Bend in Central Oregon

‘Bend in Central Oregon’ examines the growth of Bend as it has influenced landscape changes. At the turn of this century, it was a small village, with wooden buildings lining dirt streets which vacillated between mud and dust. Irrigation brought water to thirsty Central Oregon acres. Locally produced brick and stone later helped shape the cultural landscape of a growing city. Here, this growth is traced, with original accounts that help the reader relive this period in the city’s history. In 1911, rails enabled settlers to reach Bend more easily and, in 1916, allowed two giant lumber mills to tap the vast pine forests of the Deschutes country. By I920, Bend had become a bustling city of 5000 people. However, by 1930, alarmists were predicting the end of the lumber city as more and more forests around Bend fell victim to the loggers’ onslaughts. Although the population stabilized for a quarter of a century, the city and its nearby High Country were rediscovered in the l960’s when new industries——tourism and recreational land uses-helped revitalize the economy. ‘Bend in Central Oregon’ also takes the reader on a tour of various city landmarks. Downtown Bend, located on Mirror Pond, and once the site of the elegant Pilot Butte Inn, is described in print and portrayed with photographs which compare the downtown area as it is today with how it was in earlier years. There are visits to Pilot Butte, a prominent volcano, and Awbrey Heights, site of the campus of Central Oregon Community College.