Twickenham is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Wheeler County Wheeler County is the name of several counties in the United States: * Wheeler County, Georgia * Wheeler County, Nebraska * Wheeler County, Oregon * Wheeler County, Texas Wheeler County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of t ...

, in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. It is located along the John Day River between Service Creek and Mitchell, Oregon. A bridge at Twickenham carries North Twickenham Road over the river. The locality was originally named ''Contention'' after a quarrel between two of its prominent residents. The Contention post office opened in 1886. A daughter of one of the residents involved in the quarrel suggested that the name ''Twickenham'', after the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

suburb in England, would be more dignified than Contention. As it happened, the Contention post office closed in 1895, and a Twickenham post office opened in 1896 in the same general vicinity. It closed in 1917, and mail to Twickenham thereafter has been sent via

Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

, about to the north. After formation of Wheeler County in 1899, Twickenham was suggested as a possible

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

. A county-wide election held in 1900 produced 436 votes for Fossil, 267 for Twickenham, and 82 for

Spray Spray or spraying commonly refer to: * Spray (liquid drop) ** Aerosol spray ** Blood spray ** Hair spray ** Nasal spray ** Pepper spray ** PAVA spray ** Road spray or tire spray, road debris kicked up from a vehicle tire ** Sea spray, refers to ...

. At the time, Twickenham had a store, hotel, blacksmith shop, and a ferry across the river.

References

External links

* Photos of the North Twickenham Road bridge and bird nests on its side {{Authority control Unincorporated communities in Wheeler County, Oregon 1886 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1886 Unincorporated communities in Oregon