History
The fur trade was Oregon's first major industry. Beginning in the 1840s, settlers began displacing Native Americans and setting up farms. Though growth was slow for the coastal region there was rapid growth in the Willamette Valley and Portland in particular. With the discovery of gold in 1861-62 in Baker county and Grant County in Eastern Oregon had begun establishing itself as a major shipping hub with a focus on wheat. With the railroad's arrival to Oregon, Portland has sealed its position as the economic center of the state. In the following decades, loggers and salmon fishers joined the miners.
With the coming of the First World War, the state's shipyard industry and timber trades continued to expand rapidly again, especially in Portland. In the 1930s, the Works Projects Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps introduced through the New Deal would construct many projects throughout the state including Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood and many hydroelectric dams along Oregon's rivers. The Bonneville Dam, built from 1933-1937 provided low cost electricity that helped fuel development of industries such as aluminum plants, like Wah Chang Corporation located in Albany. The power, food, and lumber provided by Oregon helped fuel the development of the West, although the periodic fluctuations in the nation's building industry have hurt the state's economy on multiple occasions. That coupled with needs of World War II food production, shipbuilding and the lumber were also greatly enhanced throughout the state.
Read more about this topic: Economy Of Oregon
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