Voltage, Oregon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Voltage, Oregon
|
|
|---|---|
_(harDA0043).jpg)
Windmill near Voltage
|
|
 Voltage, Oregon
Location in Oregon
Voltage, Oregon
Location in the United States
|
|
| Country | United States |
| State | Oregon |
| County | Harney |
| Elevation | 4,111 ft (1,253 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP codes |
97721
|
| Area code(s) | 541 |
| Coordinates and elevation from United States Geological Survey | |
Voltage is a small, quiet place in Harney County, Oregon, in the United States. It is an "unincorporated community." This means it is a group of homes and buildings that are part of the larger county. It does not have its own separate city government or rules. Voltage is located about 34 miles (55 km) south of a town called Burns. It sits near the south shore of Malheur Lake, close to the Donner und Blitzen River.
Contents
Early Days of Voltage
The Voltage post office opened in 1908. A man named Walter C. Botsford was the first postmaster. He was very interested in electricity. He thought the nearby river could make enough "voltage" to power the whole area. This area is known as the Harney Basin. Walter had mixed up "voltage" with "power." Voltage is the force that pushes electricity, while power is how much work electricity can do. A project to create hydropower (electricity from water) was never actually built there. The post office closed in 1933. At one time, Voltage had a store and its own school district. Today, however, there is not much left to show that it was once a busy community.
Sodhouse: A Nearby Historical Site
Voltage is about 3 miles (5 km) east of a place that used to be a community called Sodhouse. This area is now near the main office of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Sodhouse got its name from a special type of house. Local settlers built a sod house there around 1872. A sod house is a building made from blocks of soil and grass.
Sodhouse and the CCC
The site of the sod house later gave its name to the Sod House Camp. This camp was part of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC was a program during the Great Depression in the 1930s. Young men worked on conservation projects across the country. In 1937, the CCC put up a historic marker at the site. As of 1978, only a low rock wall remained of the original sod house.
Changes to Local Services
A post office named "Springer" was set up near the sod house site. It was located at Sod House Spring. Later, this post office moved to Narrows and was renamed. In the early 1940s, the school districts for Voltage and Narrows joined together with the Sod House district.
Climate in Voltage
Voltage has a semi-arid climate. This means it is generally dry, but not as dry as a desert. It often has hot, dry summers and cold winters. On climate maps, this type of weather is shown as "BSk."
Education for Students
Students in Voltage attend schools in the Harney County School District 4. This district includes Crane School, which serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade (K-8). For high school, students go to Harney County Union High School District 1J, which includes Crane Union High School.
