Orodell, Oregon facts for kids

Orodell, also known as Oro Dell, is a historic place in Union County, Oregon, in the United States. It sits right by the Grande Ronde River, near the city of La Grande. Today, Orodell is considered a ghost town, meaning it was once a community but now very few or no people live there.

What is a Ghost Town?

A ghost town is a place where people used to live and work, but for some reason, everyone or almost everyone moved away. Often, the buildings are still there, but they are empty and sometimes falling apart. Ghost towns can be very interesting because they show us what life was like in the past. Orodell became a ghost town many years ago, and today, there isn't a community there anymore.

The Beginning of Orodell

Orodell started to become a community in the summer of 1862. This was when Charles Fox or Stephen Coffin set up the very first sawmill in the Grande Ronde Valley. A sawmill is a place where logs are cut into lumber, which is wood used for building houses and other structures. This sawmill helped the area grow because people needed wood to build their homes and businesses.

How Orodell Got Its Name

The name Orodell was chosen when a post office was opened there in 1867. The name is a mix of two words. "Oro" comes from the Greek word oros, which means "a mountain." "Dell" is an English word that means a small, wooded valley. So, Orodell means something like "mountain valley," which probably described the area well.

The Town's Decline

Even though Orodell had a post office and a sawmill, it didn't stay a busy place for very long. The post office, which was an important part of any community back then, closed just 11 years later, in 1878. After the post office closed, fewer and fewer people lived in Orodell, and it eventually became the ghost town we know today.