Agness is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Curry County,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, United States. It is near the confluence of two Wild and Scenic rivers—the Lower Rogue and the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. Agness post office was established October 16, 1897. It was named after Agnes, the daughter of the first postmaster, and subsequently misspelled. The Agness area is popular for fishing and hiking. Agness is in the

Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest The Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest is a United States National Forest in the U.S. states of Oregon and California. The formerly separate Rogue River and Siskiyou National Forests were administratively combined in 2004. Now, the Rogue R ...

and was threatened by the Biscuit Fire in 2002. Agness is served by one of only two rural mail boat routes still operating in the U.S. The other is along the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...

in eastern Oregon. The mail boat runs on the Rogue River between

Gold Beach Gold, commonly known as Gold Beach, was the code name for one of the five areas of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of German military administration in occupied France during World War II, German-occupied France in the Normandy la ...

and Agness. Rogue River Ranch, east of Agness, is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, and it and Lucas Lodge in Agness are in the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office historic sites database. The Agness- Illahe Museum is open from May through September. Much of Agness's economy is based on tourism, with several lodges, hotels, restaurants, and camping sites scattered throughout the community. Many cater to the large jet boats from Jerry's Rogue Jets which carry up to 50 passengers from Gold Beach to various locations in the Rogue Valley. Such stops include the historic Lucas Lodge, Singing Springs Resort, Cougar Lane Restaurant, and Agness RV Park.

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above . According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Agness has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

Education

Agness is within the Central Curry School District, which operates two schools: Riley Creek Elementary School and Gold Beach High School. The entire county is in the Southwestern Oregon Community College district. Agness formerly had a

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

–

sixth grade Sixth grade (also 6th grade or grade 6) is the sixth year of formal or compulsory education. Students in sixth grade are usually 11-12 years old. It is commonly the first or second grade of middle school or the last grade of elementary school, an ...

(K–6) "

one-room school One-room schoolhouses, or One-room schools, have been commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, and Spa ...

", which actually consists of two rooms. It was kept open by the Central Curry district because of its "geographical remoteness": approximately from Gold Beach up a "winding and sometimes dangerous" road. In 1969 the school had six students. The road (

County Road A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can ...

595/ USFS Arterial Route 33) is a continuation of Bear Camp Road, which has been the site of several incidents that have resulted in the deaths of travelers. From circa 1947, and into 1997, Agnes School's enrollment was around six. In 1997 the community promoted a bill in the Oregon Legislature, House Bill 2340 which would make it so small schools like Agness would not be affected by school mergers required by the state. In 2003 the school had a teacher and one aide, along with four students. Secondary students attended schools in Gold Beach, including Riley Creek School (for middle school), and Gold Beach High (the only high school in the district.
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Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

. The Agness Community Library is in the former school building. - The address matches that of the library.

References

External links

Historic photo of Agness post office
from

Oregon Historical Society The Oregon Historical Society (OHS) is an organization that encourages and promotes the study and understanding of the history of the State of Oregon, within the broader context of U.S. history. Incorporated in 1898, the Society collects, pres ...

Paradise at the Confluence: the people & stories of Agness, OR
- season 3, episode 8 of ''Us As We Are'', a

docuseries Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. * Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

produced by Southern Oregon PBS {{Authority control Populated places established in 1897 Unincorporated communities in Curry County, Oregon 1897 establishments in Oregon Unincorporated communities in Oregon