Idiotville is a ghost town and former community located in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States, near the mouth of Idiot Creek on the Wilson River, on the route of Oregon Route 6…. It is in the Tillamook State Forest, along the Tillamook-Washington county line, approximately 50 miles west northwest of Portland. Nothing remains at the site. The nearby stream was named Idiot Creek after the community and was added to the official United States Board on Geographic Names list in 1977. About a half mile up Idiot Creek was a logging camp called Ryan’s Camp, which was part of the salvage operations following the Tillamook Burn. Since the spot was so remote, it was said that only an idiot would work there, so the camp was popularly known as Idiotville. The name was eventually applied to the stream.
On Saturday, feeling the need to escape from it all for at least a little while, I drove to one of my favorite places on the planet- Oceanside, OR. Before the trip, though, I rediscovered the magical educational powers of da Interwebs. The trip to Oceanside usually involves a two-hour trip down the Wilson River Highway, a desolate but beautiful stretch of winding two lane road. To steal a line from the late Dorothy Parker, “there’s no ‘there’ there”, but apparently there was at one time. Unbeknownst to me, I’ve been driving through beautiful, bucolic downtown Idiotville, OR, for years without even realizing it. This is what happens when you depend on Google Maps to get you where you want to go. ‘Course, you gotta love a state with a place called Idiotville…even if it’s now a ghost town with no trace of ever having actually been there.
Silly me; I would have thought that Idiotville would have long ago become the national headquarters for the Tea Party….
