The Oregon Centennial was the 100th anniversary

Anniversary

An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...

 of the statehood of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of 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...

. The day of the anniversary was February 14, 1959, but centennial events took place throughout the year. Festivities were held all over the state, with the major attractions at the Oregon Centennial Exposition and International Trade Fair, located at the Expo Center

Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center

The Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center, usually referred to as the Expo Center, is a convention center located in the Kenton neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. Opened in the early 1920s as a livestock exhibition and auction facility, the Expo Center now hosts over 100 events a year, including...

 in Portland's

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 Kenton

Kenton, Portland, Oregon

Kenton is a neighborhood in the north section of Portland, Oregon, United States. The neighborhood was originally a company town founded in 1911 for the Swift Meat Packing Company.-Geography:...

 neighborhood, which took place from June 10 to September 17, 1959.

Entertainment included Roy Rogers

Roy Rogers

Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...

 & Dale Evans

Dale Evans

Dale Evans, was an American writer, movie star, and singer-songwriter. She was the third wife of singing cowboy Roy Rogers.-Early life:...

, Lawrence Welk

Lawrence Welk

Lawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982...

, Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte

Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...

, and Art Linkletter's House Party

Art Linkletter's House Party

House Party is an American radio daytime variety/talk show that aired on CBS Radio and on ABC Radio from January 15, 1945 to October 13, 1967...

 broadcast on CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

. The exposition's theme was "Frontier of the Future". Centennial-related events and attractions included a play, a musical, parades, specially commissioned artworks by muralist Carl Morris, and a railroad line that used two trains built for the Portland Zoo Railway (now the Washington Park and Zoo Railway). Local communities created monuments to celebrate the anniversary, including a totem pole

Totem pole

Totem poles are monumental sculptures carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar, by cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America...

and a huge Paul Bunyan Statue

Paul Bunyan Statue

Paul Bunyan Statue is a -tall concrete and metal sculpture of mythical logger Paul Bunyan in the Kenton neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, United States. It was built in 1959 to commemorate the centennial of Oregon's statehood during the Centennial Exposition and International Trade Fair, which was...

 in Kenton. Many communities had to raise money to finance their celebration plans. One method used to raise funds was the sale of Oregon Centennial Tokens

Oregon Centennial Tokens

Oregon Centennial Tokens were a type of trade token issued during the 1959 Oregon Centennial. Many localities sold them as a fundraiser to finance their Centennial celebrations.-Design:...

. Many private companies also created Centennial items for sale. In 2009, the state celebrated the Oregon Sesquicentennial, also known as "Oregon 150".

External links

• Historic images of events of the Oregon Centennial from Salem Public Library
• Biennial Address of Robert D. Holmes Governor of Oregon to the Fiftieth Legislative Assembly January 12, 1959 Salem, Oregon from the Oregon State Archives
  Oregon State Archives
  The Archives Division of the Office of the Secretary of State of Oregon, or Oregon State Archives, is an agency of the Office of the Oregon Secretary of State charged with preserving and providing access to government records. It also publishes the Oregon Blue Book and Oregon Administrative Rules...
  
  
• Oregon 150