Gilchrist, Oregon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gilchrist, Oregon
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Gilchrist Mall clock tower
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 Gilchrist, Oregon
Location in Oregon
Gilchrist, Oregon
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Oregon |
| County | Klamath |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.42 sq mi (1.09 km2) |
| • Land | 0.38 sq mi (0.98 km2) |
| • Water | 0.04 sq mi (0.11 km2) |
| Elevation | 4,495 ft (1,370 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 216 |
| • Density | 568.42/sq mi (219.75/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code |
97737
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| Area code(s) | 458 and 541 |
| FIPS code | 41-28800 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1142728 |
Gilchrist is a small, unique community in Klamath County, Oregon, United States. It is located on U.S. Route 97, a main highway between the cities of Bend and Klamath Falls. This special place was once known as a "company town." This means it was built and owned by a single business, the Gilchrist Timber Company. As of 2020, about 216 people call Gilchrist home.
Contents
The Story of Gilchrist
A Town Built for Lumber
Gilchrist was the very last lumber company town in Oregon. Frank and Mary Gilchrist founded the town in 1938. They owned the Gilchrist Timber Company. They moved their lumber business all the way from Mississippi to Oregon. They were looking for more trees and lower taxes. To help the mill, they built a dam on the Little Deschutes River. This created a pond for the mill. In 1939, the Gilchrist School was built. It was helped by the Public Works Administration.
The Famous Gilchrist Mall
The Gilchrist Mall was also built in 1939. It was a very important place! It was the first mall ever opened east of the Cascade Mountains. The mall had many useful shops and fun places. These included a grocery store, a post office, a drugstore, and even a barbershop. There was also a beauty parlor, a liquor store, a bowling alley, and a library.
The mall also had a special club for employees of the Gilchrist Lumber Company. This club had a bar and lounge area. It also had a dance floor, pool tables, and a large meeting hall. Even today, many of the mall buildings look much like they did when they were first built.
Changes Over Time
In 1991, the Gilchrist Timber Company was sold. It was bought by a company called Crown Pacific Partners. Later, in 1997, the 120 homes and other buildings in the town were sold. They were sold to the people who lived there and other buyers. Crown Pacific kept the sawmill and the land where the trees grew. Before this sale, almost all the houses in town were painted a special "Gilchrist brown." Only a small area called Rainbow Circle had different colored homes.
The sawmill was updated in 2000 to cut smaller logs. Crown Pacific faced financial problems and went bankrupt in 2003. Creditors took over the company in 2004. Then, in 2006, a Canadian company called Interfor Pacific bought the sawmill and timberland. As of 2009, the local school, which teaches students from kindergarten through twelfth grade, had 238 students.
What's the Weather Like?
Gilchrist has warm and dry summers. The average monthly temperatures do not go above 71.6 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius). This type of weather is called a warm-summer Mediterranean climate. On climate maps, this is shown as "Csb."
