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The first written record of the NAME "Oregon" comes from a 1765 proposal for a journey written by Major Robert Rogers, an English army officer. It reads: "The rout ... is from the Great Lakes towards the Head of the Mississippi, and from thence to the River called by the Indians Ouragon ... ." When his proposal was rejected, Rogers reapplied in 1772, using the spelling "Ourigan." The first printed use of the current spelling appeared in Captain Jonathan Carver's 1778 book Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America 1766, 1767, and 1768, in which he listed the four great rivers of the continent, including "the River Oregon, or the River of the West, that falls into the Pacific Ocean at the Straits of Annian."

	The American Beaver (Castor canadensis) was named Oregon State ANIMAL on April 4, 1969. Oregon is known as the "Beaver State," and Oregon State University's athletic teams are called the "Beavers."	Milk was named the State BEVERAGE in 1997 because milk production and the manufacture of dairy products are major contributors to the economy of Oregon.
	Oregon schoolchildren chose the Western Meadow Lark (Sturnella neglecta) as the State BIRD in 1927, as the result of a poll sponsored by the Oregon Audubon Society.	Reedsport was designated the Official CHAINSAW CARVING CAPITAL of Oregon in 2011. [city website]
	Navy Blue and Gold were named the Official State COLORS in 1959.	Oregon designated the Dungeness Crab (Cancer magister) as the Official State CRUSTACEAN on June 19, 2009, the result of petitioning by the 4th grade class of Sunset Primary School in West Linn.
	Following a trend set by several other states, the Square Dance was designated the official State DANCE, on July 1, 1977.	John McLoughlin was officially named the FATHER OF OREGON in 1957.
	The Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) was declared the official State FISH in 1961. The largest of the Pacific salmons, the Chinook is highly prized for the fresh fish trade and draws thousands of fishermen to Oregon every year.	Adopted in 1925, the Oregon State FLAG is navy blue with gold lettering and symbols. The front of the flag features the shield from the State Seal surrounded by 33 stars (symbolizing that Oregon was the 33rd state); "STATE OF OREGON" is above the shield, and "1859" (the year of Oregon's admission to the Union) is below. Oregon is the only state in the Union whose flag has a different pattern on the reverse side -- the silhouette of a beaver, the State Animal. The dress or parade flag has a gold fringe; the utility flag has a plain border.
	The Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium) was named the State FLOWER in 1899, following a vote amongst members of the Oregon Historical Society.	Metasequoia (dawn redwood) was named the State FOSSIL in 2005. Metasequoia fossils are found embedded in rocks across the Oregon landscape, and its designation as State Fossil was part of a long-term effort to draw attention to Oregon's paleontologic and geologic resources.
	The Pear (Pyrus commuis) was designated the State FRUIT on May 5, 2005. A variety of pears are grown in Oregon, including Comice, Anjou, Bosc, and Bartlett, and the pear is the top-selling fruit crop in the state.	Oregon Sunstone was designated the State GEMSTONE in 1987. The gem attracts collectors and miners and has been identified as a boon to tourism in southeastern Oregon, where it is found in abundance.
	In 1969 the Oregon legislature designated Miss Oregon as the Official State HOSTESS during her reign. [Miss Oregon website]	The Oregon Swallowtail (Papilio oregonius) was designated the State INSECT on July 16, 1979 because it is one of the few butterflies truly native to the Northwest.
	Oregon designated Saccharomyces cerevisiae (commonly known as brewer's yeast or baker's yeast) as the Official State MICROBE in 2013.	Oregon designated Tabitha Moffatt Brown as the MOTHER OF OREGON in 1987. In 1846, 66-year-old Tabitha joined a wagon train from Missouri to Oregon, suffering much hardship and loss before arriving in Salem. She went on to build a home and school for orphans, and helped start the Tualatin Academy in Forest Grove to educate young children (which later expanded to launch Pacific University).
	She Flies with Her Own Wings was adopted as the State MOTTO by the Legislature in 1987. The phrase originated with Judge Jessie Quinn Thornton and was pictured on the territorial seal in Latin: Alis Volat Propiis.	The Legislature named the Pacific Golden Chanterelle (Cantharellus formosus) the State MUSHROOM in 1999. This wild, edible mushroom is unique to the Pacific Northwest, and more than 500,000 pounds of them are harvested annually in Oregon.
	The Legislature named the Hazelnut (Corylus avellana) as the State NUT in 1989 because 99 percent of the total U.S. commercial crop of Hazelnuts is grown in Oregon.	The Happy Canyon Indian Pageant and Wild West Show was named the Official State OUTDOOR PAGEANT AND WILD WEST SHOW in 2011. [website]
	The Legislature named the Thunder-Egg (geode) as the State ROCK on March 29, 1965, after rockhounds throughout the state voted it first choice.	The State SEAL consists of an escutcheon (shield) supported by 33 stars and divided by an ordinary (ribbon) with the inscription "The Union" (the State Motto until 1987). Above the ordinary are the mountains and forests of Oregon, an elk with branching antlers, a covered wagon and ox team, the Pacific Ocean with setting sun, a departing British man-of-war signifying the departure of British influence in the region and an arriving American merchant ship signifying the rise of American power. Below the ordinary is a quartering with a sheaf of wheat, plow and pickax, which represent Oregon's mining and agricultural resources. The crest is the American Bald Eagle. Around the perimeter of the seal is the legend "State of Oregon 1859." The seal was designed by Benjamin F. Burch, L.F. Grover and James K. Kelly.
	Fusitriton oregonensis was the scientific name given to the Oregon Hairy Triton by a conchologist (shell expert) in 1848. Reaching lengths up to five inches, it is one of the largest seashells found in Oregon. The Legislature named it the State SEASHELL on October 1, 1991.	Oregon designated Jory Soil as the Official State SOIL in 2011. Named after Jory Hill in Marion County, Jory soils are deep, well-drained soils that formed in the foothills surrounding the Willamette Valley.
	Oregon, My Oregon was written by J.A. Buchanan (of Astoria) and Henry B. Murtagh (of Portland) in 1920. With this song, Buchanan and Murtagh won a statewide competition sponsored by the Society of Oregon Composers. It was designated the State SONG in 1927. [lyrics]	Oregon designated the Champoeg Historical Pageant as the Official STATEHOOD PAGEANT in 1987. [website]
	The Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) was named for David Douglas, a 19th-century Scottish botanist. It was designated the State TREE in 1939.

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This page was last updated on April 26, 2017.