Ghosts tour the town
THE NORTHWEST GHOST TOUR IN OREGON CITY SHOWS THE PARANORMAL HISTORY OF THE TOWN
BY MCKENNA STREED
THE CLACKAMAS PRINT
If you’ve ever wondered if your town is haunted or
even just want to know its history, this is the tour to
experience.
On Friday, O ct. 13, people gathered at the Oregon
City elevator w aiting for the Northw est G host Jo u r
to begin. Rocky Sm ith is known as a local historian, a
paranormal investigator and the tour guide.
“ I expect to see some ghosts; I’ll be disappointed if
I don’t see any g h o sts,” said Kobe W illiam s, who was
one o f the people w aiting at the elevator. “ I haven’t
heard that Oregon City is haunted or anything, but
you never know .”
“ I t’ s Friday the 13th, so I’ m ju st d o ing it to get
spooky,” Katie Dalrymple said.
T he tour b egan across th e street w ith som e
interesting general history
before m o v in g in to the
major hot spots.
A cco rd in g to S m ith ,
in Oregon City, Dr. John
M cLoughlm started it all
by building houses, stores
and even by helping
to found the town.
Before leaving
th e v ie w o f
th e e le v a to r,
the story o f
Sarah C h ase
w as
to ld .
S h e w as a
m a n sio n ow ner
t h a t d e s p is e d
the elevator. It
s said that she
still stands at
th e to p in the
s k y b o x to
yell at those
w ho u s e it
b ecau se o f
its position
on her land.
A ft e r
w a lk in g
down Seventh
Street towards
Main, you hear
th e story o f a
Tour guide,
lit t le r e d -
Rocky Smith,
haired boy.
shares the
I t’ s thought
history of
that he played
Oregon City.
at the river, got sick
Clackamas Print
and died; now , he wanders around town laughing.
R ecen tly , th e stories chan ged and in co n clu siv e
inform ation has arisen.
M ain Street is fu ll o f little snippets o f the tow n’ s
history, from buildings up on the hill such as the Barclay
House and the McLoughlin House.
In the second stop, the Bank o f Commerce, doors’
lock and unlock on their own. Stories from people are
told that items disappear and reappear from different
places. Maizee M ae’ s Antiques and Treasures, which
was once a police station, comes next. Its twin buildings
are now in the historic registrar and cannot be taken
down.
\
.
.
The tour; continues past Pioneer Pub, Singer Falls,
Ruuds Jewelers, Weinhard Grill and McAnulty N Barry’s.
These stbps lead to the m ost haunted spot on the tour
due to its high frequency of activity, Coffee Rush. The
site o f Coffee Rush’ s parking lot was originally a house
that had burnt down. A car dealership was built over
the lot and it also burnt down.
Continuing on the tour, one could see the site that
once was the Liberty Theater. After the Liberty Theater
was taken down, they built sm all window boxes in the
ground that can be seen lit up during the evenings
except for the box dedicated to the Liberty Theatre,
which has never had power to it and sits black in the
nighty t
The tour ends with two dark and gruesome places.
First, it’ s a sm all alcove under Oregon 99, next to the
river where faces can be seen looking up at yoù and
things can be thrown.
The fin al place is a pedestrian tunnel located on
Railroad Avenge that goes under Oregon 99. The tunnel
gives the feelin gs o f heaviness and can m ake you
dizzy. It is the site o f m any deaths originating with
the hanging of five Natives. Paranormal investigators
believe there is a negative energy in that area.
Sm ith believes he is a sensitive. “ I have the ability to
pick up things, I think we all d o ,” said Sm ith. “ I think
we usually just write it o ff as a coincidence that we see
things or feel th in gs.” A sensitive means they can feel
negative or positive energy, and feel the emotions of
the paranormal.
That gives you som ething to think about. W hether
you believe or not, this tour is very insightful into the
history of Oregon City. You learn things that make you
skeptical, you feel and see thingsthat make you wonder.
The Northwest Ghost Tours, as well as other spècial
events, run every year but only for a couple m onths
and tickets can be bought online.
Merari Calderon Ruiz contributed to this story.
People gather for the ghost tour on the corner of Seventh and Main streets on Friday, Oct. 13.
th e c ia c k a m a sp rin t.n e t
OCTOBER 25, 2017