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| Landing at Oregon, Kentucky |
When you think of Oregon, you probably conjure up an image of a western state with beautiful panoramas of the Pacific Ocean and the towering Cascade Mountains through which the Columbia River cut its own gorge.
Well, I’ve got a different image that I recognize on hearing the word. A winding, descending country road headed toward the river with animals – wild turkey among them – not afraid to explore this road less travelled. At its end, a river as quiet as the boat landing it passes. It is here I pause to savor the silence, the quiet, the peace.
The place: Oregon, Kentucky, a small community on the Kentucky River about five miles from Harrodsburg. It is unknown how the community, originally named Harrods Landing after James Harrod who settled the nearby county seat in 1784, received its current name. What is known is that it assumed its present name by the mid-1800s and it was an important Kentucky River port. Over the years, the community has also been known as Warwick. A roadside historic marker (#1751) reads:
Warwick flourished for some 50 years and was succeeded by Oregon. Both were early shipping ports. Flatboats, during Warwick era, and later steamboats, at Oregon, ran regularly between here and New Orleans. This point was at head of slackwater navigation on Kentucky River. The creek is still called Landing Run because of significance to James Harrod.
Among Oregon’s most notable residents was Clay Lancaster, an authority on American and Kentucky architecture and a leading proponent of historic preservation. He acquired in 1973 the Moses Jones House, an early federal residence in the area, and called it his home until his death. The property is now maintained by the Warwick Foundation.
My connection to Oregon dates to May 6, 2009. Having just completed my final exam in law school, I set out to clear my mind. So I began driving and a saw a few wonderful sites in our beautiful Commonwealth, among them this winding road toward the Kentucky River that took me to Oregon. I sat in my chair, pictured above, and experienced a calmness. Yes, law school was over. And it was here that I found the basis for #NoDestination and this blog.