We’ve talked on other episodes about having found hoods & robes in moving trucks that past roommates and I have rented. Now, we are digging deeper into why that would happen in a “liberal” state out West.

Oregon likes to brand itself as progressive, green, and forward-thinking—but its past tells a different story. In this episode, we dive into the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in Oregon during the 1920s: how they got here, why Oregon was uniquely vulnerable to their influence, and what their presence actually looked like in towns across the state—from Portland to La Grande to the logging camps of Maxville.

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We break down the laws, political movements, religious tensions, anti-immigrant sentiment, and racist foundations that made Oregon one of the Klan’s strongest strongholds outside the Deep South. But we also focus on the people who pushed back. You’ll hear about the Black loggers and families in Maxville who stood their ground, the white allies who defied Governor Pierce’s Klan-aligned administration, and the quiet but powerful acts of resistance in communities—including whistleblowers who risked social and economic retaliation.

We also spotlight figures like Colon Eberhard and Beatrice Cannady, whose lives sat on opposite sides of Oregon’s racial divide: one boosting Klan power in in Eastern Oregon, the other fighting segregation, discrimination, and racial terror with unshakable courage in Western Oregon.

This episode brings together archival records, scholarly sources, and first-hand histories to offer a clear, honest look at Oregon’s past—because understanding these roots is the only way to recognize how they still show up today.

Sources & References

* “Ku Klux Klan.” Oregon Encyclopedia. (2025)

* “KKK in Oregon.” Oregon History Project (Oregon Historical Society).

* Horowitz, David A. Unmasking the 1920s Ku Klux Klan in Tillamook County, Oregon. Portland State University — History Faculty Publication, 2025.

* “Ku Klux Klan, Tillamook, Oregon Chapter No. 8 records (1922–1929).” ArchivesWest.

* “Maxville, Oregon.” Oregon Encyclopedia.

* “Our Story — Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center.”

* “Oregon’s Black Lumberjacks Defied the Odds.” Travel Oregon / Pendleton Pioneers.

* “The 1922 Compulsory Education Act — Backed by the Klan.” ArchivesWest & Oregon Education History.

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