Friend 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 ...
in
Wasco County
Wasco County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,213. Its county seat is The Dalles. The county is named for a local tribe of Native Americans, the Wasco, a Chinook tribe who ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
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 ...
. Considered a
ghost town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...
, little remains of the community except the Friend Store, a one-room schoolhouse, and a cemetery.
Friend was named after George J. Friend.
The first post office in the community, established in 1903, was on his
homestead
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
*Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
*Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...
.
[
Friend was the end of the line on the Great Southern Railroad. The line was built in 1908 from Dufur, which connected to ]The Dalles
The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermiston ...
. The depot was closed and service ended on January 5, 1928; the line was abandoned in 1935. Few signs of the track still exist.
See also
*List of ghost towns in Oregon
According to several historians, the U.S. state of Oregon contains over 200 ghost towns, more than any other state in the country. Professor and historian Stephen Arndt has counted a total of 256 ghost towns in the state, some well known, others ...
References
External links
Image of Friend, Oregon schoolhouseHistoric image of abandoned building in Friend
from Salem Public Library
Ghost towns in Oregon
Populated places established in 1903
Unincorporated communities in Wasco County, Oregon
1903 establishments in Oregon
Unincorporated communities in Oregon
{{WascoCountyOR-geo-stub