ABSTRACT
Oakridge, Oregon, is a town of 3500 located about 45 miles southeast of Eugene. Originally founded as a railroad town, Oakridge eventually came to depend on the timber industry. Pope and Talbot opened a lumber and plywood mill in 1948, employing as many people in 1978 as the town's population had been in 1948. Oakridge is a community in transition—a rural community that was once dependent on a natural resource but is looking to establish a more diversified economic base. Through the eyes of those living in Oakridge, we see how difficult it is to acknowledge that a community's economic base is no longer viable and to begin working to build a more diversified economic base. Oakridge was originally settled as a railroad town, offering a place for trains to be serviced before starting the long climb over the mountains.
