Dee 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 ...

and former

company town A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...

in Hood River County,

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 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, on

Oregon Route 281 Oregon Route 281 is an Oregon state highway running from Hood River to the community of Mount Hood. OR 281 is known as the Hood River Highway No. 281 (see Oregon highways and routes). It is long and runs north–south, entirely within Hood Ri ...

, about 11 miles south of Hood River.

History

The

Oregon Lumber Company The Oregon Lumber Company was a company west of Portland, Oregon, that claimed extensive land via the Homestead Act of 1862. The company was formed by Charles W. Nibley together with David Eccles and George Stoddard in 1889. The company had it ...

built a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

at Dee in 1906 and named it for Thomas Duncombe Dee, a stockholder and business associate of board member David Eccles. Dee was also a station on the Eccles-owned

Mount Hood Railroad The Mount Hood Railroad is a heritage and shortline freight railroad located in Hood River, Oregon, east of Portland, Oregon, United States. The majority of the railroad's revenue is generated from passenger excursions although a few small ...

. In addition to the large sawmill, Dee had a privately owned water works and electric lighting system, as well as a general store, shops, and a hotel. Dee had a population of 250 in 1915; 200 in 1919, and by 1940 the population had declined to 100. Dee was sold to the

Edward Hines Lumber Company Hines Supply (originally the Edward Hines Lumber Company), based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, in the United States, is a business firm specializing in lumber, plywood, decking, doors, windows, trim, and other wood products. It also sells related ...

in 1958 and they dismantled the town. Besides

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

, Dee's economy is also tied to the fruit-growing industry of the

Hood River Valley Hood River Valley is the river basin of Hood River in northern Oregon, U.S. It is bounded by the Columbia River to the north, Mount Hood to the south, the Cascade Range crest to the west and an apparently unnamed ridge system to the east which c ...

. The area was one of the primary communities in the Hood River Valley farmed by ''Nikkei''—

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese migrants and their descendants. The first Japanese in the area were hired as laborers on the Mount Hood Railroad. They also worked at the mill and lived in the company housing on both sides of the East Fork Hood River, which passes through the town. About 35 Nikkei families lived in Dee in the 1920s and they founded the Dee Japanese Community Hall.

Geography

The area's fruit orchards lie between the east and west forks of the Hood River in an area known as Dee Flat.

Economy

Oregon Democratic State Senator Wayne Fawbush operated a blueberry farm in Dee for 20 years, which is still in operation.

References

External links

Historic images of Dee
from Salem Public Library {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Hood River County, Oregon Company towns in Oregon Populated places established in 1908 1908 establishments in Oregon Unincorporated communities in Oregon