Biohazard Cleanup Near West Mitchell Mitchell, OR

Mitchell is a city in Wheeler County, Oregon, on U.S. Route 26 just east of its intersection with Oregon Route 207, about 47 miles east of Prineville and 60 miles west of John Day.

Mitchell was founded in 1873, when blacksmith William "Brawdie" Johnson, the first postmaster, suggested naming the town for U.S. Senator John Hipple Mitchell of Oregon, and it was platted in 1885.

The first school in Wheeler County was established near Mitchell in 1872 and moved into the town itself in 1874, and Mitchell School, with an enrollment of about 70 students, still serves the town.

Mitchell's early business district grew up along Bridge Creek and was known locally as "Tiger Town," while the churches and most homes on the bench above the creek were called "Piety Hill."

Mitchell has suffered three catastrophic flash floods along Bridge Creek, in 1884, 1904, and on July 13, 1956, when a 50-foot wall of water surged through town, destroying or heavily damaging 20 buildings and killing eight people.

The 2020 census recorded 138 residents in Mitchell, living in 66 households, with a median age of 55.5 years.

Mitchell covers 1.28 square miles of land at an elevation of 2,777 feet, south of the Ochoco Mountains, which are the source of Bridge Creek.

The Painted Hills unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument lies about 9 miles northwest of Mitchell, and eroded remnants of ancient stratovolcanoes, including Black Butte and White Butte, are visible from town.

In 2018, a University of Oregon geologist found a fossilized dinosaur toe near Mitchell, billed as the first dinosaur fossil found in Oregon.

Mitchell holds two festivals each year: the Painted Hills Festival each Labor Day weekend and the Tiger Town Music Festival on the second weekend in June.