Valsetz, Oregon
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Valsetz was an unincorporated community and timber company town in Polk County, Oregon, United States, west of Falls City. The William W. Mitchell Company started the town in 1919 and named it as a portmanteau of Valley and Siletz Railroad, whose terminus was at that location.[1] Valsetz post office was established in 1920 and closed in 1984, when the community ceased to exist.[1]
After the depletion of the old growth timber in the area in the 1970s, the railroad was torn up.[1] Valsetz's ownership passed through a series of companies, until its sawmill and timber stands became a part of the Boise Cascade Corporation.[1] In 1983, Boise Cascade announced that all operations at Valsetz would end early the next year.[1] In 1984, the town and most of its structures were removed, as everything in the community, property and streets included, was owned by the corporation. The site became part of the Valsetz Tree Farm.[1]
Valsetz Lake, an artificial lake next to the townsite, was drained in 1988.[2]
Former residents of Valsetz gather for an annual reunion in Falls City, which is the site of a Valsetz memorial.[3]
Near the site of the former community is the "Valley of the Giants", 51 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-protected old growth Douglas-fir and Western Hemlock forest on the North Fork of the Siletz River. The valley was set aside for protection in 1976.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur [1928] (2003). Oregon Geographic Names, Seventh Edition, Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press, 988. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
- ^ 1988 Polk County Itemizer-Observer article cited in Ferrari, Greg (March 22, 2001). "Valsetz". Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ Rouse, Jennifer. "Falls City Honors Valsetz: Gone But Not Forgotten", Polk County Itemizer-Observer, www.fallscity.org. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ Gault, Roy. "Walk among Salem's old-growth trees", Statesman Journal, November 7, 2003. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
[edit] External links
- Historic photos of Valsetz from Salem Public Library
- Image of the Valsetz veneer mill being burned in 1984 from Abandonedrailroads.com
- Valsetz entry in ghosttowns.com
- Privately maintained Valsetz site
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