Biohazard and Crime Scene Remediation in Lonerock, OR

Lonerock is a city in Gilliam County, Oregon, twenty miles east of Condon, and with 25 residents in the 2020 census it is one of the smallest incorporated cities in Oregon.

Lonerock was platted in 1882 as "Lone Rock," named for an unusual 35-foot-high rock that still stands in the town near the old Methodist church, and the U.S. Postal Service's preference for one-word names made "Lonerock" the community's official name.

Settlement began in the early 1870s as a service center for surrounding ranches, and the first settlers arrived in 1871 in a valley lush with grasses and hills abounding with game animals.

In 1874, Edward Wineland erected a water-powered sawmill at Lonerock, which allowed construction and settlement to thrive, and a post office was established in 1875.

A two-room school building was erected in Lonerock in 1888, providing first through twelfth grade education, and the school's final graduation was in 1932.

In 1898, Reverend Deuse built a Methodist church in Lonerock that held weekly services for many years, and as of 2020 the small white church still stands and occasionally holds services.

In July 1896, Lonerock was almost destroyed by fire when the entire business portion burned, reportedly started by a boy playing with matches, leaving only a few dwellings on the outskirts.

Lonerock's population peaked at 82 in the 1930 census, fell to just 11 in the 1990 census, and recovered to 25 in 2020, living in 17 households with a median age of 72.5 years.

Lonerock once held an annual rodeo in the middle of Main Street, but larger rodeos in surrounding areas took over and Lonerock's rodeo ended in 1934.

Early settlers from Scotland formed much of Lonerock's sheep-based early economy, but fluctuating sheep prices and the rise of cattle raising ended that trade, and cattle raising now accounts for nearly all of the city's economy, along with alfalfa hay grown with irrigation.