Of Sawmills and Silicon: Oregon’s Remarkable Transformation
Tucked away under a canopy of towering evergreens is a vibrant Oregon tale unfolding – a saga of towering timber turning tech. Those who’ve ever traced the curves of the Columbia River Gorge or hiked the Crater Lake rim can attest to Oregon’s magical blend of natural bounty and progressive innovation.
Born from the Timberland
Ever since the Gold Rush petered out, Oregon’s economy has been shouldered by timber. As a genuine Oregonian would say, “our past is packed with pine and our veins flow with sap”. From Coos Bay to Grant’s Pass, the clashing axes and grinding sawmills created an enduring hymn, while towns bloomed around logging. The Tillamook Forest, once consumed by the infamous Tillamook Burn, stands renewed and majestic, a testament not only to nature’s resilience but also to Oregon’s timber soul.
The old Pittock Mansion, nestled in the West Hills of Portland, bears wooden bones of Douglas Fir harvested near Forest Grove in the sultry summer of 1909. As they say, “those walls have seen more Oregon sunrises than the Sisters Peaks”.
The Tipping Point
However, the timber industry’s cleaved path hit a snag right around the spotted owl controversy in the early ’90s. The majestic bird’s dwindling habitat raised red flags about logging practices. Suddenly, “cutting timber was stickier than a spider’s Sunday brunch”. Oregonians began to recalibrate their relationship with the forests they’d both revered and relied on.
But just as Oregon’s weather is famous for its quick change from sunny to snub-nosed drizzle in a heartbeat, Oregonians have a knack for riding the wave of change with style. As demand for timber dipped, high tech started to light up, like the first glow of morning across the Autumn-colored Willamette Valley.
Silicon Forest Emerges
From tech powerhouses like Intel in Hillsboro to innovative startups in Bend and Portland, a new industry rooted itself in Oregonian soil. Indeed, the “Silicon Forest” began to flourish amid our pristine wilderness and cycling cities.
Homegrown companies such as Beaverton’s Tektronix and Corvallis-based Hewlett-Packard paved the way. They served as an innovative root system from which bloomed a diverse eco-system of tech businesses. Along the vibrant streets of the Pearl District, you’ll find Puppet Labs, Jama Software, and Elemental Technologies, to name a few.
There’s more to Oregon’s tech transformation than massive corporations. Just take a peek into the bustling Southeast Portland hub, ADX – a mélange of makerspaces where craftsmen, artists, and tech whizzes unite. Here, the Oregon spirit of rugged resiliency and pioneering innovation marries steel to circuitry, timber to technology.
Oregon’s Culture of Adaptation
One of the beauties of Oregon, apart from the jaw-dropping vistas at Crown Point or the Hells Canyon wilderness, lies in our ability to adapt while keeping our roots firm in the soil. Oregon’s tech revolution hasn’t been a departure from our timber heritage, but a natural evolution. Even today, visit the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) on the banks of the Willamette River, and you’ll spot kids assembling model log cabins, even as they’re coding their first robotic mecha elk.
In other words, just as at Powell’s Books where print editions cozy up to eBooks, timber and technology in Oregon aren’t isolated chapters, but intertwined stories. While much has changed since the days when Bend was just a blip on the timber trade route, the essence of Oregon – our love for the land, our spirit of innovation, and a dash of that rugged Cascadian charm – remains ingrained.
So navigate the labyrinthine rows of the Portland Saturday Market, sip some fine Pinot from the lush Dundee Hills, or crunch through the autumn leaves on the Corvallis Riverwalk, and you’ll understand how we’ve transitioned from Timber to Tech, riding on the Oregonian wave of adaptability, innovation, and sheer love for our bite-sized corner of this wide world. From Timber to Tech, Oregon continues to evolve, inviting the curious to explore and appreciate Oregon’s innovation story that is as multi-layered as a Marionberry pie. Come, savor a slice!