Idiotville is 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'' ...

Tillamook County Tillamook County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,390. The county seat is Tillamook. The county is named for the Tillamook or Killamook people, a Native American tribe who we ...

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, near the mouth of Idiot Creek on the Wilson River, on the route of

Oregon Route 6 Oregon Route 6 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Oregon that runs between the city of Tillamook on the Oregon Coast, to the Willamette Valley, near Banks. OR 6 traverses the Wilson River Highway No. 37 of the Oregon state highway s ...

. Idiotville's elevation is .

Background

It is in the

Tillamook State Forest The Tillamook State Forest is a publicly owned forest in the U.S. state of Oregon. Managed by the Oregon Department of Forestry, it is located west of Portland in the Northern Oregon Coast Range, and spans Washington, Tillamook, Yamhill, and Cl ...

, along the Tillamook-

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

county line, approximately west northwest of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. Nothing remains at the site. The nearby stream was named Idiot Creek after the community and was added to the official

United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...

list in 1977. About a up Idiot Creek was a logging camp called Ryan's Camp, which was part of the salvage operations following the

Tillamook Burn The Tillamook Burn was a series of forest fires in the Northern Oregon Coast Range of Oregon in the United States that destroyed a total area of of old growth timber in what is now known as the Tillamook State Forest. There were four wildfire ...

. Since the spot was so remote, it was said that only an idiot would work there, so the camp was popularly known as Idiotville. The name was eventually applied to the stream. Idiotville has been noted for its unusual name.

References

Former populated places in Tillamook County, Oregon Ghost towns in Oregon Logging communities in the United States Tillamook Burn {{TillamookCountyOR-geo-stub

Background

See also

References