Most towns grow around the railroad. Oakland, Oregon, took a different approach: It moved to meet it.
Founded in 1852, the Douglas County community later relocated its town center about 1.5 miles to connect with the railroad.
"They actually moved the entire town, rolling down on logs and with oxen," Mayor Bette Keehley said.
More than 170 years later, that unusual history continues to shape Oakland. The town's leaders have worked to preserve its historic downtown while navigating the challenges of maintaining infrastructure and services in a small rural community.
"We need to preserve our historic district because that's really all that Oakland has as a calling card to the rest of the world," Keehley said.
Located north of Roseburg, Oakland has fewer than 1,000 residents but a history that remains central to its identity. Keehley jokingly calls it "the other Oakland, the better Oakland."
That history is evident throughout downtown. Oakland was the first city listed on Oregon's State Historic Preservation Office register and maintains strict standards designed to preserve its 19th-century character. While building interiors can be modernized, exterior changes must maintain the historic appearance.
The town's historic look has even attracted Hollywood. Parts of the 1993 film "Fire in the Sky" and the 1991 film "Grand Tour" were filmed in Oakland.
But preserving a historic town has not insulated it from modern challenges.
In recent years, Oakland has faced severe snowstorms and the Archie Creek Fire, which damaged the watershed feeding Calapooya Creek, the town's sole water source.
Keehley credited Public Works Director Jim Hart with helping the city navigate complex federal disaster recovery programs and secure funding for infrastructure repairs.
"If we had not sought funding from FEMA, we would have already been bankrupt," she said.
“We need to preserve our historic district because that’s really all that Oakland has as a calling card to the rest of the world,” Keehley said. The world did come calling in the 1990s when the town was selected as the location for a couple of Hollywood films. The 1993 film, Fire in the Sky told the story of an Arizona logger who disappeared for several days after encountering a UFO. Grand Tour was filmed in 1991 and starred Jeff Daniels.
However, maintaining a historic town comes with modern challenges. Recent years have brought critical environmental challenges, including damaging snowstorms and the Archie Creek fire, which devastated the watershed for Calapooya Creek—the town’s only water source.
Keehley credits Public Works Director Jim Hart as a "godsend" for navigating complex FEMA regulations to save the town’s infrastructure.
“If we had not sought funding from FEMA, we would have already been bankrupt,” she said.
Keehley, who has served as mayor for 17 years, said she originally ran for office to help stabilize a dysfunctional City Council. Since then, she said, Oakland has weathered repeated economic and environmental challenges, including the boom-and-bust cycles common to small rural communities.
Guest
- Bette Keehley, Oakland, Oregon Mayor
