Riley 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 ...

Harney County Harney County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,495, making it the sixth-least populous county in Oregon. The county seat is Burns. Established in 1889, the county is named in ho ...

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, located at the crossroads of

U.S. Highway 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road ...

and U.S. Highway 20, milepost 104, about west of

Burns Burns may refer to: * Burn, an injury (plural) People: * Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters Business: * Burns London, a British guitar maker Places: ;In the United States * Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...

, the seat of Harney County. The elevation of Riley is . The town presently consists entirely of two service establishments with attached apartments: a post office, and a general store with gas pump and garage service. It exists to serve the rural farming and ranching community that surrounds it, and highway travelers. Farmers grow

alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...

, and root crops. The town began with the establishment of a post office in about 1885, and was named for stockman Amos Riley of the

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

ing partnership Riley and Hardin. Previously, the nearest post office was at Hardin, northwest of Riley, so the people who lived along Silver Creek made Riley their new gathering spot. Riley's post office closed in 1919, but was reopened in 1949 after an office at Suntex was closed. The

Oregon Department of Transportation The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Depar ...

has a camera for road and weather conditions located at the intersection of U.S. 20 and U.S. 395 in Riley, facing west-northwest.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Riley has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

Points of interest

Chickahominy Reservoir Chickahominy Reservoir is located near U.S. Highway 20 east of Bend, Oregon, and west of Burns, Oregon, in the United States. It was built as an irrigation reservoir, but is now managed by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife as a recreation ...

*Unicorn Ranch

Transportation

In the 21st century, Riley is a stop on the Eastern POINT intercity bus line between Bend and

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. It makes one stop per day in each direction.

Education

The zoned

K-8 school K8 or K-8 may refer to: * K-8 (Kansas highway), two highways in Kansas, one in northern Kansas, one in southern Kansas * K-8 school, a type of school that includes kindergarten and grades one through eight * AMD K8, the internal designation for the ...

is Suntex Elementary School. The previous campus was destroyed in a 1978 fire. High school students are zoned to

Crane Union High School Crane Union High School is a public high school in Crane, Oregon, United States. It is a boarding school that serves students from a large geographic area. Its district is known as the Harney County Union High School District 1J, and covers much ...

, of Harney County Union High School District 1J.
Text list
/ref> Harney County is not in a community college district but has a "contract out of district" (COD) with

Treasure Valley Community College Treasure Valley Community College is a public community college in Ontario, Oregon, at the western edge of the Treasure Valley. Its service area is sections of Malheur and Baker counties. Additionally Harney County and the city of Burns have ...

. TVCC operates the Burns Outreach Center in Burns.

References

External links

History of Riley from Harney County Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control Unincorporated communities in Harney County, Oregon 1885 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1885 Unincorporated communities in Oregon