Oregon By Greyhound • Tell me your story

The Journey Black Rock, Oregon

Location LAT 44° 42' 42"  N  LON 122° 43' 08" W 

Date March 7, 2009

Weather 46°, Partly sunny and cold

Distance 31.8  miles

This intriguing article was in the 2007 November December issue of Business Viewpoint. Hoping for an original building or two, we located the coordinates and headed that direction.

This is the only building that stood at Black Rock's coordinates.

Danny was quite content and comfy and assured us that he had no desire to explore the abandoned building. He would much rather wait in the car and catch a few z's.

Abandoned house, I wish your walls could talk. Your unknown story continues to haunt my mind. 

At some point in time, someone lovingly painted your exterior walls barn red, but only in the front.

They strategically planted ferns around your yard and Christmas lights still hang on the edge of the roof.

Your front door had been carefully locked, but the back door, protected from the elements with an overhang had been taken from its hinges. 

Karen headed that way to take a peek.

And then she was gone. Through the open door to explore your lonely and silent rooms.

Your family must have left in a hurry. Tools remained on the work bench and a wheelchair folded neatly by the door,  as if ready to go.

A garbage bag full of children's books lay near the door. Was it accidently left behind in their rush to leave? Or perhaps the kids had grown up and outgrown the stories. How many children lived here? 

The weight of the heavy books left behind bowed the bookshelves over time. Seven editions of Websters Family Encyclopedia, The Parenting Advisor and a Bible remained.

A wood stove in each room kept the house warm and inviting during the cold winters, yet there was plenty of evidence that the house had electricity.

How young were the children that sat on the floor in front of your old wood stove, legs straight out in front of them with a book open in their laps?

Carefully placed in an old pot, a bunch of silk sunflowers still catch the sun rays in the kitchen window. Yes, I suspect the family that lived here loved their home very much.

Did the family live off of the land? A rusty old garden plow leaned against the rail next to the house.

An arrow is firmly planted in the pole that supports a once-upon-a-time extravagant bird house. Was the arrow used for target practice? Maybe it caught the evening meal or was used to warn against invaders crossing a private property line?

The bird house stands tall and empty, just like the house.

Was the outbuilding still standing when your family left? Did another family live there or was it a  shelter for cows or horses?

A single land-locked canoe rested in the grass. Was it used to float down the Little Luckiamute River?

We left you standing exactly as we found you, but I really want to know your story. You left so many pieces of your puzzle behind, but not enough to give us a picture. 

It will be up to us I guess, to try and fill in the pieces between.