Kent,
Oregon 97033Kent,
Oregon 97033Sherman County
Kent is an unincorporated town with a population of 23. Amenities include homes, a Baptist Church and the post office. Mid-Columbia Grain Growers operates the grain storage elevator. On Highway 97, Kent is the last outpost southbound, 16 miles to Shaniko. Northbound Kent is 40 miles from Biggs. A handful of families appreciate the wide-open spaces and magnificent view of Mt. Hood. -- Source: http://www.sherman-county.com
Kent is only an eyeblink wide, and many maps don't even show this tiny community located between Grass Valley and Shaniko on Highway 97 in the southern part of Sherman County. Ironically, Kent looks more like a ghost town than neighboring Shaniko which has attracted many tourists due to its status as an old-west ghost town.
Contrary to information listed on
www.oregoncities.org, the abandoned café/gas station in Kent was not
closed due to any action by the Environmental Protection Agency. According to
former Kent resident, Elizabeth (Bothwell) Mills, the owners of the cafe were
her Uncle Dick and Aunt Phyliss (Wilson), who were NEVER contacted by the EPA.
The reason the cafe closed is because Dick was worried about Phyliss's safety
since she worked all alone in the cafe along the highway while he was out in
the fields. They both decided to close the cafe due to personal reasons. Source:
Elizabeth Bothwell Mills, updated 04/06.
Behind the café lies an empty house and the remains of the old school built in 1937. The school was closed in 1980 and destroyed by a fire a few years later. Kent's children have been bussed to Grass Valley since the closure. -- Source: http://www.oregoncities.org/kent/
Mid Columbia Producers, Inc. has a grain elevator located in Kent. Mid Columbia Producers is a farmer owned cooperative, with the main office located in Moro, Oregon. Wheat farming is the basis for the local economy in this part of Sherman County. The sight of the newer grain elevator sitting next to the ramshackle, older structure is an interesting juxtaposition of modern vs vintage buildings. For a better look at the old grain elevator, click here.
J.E. Norton, postmaster at Kent in 1926, wrote the compiler that a petition was circulated in Jan. 1887, for a post office where the community of Kent is now situated. In order to select a name a number of persons wrote their preferences on slips of paper, which were subsequently stirred in a hat. The name, Kent, was drawn as was the one suggested by R.C. Bennett. M.H. Bennett was the first postmaster. The only reason R.C. Bennett gave for the selection of the word Kent was that it was "nice and short." However, Giles French of Moro told the writer in 1975 that R.C. Bennett was not involved and that Milton H. Bennett was alone in the Kent venture and named the post office on his own. -- Source: Oregon Geographic Names, Sixth Edition, 1992, Lewis L. McArthur, Oregon Historical Society Press, ISBN O-87595-237-2.
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Kent Baptist
Church
541-333-2366 |
Kent Post
Office
541-333-2581 |
Mid Columbia
Producers Inc.
Kent Elevator 95185 Dobie Point Ln Kent, OR 97033 541-333-2548 |
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