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Boring, Oregon

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Boring
Unincorporated community
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyClackamas
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)

Boring is an unincorporated community located in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, on Oregon Route 212. It is approximately eight miles south of Gresham and about the same distance from Clackamas, both suburbs of Portland. The town is roughly twenty-two miles southeast from downtown Portland.

History

The community was named after William H. Boring, an early resident of the area.[1] Boring was a Union veteran who had moved out to Oregon after the Civil War.[citation needed] He had served with the 33rd Illinois Infantry, Company D, after enlisting on August 16, 1861 and was mustered out on February 1, 1865 due to disability.[citation needed] Boring died in 1932 at the age of 91 and was buried with his wife Sarah in Damascus Pioneer Cemetery.[2]

Boring was platted in 1903 as "Boring Junction".[1] The post office was established and named "Boring" the same year, and the builders of the interurban railway adopted Boring as the name of the community.[1]

In 2005, citizens of Boring applied to become one of the first legally recognized villages in Oregon.[3] However, after many months of polarizing debate on the village issue, residents narrowly defeated the village designation in a town hall referendum in August 2006, with 293 votes in favor and 298 against.[4]

The unusual name of the town often prompts its inclusion on lists of unusual place names.[5] The name "Boring" is embraced by locals, however, and found in many local businesses, resulting in many road signs that seem humorous to outsiders. Boosters of the village designation use the slogan "The most exciting place to live."[6]

As of April 2012, in a play on the town's name, there is a proposal to link up with Dull, Perth and Kinross, Scotland.[7][8]

Economy

Boring was a timber industry town throughout much of the 20th century. The Portland Traction Company, a now-defunct railroad, operated a rail line from Portland (near the current location of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) on the Willamette River) to Boring via Gresham.[9] In the 1950s, the Southern Pacific and Union Pacific railroads jointly took over operation of the remaining portion of the line for freight operations. Much of the line has since been purchased by local governments for the creation of a long-distance rail trail named the Springwater Corridor.

The town was also home to Wescott's, builder of fiberglass reproduction bodies for custom cars[10], but that shop is officially in the city of Damascus now that there are official city limits.

The town is home of a campus of Guide Dogs For The Blind, Inc., the oldest guide dog training program on the US west coast. [11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c McArthur, Lewis A. (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 101. ISBN 0-87595-277-1. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Boring&GSfn=william&GSmn=H&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=8033579&df=all&
  3. ^ http://web4.co.clackamas.or.us/mrm/1547.html
  4. ^ Five votes sink Boring village
  5. ^ TripAtlas
  6. ^ "Boring Village". Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  7. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-17825138
  8. ^ "Vote due on link between village of Dull and US town of Boring". BBC News Scotland. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  9. ^ The Rise and Fall of the Portland Traction Company
  10. ^ Street Rodder, 1/85, p.74.
  11. ^ http://www.guidedogs.com/site/PageServer


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