It’s Spooktober! Let’s visit a ghost town. How about Antelope?
Amidst the rolling hills and rugged landscapes of central Oregon, Antelope has a big story to tell. This quaint town is a hidden gem, offering a unique blend of history, natural beauty, and a sense of timelessness.
A Glimpse into Antelope’s History
In the mid-19th century, Antelope began as a station along the wagon road connecting The Dalles on the Columbia River with gold mines near Canyon City. After about 1870, the wagon road became known as The Dalles Military Road. When the highway was moved, Antelope became a quiet town of ranchers.
Is most notorious chapter came in the early 1980s when it briefly became the home of the Rajneeshpuram commune led by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. A circle of leading members of the Rajneeshpuram Oregon commune were arrested for crimes including an attempted assassination plot to murder U.S. Attorney Charles H. Turner as part of the United States’s first recorded bio-terror attack calculated to influence the outcome of a local election in their favour; the effort ultimately failed. Salmonella bacteria were deployed to infect salad products in local restaurants and shops, which poisoned several hundred people.
Remnants of the Past
Antelope has many old building.
Antelope offers breathtaking vistas…
And creepy ones… I envisioned this school when writing the second book in the Rifters series.
Antelop was an awesome place to visit!
