Oregon Geographic Names [Paperback]

Lewis A. McArthur (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2003

An Oregon classic since 1928, "Oregon Geographic Names" is a comprehensive reference to place names throughout the state. A wide range of readers, from librarians and researchers to travellers and avocational historians, have come to depend on the book's exhaustive and sometimes quirky entries over the years. The seventh edition is significantly expanded, with more than 6,200 entries, arranged alphabetically. Each entry lists the county where the place is located and reports what is known about the origin and meaning of the name. An accompanying CD-ROM holds complete biographical and geographical indexes and maps that show the locations of over 1,600 place names, primarily historic post offices.Lewis A. McArthur published the first edition of "Oregon Geographic Names" in 1928 and prepared all or most of the next two editions. Lewis L. McArthur, took up the project with the fourth edition of "Oregon Geographic Names". Retired from a career as an executive with a Portland-based steel firm, he is active in various preservation projects and serves on the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This edition of a well-known Northwest reference work marks an improvement in and expansion on earlier editions. The first editions of this title were compiled by the current editor's father, Lewis A. McArthur. Lewis L. McArthur continues the tradition in this work, which includes more than 5400 entries of state place names that supply dates for when the name was first used, reasons for the choice of name, county in which the site is located, and other useful historical information. A well-constructed index is also provided. One shortcoming, however, is the lack of a pronunciation key. Although this work focuses just on the state of Oregon, it is much more extensive and current in its area than Place Names of the Pacific Northwest Coast (1969. o.p.).
- Daniel Liestman, Seattle Pacific Univ. Lib.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A delightful mix of puckishness and owlish scholarship."--Robert Frazier, Eugene Register-Guard

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1056 pages
• Publisher: Oregon Historical Society Press; 7th edition (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875952771
• ISBN-13: 978-0875952772
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #686,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oregon Geographic Names, June 7, 2008

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Jessica M. Landreth - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Oregon Geographic Names (Paperback)

Own this book if you love to take road trips in Oregon. Take it with you everywhere, because there is so much to learn just by looking and reading about a place you never thought about!

This book is such a treasure. You can spend hours looking through it all. Its a wonderful database for places in Oregon you may not be able to read about online. Buy this if you research genealogy in Oregon. Very helpful to identify census localities etc.

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book, January 9, 2011

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k2 - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Oregon Geographic Names (Paperback)

We bought this book a few years back. Kid moved out and requested one for Christmas. Love the fact that he remembered how cool the book was. Can't beat the history. Neighbor borrowed and has already planned out his summer vacation. Thanks for all the work to accumulate the info.