office was established in 1908.^[1] The Fort Rock Valley flourished briefly during the homestead period before World War I, but little remains in the area today.^[1] Fort Rock is one of two homestead-era communities remaining in the era, along with Silver Lake.^[2]

Today, many of the buildings in Fort Rock are part of Fort Rock Village Historical Homestead Museum, which is a collection of homestead-era buildings moved there from the surrounding area, starting in 1988.^[2] The museum was created by the Fort Rock Valley Historical Society to preserve historic buildings that were in danger of being razed by the Bureau of Land Management or were being vandalized in their remote locations.^[2] Buildings include a church, a log cabin, a doctor's office, a school, a land office, and several other cabins and houses.^[2]

Businesses in the community include the Fort Rock General Store and Art Gallery, Fort Rock Restaurant and Pub, The Waterin' Hole Tavern, a Grange hall, and a community church. There is also a U.S. post office with ZIP code 97735, and the Fort Rock Apartments. The Fort Rock Valley has a small community of artists, weavers, stone cutters, and photographers who supply Western-themed products for the art gallery.^{[citation needed]} The region is well known for producing high-quality alfalfa hay for domestic and international markets.^{[citation needed]}