Dexter is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Lane County,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, United States. It is located near

Dexter Reservoir Dexter Reservoir (also known as Dexter Lake) is a reservoir in Lane County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is about southeast of Eugene on the Middle Fork Willamette River, immediately downriver from Lookout Point Lake, another reservoir. ...

, a.k.a. Dexter Lake, a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

of the

Middle Fork Willamette River The Middle Fork Willamette River is one of several forks that unite to form the Willamette River in the western part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is approximately long, draining an area of the Cascade Range southeast of Eugene, which is at th ...

along Oregon Route 58. Access to Dexter Lake, a popular

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

and

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

site, is available at

Dexter State Recreation Site Dexter State Recreation Site is a state park in the U.S. state of Oregon, administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. See also * Dexter Lake * Dexter, Oregon * List of Oregon state parks __NOTOC__ This is a list of state pa ...

. The nearby Dexter Lake Club was used in the filming of the

road trip A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance Travel, journey traveled by a car or a motorcycle. History First road trips by automobile The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by the automobile took place in German Em ...

scene in the movie ''

Animal House ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller (writer), Chris Miller. It stars John Belushi, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Tom ...

''. The Lost Valley Educational Center is an

intentional community An intentional community is a voluntary residential community designed to foster a high degree of group cohesiveness, social cohesion and teamwork. Such communities typically promote shared values or beliefs, or pursue a common vision, wh ...

near Dexter. The Parvin Bridge, a

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

near Dexter, was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1979. It carries Parvin Road over Lost Creek, which flows by Dexter. In 2002, despite not having a city government, Dexter residents opened a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

, the Cascades Foothills Library, that as of August 2006 they are hoping to expand into a regional library.

History

A post office was established in the locality in 1872 and named "Butte Disappointment", after a local landmark named in 1848. The post office was renamed "Dexter" in 1875, apparently after the "Dexter" brand cook stove owned by the postmaster's family.

Demographics

References

External links

*
Parvin Bridge
from Lane County, Oregon Web site Unincorporated communities in Lane County, Oregon 1872 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1872 Unincorporated communities in Oregon Populated places on the Willamette River {{LaneCountyOR-geo-stub