Antelope, Oregon
Encyclopedia
Wasco County, Oregon
Wasco County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county is named for a local tribe of Native Americans, the Wasco, a Chinook tribe who lived on the south side of the Columbia River. In 2010, its population was 25,213...
, 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...
. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 46.
History
The Antelope Valley was probably named by members of Joseph Sherar's party who were packing supplies to mines in the John DayJohn Day Fossil Beds National Monument
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is a U.S. National Monument in Wheeler and Grant counties in east-central Oregon. Located within the John Day River basin and managed by the National Park Service, the park is known for its well-preserved layers of fossil plants and mammals that lived in the...
area. Sherar became known as the operator of a toll bridge across the Deschutes River, on a cut-off of the Barlow Road
Barlow Road
The Barlow Road is a historic road in what is now the U.S. state of Oregon. It was built in 1846 by Sam Barlow and Philip Foster, with authorization of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon, and served as the last overland segment of the Oregon Trail...
. There were many pronghorn
Pronghorn
The pronghorn is a species of artiodactyl mammal endemic to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the prong buck, pronghorn antelope, or simply antelope, as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and...
s (often called pronghorn antelope) in the area in the early 19th century.
Antelope post office was established in 1871, with Howard Maupin
Howard Maupin
Howard Maupin was an American settler who established a farm and ferry in Oregon at the present-day location of Maupin, Oregon. He became famous for shooting the notorious Paiute war leader Chief Paulina on April 25, 1867 near the modern town of Madras, Oregon.Maupin was born in Clay County,...
, founder of Maupin, Oregon
Maupin, Oregon
Maupin is a city in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. Located on the Deschutes River, much of the city's economy is related to the river through outdoor activities, such as fishing and rafting...
, as the first postmaster. The town flourished briefly, but when Shaniko
Shaniko, Oregon
Shaniko is a city located in Wasco County, Oregon, United States, on U.S. Route 97 and about eight miles north of Antelope. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 26—a virtual ghost town whose preservation is being spearheaded by investments from Robert B...
, a few miles north, became the terminus of the railroad, Antelope began to fade. The community was incorporated by the Oregon Legislative Assembly
Oregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...
on January 29, 1901.
In the 1980s the town grew again when followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
Osho , born Chandra Mohan Jain , and also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru, and spiritual teacher who garnered an international following.A professor of philosophy, he travelled...
, who had started the city of Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram, Oregon was an intentional community in Wasco County, Oregon, briefly incorporated as a city in the 1980s, which was populated with followers of the spiritual teacher Osho, then known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.- History :...
on the nearby "Big Muddy Ranch", began to move in. Rajneeshpuram was an intentional community
Intentional community
An intentional community is a planned residential community designed to have a much higher degree of teamwork than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and often follow an alternative lifestyle. They...
(or commune
Commune (intentional community)
A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
) of Rajneeshees. On September 18, 1984, Antelope's charter was amended by a vote of 57 to 22 to change the name of the city to Rajneesh. A short time later Rajneesh was indicted on federal immigration charges, attempted to leave the country, and pleaded no contest
Nolo contendere
is a legal term that comes from the Latin for "I do not wish to contend." It is also referred to as a plea of no contest.In criminal trials, and in some common law jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an alternative to a pleading of...
to two of the 34 charges and returned to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. On November 6, 1985, the remaining residents, both original and Rajneeshee, voted 34 to 0 to restore the original name, which was never changed by the Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
. The ranch is now owned by Young Life
Young Life
YoungLife is a worldwide, non-profit, Evangelical Christian organization. YoungLife consists of many branches of ministry , but most commonly the name "YoungLife" refers to the outreach arm of the organization directed toward high school students...
and has been converted into a camp, known as "Washington Family Ranch."
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 59 people, 27 households, and 18 families residing in Antelope. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 116.8 people per square mile (44.7/km²). There were 41 housing units at an average density of 81.2 per square mile (31.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.22% White and 6.78% Native American. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.39% of the population.
There were 27 households out of which 14.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.0% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 3.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.72.
In the city the population was 22.0% under the age of 18, 1.7% from 18 to 24, 18.6% from 25 to 44, 32.2% from 45 to 64, and 25.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females there were 103.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $40,208, and the median income for a family was $37,500. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $30,417 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $17,444. There were 16.7% of families and 22.2% of the population living below the poverty line, including 64.3% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.
Government and infrastructure
The United States Postal ServiceUnited States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
Antelope Post Office is located in Antelope.
Further reading
- Donna Quick, A Place Called Antelope: The Rajneesh Story (August Pr.) 1995 ISBN 0-9643118-0-1
External links
- Entry for Antelope from the Oregon Blue BookOregon Blue BookThe Oregon Blue Book is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon copyrighted by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. As Governor Ted Kulongoski notes in his introduction for the 2005–2006 edition, it "provides...
- Antelope, Oregon from a2zgorgeinfo.com (contains entire text of "Antelope" and "Rajneeshpuram" from Oregon Geographic NamesOregon Geographic NamesOregon Geographic Names is an authoritative compilation of the origin and meaning of place names in the U.S. state of Oregon. , the book is in its seventh edition and is compiled and edited by Lewis L. McArthur, who took over from his father, Lewis A. McArthur, as of the fourth edition...
)