Minerva, Oregon
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Minerva 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 ...
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 about northeast of
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
near the North Fork Siuslaw River within the
Siuslaw National Forest The Siuslaw National Forest ( ) is a national forest in western Oregon in the United States. Established in 1908, the Siuslaw is made up of a wide variety of ecosystems, ranging from coastal forests to sand dunes. Geography The Siuslaw Nat ...
.


History

When local settlers petitioned the
post office department The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, established in 1792. From 1872 to 1971, it was officially in the form of a Cabinet departme ...
for a new office in the 1890s, the name "Bays Landing" was suggested to honor local resident James E. Bay. The department suggested a one-word name would be more convenient, so the office was named Minerva after Mr. Bay's wife. L. C. Ackerley wrote the petition and the post office was first located in the Ackerley home. The post office closed in about 1940. At one time Minerva had a store with a gas pump, a
United Evangelical Church The United Evangelical Church is a splinter group from the Evangelical Association. History It was formed in 1891 when some members of the Evangelical Association left to form the new church. The schism was caused by the autocratic administration ...
, a
grange hall The National Grange, also known as The Grange and officially named The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, is a social organization in the United States that encourages families to band together to promote the economic and pol ...
, and public school, but none of these remain at the site today. The school at Minerva served students in grades 1 through 8, and older students attended boarding school in Florence. When a road was constructed to Florence students of all ages attended school there and the Minerva school was closed.


References


External links


Historic image of a covered bridge near Minerva
from Salem Public Library {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Lane County, Oregon Ghost towns in Oregon Unincorporated communities in Oregon