Oregon's Willamette Valley

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Then, while in search of some of the covered bridges near Scio, I decided to check out the Roaring River Fish Hatchery. I never got there. At the fork of Crab Creek and Roaring River, I came upon the Larwood Covered Bridge, and beside it a small county park with picnic tables, an old water wheel, and the ideal swimming hole, complete with a rope swing attached to the bottom of the bridge for sailing Tarzanlike into the water.

During August's meteor showers, I camped out on Mary's Peak—the highest in Oregon's Coastal Range—which offers a spectacular view of the valley. (To Native Americans, it was Chintimini, "The Place of the Spirits.") Driving down to the tiny community of Alsea at 6:30 the next morning in search of breakfast, I chanced upon The Farmer's Country Kitchen, a charming restaurant with a lovely, little herb garden and first-class, inexpensive food.

Land, Houses, and Taxes

Land is not inexpensive in the Willamette, but it's certainly less costly than in many other areas of the country. According to a Eugene real estate agent, prices there are now at 1977 levels. A glance at a local paper turned up a five-acre ranch with a "lovely home" near Junction City for $49,000; 10 acres, a two-story farmhouse, a small orchard, and a pasture eight miles outside Albany for $57,500; a two-bedroom home on a half-acre lot in Eugene for $20,500; and a 19-acre ranch near Eugene, with fenced pastures, a year-round creek with irrigation rights, a large barn, a shop, and a doublewide mobile home for $65,000.

There's an otherwise excellent state law, however, that makes locating your perfect place a little difficult. In order to keep the countryside from being developed into subdivisions, land parcels have been frozen at their present size. A farmer can't, for example, break off and sell five acres. The farm must stay intact.

Those contemplating a move to the Eugene or Corvallis area would be wise to do so in summer when school is out. At that time, apartments and rental houses are readily available for $175 and up.

Property is assessed at 100% of true market value and taxes vary by county, but to give you some idea of the highest rates, Eugene has a tax of $29.59 per $1,000 and Corvallis, $26.77 per $1,000. There's no sales tax, though, nor does Oregon impose an inventory tax. Inheritance and gift taxes were both eliminated in 1986, and state income tax brackets range from 4% to 10%.

Oregon teachers consistently put a salestax measure on the ballot, to increase revenues for education, and it's always defeated. But, even back in 1843, when the provisional government set up a tax structure, it had a hard time collecting the funds—"even from our own executive committee." Nothing much has changed since then.

The People

By 1845, there were 2,000 settlers in the valley, most under the age of 45. The average age now is around 30, except in Benton County, where it's 25. Even farmers are younger than the national average. Senior citizens, however, make their influence felt, especially through dozens of newspapers and organizations that confront all kinds of social and economic issues. In fact, almost every group—and even some neighborhoods—publish their own newspapers.

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