Otis 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
Lincoln 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, a half mile north of
Otis Junction on
Oregon Route 18. It is near the
Salmon River.
Otis post office was established in 1900 and was named after Otis Thompson, nephew of Archibald S. Thompson, the postmaster.
U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...
used to pass through Otis until a curvy and hilly section of road was rerouted in the 1960s. Otis Junction is at the intersection of the former terminus of Oregon Route 18 and the former alignment of U.S. 101.
The
Sitka Center for Art and Ecology has an Otis mailing address but is located nearer to the coast on
Cascade Head. The Otis
ZIP code, 97368, also covers the community of
Rose Lodge. Today Otis and Otis Junction are considered synonymous.
Otis made the national headlines in 1999 and again in 2004, when it was announced that the town was for sale for $3 million.
The news stories describe the Otis Café and other amenities that are at Otis Junction; it is unclear if the that were for sale included the land in Otis proper. Owner Vivian Lematta's grandfather bought the land from descendants of the
Siletz Indians for $800 in 1910.
[ Lematta left Otis in 1957.][ Included in the sale were the gas station and mini grocery store, a Pronto Pup ]corn dog
A corn dog (also spelled corndog and also known by #Name variations, several other names) is a hot dog on a stick that has been coated in a thick layer of cornmeal Batter (cooking), batter and Deep frying, deep fried. It originated in the Unite ...
stand, two houses, an empty 25-stall horse barn, a helicopter storage shed, a garage, a Grange hall, the Otis post office, the Otis Café, an auto-repair garage and of farmland.[ Part of the land was used for raising cattle and part was undergoing timber conservation.][
]
Climate
This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above . According to the Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Otis has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Otis, Oregon
/ref>
References
External links
Historic images of Otis
from Salem Public Library
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{{Authority control
Unincorporated communities in Lincoln County, Oregon
1900 establishments in Oregon
Populated places established in 1900
Unincorporated communities in Oregon