Homestead, Oregon
Encyclopedia
Homestead is an unincorporated community
in Baker County
, Oregon
, United States
. Homestead lies on the Snake River
south of Hells Canyon National Recreation Area
and four miles north of Oxbow
. Its ZIP code
is 97840, and its area codes are 458 and 541.
Homestead was platted around 1898, along a Northwest Railway Company line that never developed. It thrived because of the patronage of the miners from the nearby Iron Dyke Mine and because it was railhead
for the many local orchards.
From 1953 to 1960, Homestead was the starting point for passenger boat trips down the Snake River to Lewiston, Idaho
operated by Blaine Stubblefield
.
Hells Canyon Dam
was completed in 1967, and the resulting Hells Canyon Reservoir may have inundated part of Homestead. Homestead today is a ghost town
on the Oregon side of the reservoir.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Baker County
Baker County, Oregon
Baker County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is included in the 8 county definition of Eastern Oregon. It is named for Edward Dickinson Baker, a senator from Oregon who was killed at Ball's Bluff, a battle of the Civil War in Virginia in 1861. It was split from the eastern part...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Homestead lies on the Snake River
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
south of Hells Canyon National Recreation Area
Hells Canyon National Recreation Area
Hells Canyon National Recreation Area is a United States National Recreation Area located on the borders of the U.S. states of Oregon and Idaho. The recreation area was established by U.S...
and four miles north of Oxbow
Oxbow, Oregon
Oxbow is an unincorporated community in Baker County, Oregon, United States. Oxbow is located on Oregon Route 86 next to the Snake River near the Oxbow Dam on the Oregon-Idaho border, about 17 miles northeast of Halfway. Oxbow is just south of the site of the former mining town of Copperfield...
. Its ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
is 97840, and its area codes are 458 and 541.
Homestead was platted around 1898, along a Northwest Railway Company line that never developed. It thrived because of the patronage of the miners from the nearby Iron Dyke Mine and because it was railhead
Railhead
The word railhead is a railway term with two distinct meanings, depending upon its context.Sometimes, particularly in the context of modern freight terminals, the word is used to denote a terminus of a railway line, especially if the line is not yet finished, or if the terminus interfaces with...
for the many local orchards.
From 1953 to 1960, Homestead was the starting point for passenger boat trips down the Snake River to Lewiston, Idaho
Lewiston, Idaho
Lewiston is a city in and also the county seat of Nez Perce County in the Pacific Northwest state of Idaho. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is the principal city of the Lewiston, ID - Clarkston, WA...
operated by Blaine Stubblefield
Blaine Stubblefield
Blaine Stubblefield was the founder of the National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest held annually in Weiser, Idaho, an archiver of American folk songs, the originator of regular passenger boat tours down the Hells Canyon of the Snake River, a writer, and a magazine editor.Blaine was born in Enterprise,...
.
Hells Canyon Dam
Hells Canyon Dam
Hells Canyon Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Snake River in Hells Canyon on the Idaho-Oregon border. The dam impounds the Snake River in Hells Canyon Reservoir; its spillway elevation is above sea level....
was completed in 1967, and the resulting Hells Canyon Reservoir may have inundated part of Homestead. Homestead today is a ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
on the Oregon side of the reservoir.