Mitchell is a city in
Wheeler County Wheeler County is the name of several counties in the United States:
* Wheeler County, Georgia
* Wheeler County, Nebraska
* Wheeler County, Oregon
Wheeler County is a county in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the populatio ...
,
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. The population was 130 at the
2010 census. It was founded in 1873 and was named after
John H. Mitchell
John Hipple Mitchell (born John Mitchell Hipple; June 23, 1835December 8, 1905) was an American lawyer, politician. He served as a United States Republican Party, Republican United States Senate, United States Senator from Oregon on three occasi ...
, a politician.
The
Painted Hills
The Painted Hills is a geologic site in Wheeler County, Oregon that is one of the three units of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument along with Sheep Rock and Clarno. It totals and is located northwest of Mitchell, Oregon. The Painte ...
unit of the
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is a U.S. national monument in Wheeler and Grant counties in east-central Oregon. Located within the John Day River basin and managed by the National Park Service, the park is known for its well-preserve ...
is about northwest of Mitchell.
Mitchell School
Mitchell School is a public school in Mitchell in the U.S. state of Oregon with an enrollment of about 70 students. The K–12 school is the only school in the Mitchell School District, which covers sections of Wheeler County, including Mitch ...
, a public school with an enrollment of about 70 students, is in Mitchell.
History
Foundation
At the request of William "Brawdie" Johnson, a blacksmith, a post office was established at Mitchell in 1873.
Johnson, the first postmaster, suggested the name ''Mitchell'' after
John Hipple Mitchell, a
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
from Oregon. Senator Mitchell held the office in 1873−1879, 1885−1897, and 1901−1905.
Plat
In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...
ted in 1885, the community was incorporated in 1893.
In 1872 the first school in Wheeler County was established near Mitchell, and in 1874 it was relocated into the town itself.
Early town
Over the next two decades, Mitchell grew to include a store, assay office, two churches, two hotels, a
livery stable
A livery yard, livery stable or boarding stable, is a stable where horse owners pay a weekly or monthly fee to keep their horses. A livery or boarding yard is not usually a riding school and the horses are not normally for hire (unless on wor ...
, three houses of ill-repute (one of which is still standing), five saloons, a flour mill, and an apothecary. There were also two newspapers: ''The Sentinel'' and ''The News''.
The business district, including the saloons, grew up along
Bridge Creek and became known locally as "Tiger Town". The church and most of the city's homes were built at higher elevation on a
bench overlooking the creek; this part of town was known locally as "Piety Hill". About half the town was destroyed by fire in 1899, but it was later rebuilt.
Three catastrophic flash floods
Since its founding, Mitchell has experienced three catastrophic
flash floods
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice and snow. Flash fl ...
along Bridge Creek, which runs through the center of the city. Flooding caused great damage to the city in 1884 and 1904.
The third flood occurred on July 13, 1956, shortly after an intense thunderstorm in the hills to the south. Bridge Creek is usually less than deep during July,
but minutes after the thunderstorm a wall of water surged through Mitchell, destroying or heavily damaging 20 buildings in the city and several bridges over the creek. Eight people were killed including a family of four who were swept away and never recovered.
An observer from the
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...
estimated that about of rain had fallen in about 50 minutes at the storm's center.
Total damage from the flood, which also caused extensive damage to crops and roads in a nearby valley, was .
Oregon's first dinosaur fossil
In 2018, a geologist from the
University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
found a fossilized toe of a plant-eating
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
near Mitchell, where the Pacific Ocean coast lay 100 million years ago. This discovery has been billed as the first dinosaur fossil found in Oregon.
A competing claim involves fossil fragments of a
hadrosaur
Hadrosaurids (), also hadrosaurs or duck-billed dinosaurs, are members of the ornithischian family Hadrosauridae. This group is known as the duck-billed dinosaurs for the flat duck-bill appearance of the bones in their snouts. The ornithopod fami ...
or duck-billed dinosaur found in the
Otter Point Formation near the mouth of the
Rogue River.
Geography and climate
Mitchell, in southwestern Wheeler County, is on
U.S. Route 26
U.S. Highway 26 (US 26) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs from Seaside, Oregon, to Ogallala, Nebraska. When the U.S. Numbered Highway System was first defined, it was limited to Nebraska and Wyoming; by the 1950s, it c ...
just east of its intersection with
Oregon Route 207
Oregon Route 207 is an Oregon state highway running from U.S. Route 26 in Oregon, U.S. Route 26 in Mitchell, Oregon, Mitchell to U.S. Route 730 (Oregon), U.S. Route 730 near Cold Springs, Oregon, Cold Springs Junction. OR 207 is long and runs ...
.
By highway, the city is east of
Prineville and west of
John Day. To the city's south lie the
Ochoco Mountains
The Ochoco Mountains are a mountain range in central Oregon in the United States, located at the western end of the Blue Mountains (Pacific Northwest), Blue Mountains. They were formed when Permian, Triassic, and Jurassic rocks were slowly uplif ...
, the source of Bridge Creek. It flows through Mitchell and then north through the Painted Hills to the
John Day River
The John Day River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northeastern Oregon in the United States. It is known as the Mah-Hah River by the Cayuse people. Undammed along its entire length, the river is the fourth longest ...
.
Eroded remnants of ancient
stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...
es, once the size of
Mount Hood
Mount Hood, also known as Wy'east, is an active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range and is a member of the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast and rests in the Pacific N ...
are nearby; these include Black Butte and White Butte, visible from town.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , all of it land.
Precipitation in the region is limited by the
rain shadow
A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side.
Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...
effect of the
Cascade Range
The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...
and the Ochoco Mountains to the west.
In winter, much of the precipitation arrives as snow.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 130 people, 61 households, and 39 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 83 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.3%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.8%
Native American, and 6.9% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 1.5% of the population.
There were 61 households, of which 18.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 8.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.1% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was age 65 or older. The average household size was 2.13 people and the average family size was 2.56 .
The median age in the city was 51.7 years. 15.4% of residents were under age 18; 4.6% were ages 18–24; 16.1% were ages 25–44; 33.1% were ages 45–64; and 30.8% were aged 65 years or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.2% male and 53.8% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 170 people, 75 households, and 42 families residing in the city. The population density was 144.6 people per square mile (55.6/km). There were 91 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90.00% White, 2.35% Native American, 1.18%
Asian, 1.18% from
other races, and 5.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.65% of the population.
There were 75 households, out of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.7% were non-families. 38.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.7% had someone living alone aged 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.27 people and the average family size was 2.79 .
In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.8% under age 18, 2.9% ages 18–24, 19.4% ages 25–44, 28.2% ages 45–64, and 20.6% aged 65 years or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 107.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $20,417, and the median income for a family was $20,833. Males had a median income of $21,250 versus $23,125 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $13,906. About 26.9% of families and 28.7% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 43.5% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
Education
Mitchell School District is the local school district.
The county is not a part of a
community college
A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...
district.
Tourism

Mitchell holds two festivals each year:
* The Painted Hills Festival is held each
Labor Day
Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...
weekend. This includes a
half marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...
, 5K and 10K, parade, show horses, fire trucks, Red Hat ladies, motorcycle show, games, watermelon eating contests, dunk tank, karaoke, and live entertainment. Craft vendors and food vendors line the street and city park. A quilt show is held at the Community Hall. The day ends with a street dance to live bands.
* Tiger Town Music Festival is held annually on the second weekend in June, and features bands from all over the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
from 9 –10 .
In popular culture
In the novel ''
World War Z
''World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War'' is a 2006 zombie apocalyptic horror novel written by American author Max Brooks. The novel is broken into eight chapters: “Warnings”, “Blame”, “The Great Panic”, “Turning the Tid ...
'', by
Max Brooks
Maximilian Michael Brooks (born May 22, 1972) is an American actor and author. He is the son of comedian Mel Brooks and actress Anne Bancroft. Much of Brooks's writing focuses on Zombie (fictional), zombie stories. He was a senior fellow at the ...
, the people of Mitchell are almost entirely infected and turned into zombies. Instead of being cleared, the town is sealed and is turned into the K-9 Urban Warfare school, where military dogs are trained with live zombies.
References
External links
Listing for Mitchellin the ''
Oregon Blue Book
The ''Oregon Blue Book'' is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon prepared by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division.
The ''Blue Book'' comes in both print and o ...
''
{{Authority control
Cities in Oregon
Cities in Wheeler County, Oregon
1873 establishments in Oregon
Populated places established in 1873