Deschutes County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 198,253. The county seat is Bend. The county was created in 1916 out of part of Crook County and was named for the Deschutes River, which itself was named by French-Canadian trappers of the early 19th century. It is the political and economic hub of Central Oregon. Deschutes comprises the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area and media market. Deschutes is Oregon's fastest-growing and most recently formed county.
The Deschutes River in central Oregon is a major tributary of the Columbia River. The river provides much of the drainage on the eastern side of the Cascade Range in Oregon, gathering many of the tributaries that descend from the drier, eastern flank of the mountains. The Deschutes provided an important route to and from the Columbia for Native Americans for thousands of years, and then in the 19th century for pioneers on the Oregon Trail. The river flows mostly through rugged and arid country, and its valley provides a cultural heart for central Oregon. Today the river supplies water for irrigation and is popular in the summer for whitewater rafting and fishing.
The 81st Readiness Division ("Wildcat") was a formation of the United States Army originally organized as the 81st Infantry Division during World War I. After World War I, the 81st Division was allotted to the Organized Reserve as a "skeletonized" cadre division. In 1942, the division was reactivated and reorganized as the 81st Infantry Division and served in the Pacific during World War II. After World War II, the 81st Infantry Division was allotted to the Organized Reserve as a Class C cadre division, and stationed at Atlanta, Georgia. The 81st Infantry Division saw no active service during the Cold War and was inactivated in 1965.
The Cascades Lakes Scenic Byway is a National Scenic Byway in central Oregon in the United States. It runs for 66 miles (106 km) in the rugged country of Deschutes and Klamath counties on the east side of the Cascade Range. It offers particularly good views of Mount Bachelor, Broken Top, and the Three Sisters (Oregon) mountains and provides access to many recreational facilities in central Oregon. The route is so named because it weaves past a number of small natural lakes along the Cascades as well as several reservoirs on the upper Deschutes River.
The United States Army's Officer Candidate School (OCS) is an officer candidate school located at Fort Moore, Georgia, that trains, assesses, and evaluates potential commissioned officers of the U.S. Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and Army National Guard. Officer candidates are former enlisted members, warrant officers, inter-service transfers, or civilian college graduates who enlist for the "OCS Option" after they complete Basic Combat Training (BCT). The latter are often referred to as college ops.
Sunriver is a census-designated place and 3,300-acre (13 km2) planned residential and resort community in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,393. It is part of the Bend Metropolitan Statistical Area, located on the eastern side of the Deschutes River, about fifteen miles (25 km) south of Bend at the base of the Cascade Range.
Central Oregon is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Oregon and is traditionally considered to be made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Other definitions include larger areas, often encompassing areas to the north towards the Columbia River, eastward towards Burns, or south towards Klamath Falls. These three counties have a combined population of 200,431 as of the 2010 census, with Deschutes the largest of the three counties, having approximately four times the population of the other two counties combined. As of 2015, the most populous city in the region is Bend, with an estimated 87,014 residents. As defined by the three county definition, Central Oregon covers 7,833 square miles (20,290 km2) of land. Central Oregon has had 3 record tourism years beginning in 2012. Over 2.2 million people visited Central Oregon in 2012 and again in 2013.
Lava Butte is a cinder cone in central Oregon, United States, just west of U.S. Route 97 between the towns of Bend, and Sunriver in Deschutes County. It is part of a system of small cinder cones on the northwest flank of Newberry Volcano, a massive shield volcano which rises to the southeast. The cinder cone is capped by a crater which extends about 60 feet (20 m) deep beneath its south rim, and 160 feet (50 m) deep from the 5,020-foot (1,530 m) summit on its north side. Lava Butte is part of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.
Black Butte is an extinct stratovolcano in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in Jefferson County, it is part of Deschutes National Forest. Black Butte forms part of the Cascade volcanic arc. The butte lies just south of the Metolius Springs, which merge to form the headwaters of the Metolius River. The Metolius River's basin sustains a wide array of plant life, large and small mammals, and more than 80 bird species.
Henry Larcom Abbot was a military engineer and career officer in the United States Army. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was appointed brevet brigadier general of volunteers for his contributions in engineering and artillery. In 1866 he received additional brevet appointments as major general of volunteers and brigadier general in the Regular Army. He conducted several scientific studies of the Mississippi River with captain, later Major General Andrew A. Humphreys. After his retirement, Abbot served as a consultant for the locks on the Panama Canal. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1863.
Sunriver Resort is a luxury resort and residential community in central Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The resort is located at the edge of the high desert, just east of the Cascade Range, in Sunriver, 15 miles (24 km) south of Bend and 180 miles (290 km) south-southeast of Portland. The common areas throughout the Sunriver resort community are managed by the Sunriver Owner's Association. The elevation of the resort is 4,190 feet (1,280 m) above sea level.
The 249th Engineer Battalion (United States) is a versatile power generation battalion assigned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that provides commercial-level power to military units and federal relief organizations during full-spectrum operations. Additionally, the commander serves as the Commandant of the U.S. Army Prime Power School, the institution responsible for the development of Army and Navy power generation specialists.
Luther Metke was an American folk poet and early central Oregon pioneer who served in the Spanish–American War. He was the subject of Jorge Preloran's documentary Luther Metke at 94. Metke moved to Central Oregon in 1907 and built nearly every bridge between Bend and Crescent and over 30 log cabins.
Fort Leonard Wood is a U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of the city of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard Wood in January 1941. Originally intended to train infantry troops, in 1941 it became an engineer training post with the creation of the Engineer Replacement Training Center. During World War II Italian and German POWs were interned at the fort. In 1984, as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process, most of the U.S. Army Engineer School's operations were consolidated at Fort Leonard Wood. Before that, officer training was conducted at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
William Plutarch Vandevert was a western adventurer, cattleman, and Central Oregon pioneer. After travels in California, Texas, and Arizona, he established a cattle ranch fifteen miles (24 km) south of present-day Bend, Oregon, before the founding of Bend or the surrounding Deschutes County. He blazed trails through the Cascade Mountains and was a renowned bear hunter. He fathered eight children, including three doctors, and was a leading citizen of Central Oregon for many years.
The 31st Engineer Battalion, known during World War II as the 31st Engineer Combat Battalion, is a combat Engineer Battalion in the U.S. Army
Benham Falls are rapids of the Deschutes River located between Sunriver and Bend, Oregon, United States. With a pitch of 22.5°, they are rated Class 5 for watercraft, and are the largest falls on the upper Deschutes.
The Oregon Maneuver was a large scale military training exercise held in Central Oregon in September through November 1943. The exercise was designed to test United States Army units prior to deployment in support of Allied combat operations in World War II. The maneuver included approximately 100,000 men. The major units involved in the exercise were all part of the army's IV Corps, commanded by Major General Alexander Patch. The exercise headquarters was located at Camp Abbot, south of Bend, Oregon. The maneuver included five specific training problems that engaged troops from a defensive Red Force and an offensive Blue Force. Following the maneuver the three participating divisions, the 91st Infantry Division, the 96th Infantry Division, and the 104th Infantry Division were sent into combat in the European or the Pacific theaters.
The United States Army Engineer School (USAES) is located at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. It was founded as a School of Engineering by General Headquarters Orders, Valley Forge on 9 June 1778. The U.S. Army Engineer School provides training that develops a wide variety of engineering skills including: combat engineer, bridging, construction, geospatial, topography, diving, and firefighting.
Leslie Allen Joslin is an American retired naval officer, natural resource manager, educator, and author. After serving twenty-two years in the United States Navy, Joslin retired in Oregon where he worked for the United States Forest Service. He also taught college courses at Central Oregon Community College and Oregon State University. Joslin has written or edited eleven books, most of them related in some way to the Forest Service or the state of Oregon. He is also a well-known lecturer on forest resources and central Oregon history topics.
