Olene, Oregon
Unincorporated community
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyKlamath
Unit prefImperial
Population as of2020
Time zonePacific (PST) (UTC-8)
Time zone (DST)PDT (UTC-7)
Elevation4154 ft
Coordinates42°10′19″N 121°37′51″W
GNIS feature ID1124978[1]

Olene is an unincorporated community in Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The community is 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Klamath Falls on Oregon Route 140.[2] Olene currently has a general store and at one time it had a school.[3][4][5]

History

In 1940 Olene had a population of 62 and was considered a suburb of Klamath Falls.[6] Olene was the center of a prosperous dairy and potato farming district.[6]

According to William Gladstone Steel, Olene is a Klamath word meaning "eddy place" or "place of drift." O. C. Applegate adopted the word for the site in 1884 when the post office was established.[7] The original Olene post office was up the Lost River from the current townsite.[7] When the post office closed in 1966, it was near The Gap, a restriction in the Lost River.[7][8] This gap is also known as Olene Gap, and the Olene Hot Springs are nearby.[9][10]

The community was along a rail line operated jointly by Southern Pacific and Burlington Northern. Today the OC&E Woods Line State Trail, a rails to trails conversion, passes through Olene.[11] Originally built by the Oregon, California and Eastern Railway, the railroad line reached Olene in 1918.[9]

A geothermal drilling project near Olene was completed in early 2013, and the temperature produced by that well was in excess of 280 °F (138 °C).[12] Plans included drilling two or three more wells for a commercial-scale power plant, with a planned electrical capacity of 21 MWe.[12]

References

  1. ^
  2. ^ Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer. 7th ed. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. 2008. p. 70. ISBN 0-89933-347-8.
  3. ^ "Parking and Access". Klamath Rails-to-Trail Group. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  4. ^ "Itineraries". Klamath Visitor & Convention Bureau. Archived from the original on September 21, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  5. ^ Tonsfeldt, Ward (August 1990). "Historical Resource Survey: Klamath County, Oregon". Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  6. ^ Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Oregon (1940). Oregon: End of the Trail. American Guide Series. Portland, Oregon: Binfords & Mort. p. 440. OCLC 4874569
  7. ^ p. 720.
  8. ^ 1127969. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  9. ^ "OC&E Woods Line State Trail". Explore! December 5, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  10. ^ 1132675. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  11. ^ "OC&E Woods Line State Trail". Klamath Rails-to-Trail Group. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  12. ^ [1] "Second Geothermal Well in the Works in Olene Area". Global Geothermal News. Retrieved October 14, 2013.