Ghost Town of Dodge, Oregon
Name: Dodge, Oregon
Class: A2
GPS: 45.2148432, Longitude: -122.3023055
Directions:
Head south from Estacada on OR-211S/Woodburn-Estacada Highway towards Woodburn. After 4.7 miles, turn left on S Hillockburn Road. Stay left to stay on Hillockburn Road for 2 miles. Town center was in this area
Description:
Post office was established here on March 25th, 1896 and named after the first Postmaster, Almon T. Dodge. The post office was closed on May 21, 1914.
Dodge was among those cities consolidated into a single election district on July 31st, 1933, along with Currinsville, Barlow, North Molalla, Meadowbrook, South Estacada, George and Garfield.
More Information:
Bibliography;
Do you have any images of Dodge?
Unfortunately, no, not at this time. Do you know anything about Dodge?
I have some information on the history of the town and a small church that is there, but do not know much about present-day Dodge. I can send the info I have if you would like!
Please post as much info you may have about Dodge here so that others can read it! It would be highly appreciated!
My grandparents have lived in Dodge, OR for 25 years and myself for about seven. What would you like to know?
Anything you know and would like to share! 🙂
I wrote this post a couple years ago and honestly forgot about it. At this point there is really nothing left of the old Dodge Oregon and it is not noticeably different from any other neighborhood in the area. There was a church that stood on Hillockburn Rd. but sadly burned in the riverside forrest fire last September 2020. Hiking around some of the timber company owned land in the area you can come across old foundations. Also groves of birch trees from a time when the paper mills in Oregon city owned the land and planted them. Dodge was known for its Timber and apparently grew some of the best apples in the state at one time. The town burned down in the early 1900’s and it was pretty devastating, taking pretty much the whole town. Not much different than the fire we just had, which took 6 of the 12 houses on my street. Because of the tree growth and underbrush in the area once a structure is burned it quickly melts into the landscape. Meaning any sign of Dodge Oregon as a ghost town is sadly not visible. Just looks like a normal rural community on the edge of beautiful Mt. Hood national forrest. You can see signs of its existence but sadly you have to have access to mostly private property to find it. Hope this helps!
Here is all the information I have found:
Dodge, OR History
The history of Dodge, Oregon is widely unrecorded and sparse. Mostly all written record available to the public is from the Oregon City Courier, a weekly newspaper that ran from the late 1880s to 1919. It was published in Oregon City, Oregon, about 22 miles northwest of Dodge. It reported on the news and the comings and goings of the citizens of Clackamas County. Every week each town was able to submit a small section in the newspaper, giving information about events, deaths, births, marriages, and travels of its citizens. It was also a place for readers to submit tales, funny stories, or poems for others to enjoy. All of the information below was collected from this small section each week of the newspaper from 1896 forward.
Dodge was settled in 1852 and the post office was established in 1896. It was named after its first postmaster, Almon T. Dodge (b.1865-d.1950), postmaster from 1896-1897. The post master was J.A. Selzer starting in October of 1897 to 1909, when Fred Horner took over until the post office closed in 1914. Dodge was burned to the ground by forest fires in September of 1902. Most people lost all of their crops, and were not able to feed their livestock. In addition, sawmills were burned to the ground and the business owners had to rebuild. The town received government aid to help with their suffering and lost crops. Dodge built its one room schoolhouse (District no. 78) around 1895 and closed in 1946 when it consolidated with another school district. The school hosted many community events including town meetings, dances, and fundraisers. In 1909, there were 26 students. In 1912, there were 26 students again and the teacher was Miss Alma Allen. There is a church in Dodge and a Sunday school was started in March of 1909. At the height of Dodge in 1911, they referred to Estacada as a suburb of Dodge, which may have possibly been in a joking manner. Their city hall began construction in October of 1911.
There were many farms in Dodge. Crops grown included potatoes, prunes, apples, onions, grain, and clovers. The people of Dodge claimed they had the best apples around. There were also multiple sawmills, orchards, and dairy barns. Some animals raised in the area were goats, hogs, cattle, and chickens. Bees were also kept in this area for honey, and was flourishing in August of 1904. Other businesses included the Dodge Rural Telephone Company, Warren Construction Company, W.H. Myers & Co., Roley & Horner Sawmill Co. Notable members of town were I.M. Parks, James Park, George Keller, Ebenezer Lacey, and Fred Horner. A free Traveling Library was started in April of 1909 by the people of Dodge so more people had access to books. The Dodge Quartette was created in 1909 and frequently sang at the Methodist church in Estacada. Another group, the Dodge Social club held events for members of Dodge and Springwater. In October of 1908, they held their “seventh entertainment” and a band made up of Dodge citizens called the “Wiffan Waffan Woffan Band” performed.
A poem describing the landscape of Dodge was written in November of 1911 by an unknown author in the Oregon City Courier:
I asked them if they thought they’d go back,
And leave these ferns and hills and ‘bloomin’ big trees.
Sure one will never tire seeing and being with these
And the beauty and grandeur of old Mt. Hood.
No– rather others will come to be near these green woods
-Melina Cope
When I go through my grandmas old pictures I will see what I can find. My great-great grandparents (Marrs) lived there and a tribe of Native Americans taught my gg grandfather their language and gave them gifts for allowing safe camp on their property in the winter on the creek. I am trying to find out where the home was located. Planning a trip soon
Jennifer Alumbaugh