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Since the 1920s, a family in Oregon has taken it upon themselves to research the history of how towns, rivers, and other geographic features in the Beaver State got their names, and then take what they鈥檝e found and publish it all in what鈥檚 been a landmark reference work for nearly a century.

There are seven editions of Oregon Geographic Names published between 1928 and 2003, and all are now out of print. And this is a shame, because while the book is all about exactly what it sounds like it would be about, it鈥檚 not just some printed database. It鈥檚 well-written and engaging, and filled with stories about thousands of places and the people who named them.

Parts of Oregon Geographic Names are actually pretty funny, too.

Take, for example, why the Tillamook County community of 鈥淥ceanside鈥� 鈥� right there on the coast, alongside and adjacent to the Pacific 鈥� is called that. 鈥淣othing could be simpler than this,鈥� reads the entry in its entirety.

There are similar place-name books for Washington, and there are books about Montana, and Idaho, and California geographic names 鈥� as there are for many of the 50 states. But the Oregon book stands out as something pretty special when considering the entire country.

鈥淚’ve seen nothing like this [in any other state],” said Kerry Tymchuk, executive director of , the organization that has partnered with the McArthur family over the decades to publish the book.

鈥�Oregon Geographic Names is the bible for Oregon history fans [and] geography fans,鈥� Tymchuk told 成人X站 Radio on Tuesday. 鈥淚t is just an amazing book, and encyclopedic in the information it presents about how each and every community, county, and geographic feature in Oregon got its name.鈥�

鈥淚t’s a one-of-a-kind resource here in Oregon that many people use, obviously, for research purposes,鈥� Tymchuk continued. 鈥淏ut a lot of people use it just for the fun of it because it’s so much fun to dive into how something got its name.鈥�

The first three editions in the 1920s, 1940s, and 1950s were researched and written by Lewis A. McArthur 鈥� whose nickname was Tam. But he didn鈥檛 call himself the author; he instead used the term 鈥渃ompiler.鈥�

Tam McArthur came from a family with deep interest in the history and geography of Oregon. In the 1920s, after a stint as a journalist, his day job was serving as an executive with Pacific Power & Light. This meant travel all over Oregon, with opportunities to gather maps, history books, and other resources, and talk with residents whose memories stretched back well into the 19th century.

Tam often took his son with him on those trips. As early as age 13, the younger McArthur did the driving, because Tam had chronic health problems. That son, Lewis L. McArthur, took over the book project when Tam passed away in 1951.

Lewis L. McArthur expanded Oregon Geographic Names and compiled a total of four editions from the 1970s to 2003. He was working on a new edition when he passed away at age 101, says his daughter Mary McArthur.

鈥淭his was a passion,鈥� Mary McArthur told 成人X站 Radio earlier this week. 鈥淗e was very meticulous about it, too. He was a historian 鈥� a purist historian. He would not put anything into that book that he didn’t feel that he had researched to the nth degree and was confident that it was correct.鈥�

But, says his daughter, compiling place-name research and publishing new editions where his father had left off wasn鈥檛 all that Lewis L. McArthur was about.

鈥淭his man was remarkable — he really was,鈥� Mary McArthur said. 鈥淗is brain did not forget one thing that went into it. And he was an outdoorsman. He had a lot of friends, and all generations of friends. When he was in his last days he had people coming in that were 18 years of age just to say goodbye to him. It was just remarkable.鈥�

Lewis McArthur, whose own day job had been with a steel-building company, had started to lose his sight when he was in his 90s. That鈥檚 when Mary decided she would help with the next edition, to keep the family tradition 鈥� and the beloved Oregon resource 鈥� going.

However, Mary McArthur says Oregon Geographic Names is not the same passion for her that it was for her father or her grandfather. But, she says, none of her other siblings were interested in taking over.

Does this mean that there was pressure to keep the project going?

鈥淵es and no,鈥� Mary McArthur said. 鈥淚 mean, it鈥檚 self-imposed pressure because I do feel that this is important. I do feel that this is something that needs to be current and relevant.鈥�

Passion project or not, giving up, it seems, was not something Mary McArthur was ever going to consider.

Think of 鈥渢he massive amount of work that’s gone into it,鈥� Mary McArthur says, tallying the hours spent by her father and grandfather, and telling herself, as if giving a personal pep talk, 鈥渃ome on, step it up here. … I’m the high-energy person in my family anyway, so, you know, no worries.鈥�

鈥淚 can get 鈥榚r done,鈥� she added.

It鈥檚 not surprising, then, to learn what the Oregon Historical Society鈥檚 Kerry Tymchuk thinks of Mary and her ancestors.

鈥淭here simply would not be this book without the McArthur family,鈥� Tymchuk said. 鈥淭here’s just no doubt about it.鈥�

Before Tam McArthur ever compiled his first notes for the 1928 edition, the McArthur family has been deeply entangled in Oregon history for decades, longer than just about anyone besides the Indigenous people who have been there since time immemorial.

Tam鈥檚 grandfather came to Oregon Territory during the Great Migration of 1843, and later became one the first U.S. Senators from the state. Nesmith鈥檚 daughter 鈥� Tam McArthur鈥檚 mother, Harriet Nesmith McArthur 鈥� was one of the founders of the Oregon Historical Society.

Nowadays, Mary McArthur 鈥� like her father and grandfather before her 鈥� serves on , the statewide body that reviews names of and name changes for geographic features.

Even in this capacity, the Beaver State connections run deep. Consider another member of the board who serves with Mary McArthur 鈥� a man named Champ Vaughn.

鈥淗is ancestor came across with James Nesmith, my great-great-grandfather,鈥� Mary McArthur said. 鈥淎pparently, when they were crossing one of the rivers, Champ Vaughn’s great-great-grandfather鈥檚 horse tripped, or something like that, and he fell in.鈥�

What happened next still reverberates for the descendants of the two men nearly 180 years later.

鈥淢y great-great-grandfather saved his life,鈥� Mary McArthur said. 鈥淗ow weird is that? And so now we’re both on the Oregon Geographic Names Board together. Champ says, 鈥榊eah, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your ancestor.鈥欌��

鈥淭hat is kind of bizarre,鈥� she added.

While Mary McArthur may say that Oregon Geographic Names isn鈥檛 her passion, she鈥檚 obviously very proud of what her father and grandfather did, and of what the book means to so many Oregonians and others with an interest in Pacific Northwest history, or the field of toponymy (the study of place-names).

鈥淚鈥檒l bet I mention the book in passing to someone at least once a week,鈥� Mary McArthur said. 鈥淎nd I mean that I’m not just pulling it out of thin air 鈥� it’s always in context.鈥�

So, how does it feel to be in Powell鈥檚 or some other Oregon bookstore and see a copy of an old edition on the shelf?

鈥淚t just feels great,鈥� Mary McArthur said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like, 鈥榶eah!鈥欌��

But, she says, 鈥渢he problem is you don’t see it very much anymore — you see some of the old editions, but nothing current.鈥�

That’s why Mary McArthur is working on a new edition of Oregon Geographic Names, which she hopes to publish in 2023, in time for the 95th anniversary of the first edition.

鈥淚t is an important work for Oregon [and] is important for our family,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t would be criminal not to continue, and plus there is more to add to it. There is definitely an eighth edition that needs to be published.鈥�

Since the previous edition was published in 2003, the Oregon Geographic Names Board, at the direction of state Legislature, has been removing what are now considered offensive names from mountain peaks, valleys, and other places. Around Oregon 鈥� as in Washington and other western states 鈥� there鈥檚 also been new focus by tribes to document and on the landscape.

Not to get into the 鈥渨oo-woo weeds,鈥� as Mary McArthur describes it, but she does feel a personal link to that Oregon landscape that she can鈥檛 quite explain.

鈥淲hen Oregon had a sesquicentennial [or 150th anniversary of the Great Migration] in 1993,鈥� she said, 鈥淚 walked the Oregon Trail from over in Eastern Oregon. I walked over Mount Hood and I walked into Oregon City, and I did feel a connection. I don’t know if it was real or imagined, but it was like, 鈥榶eah, you know, I feel like part of me has been here before, in some fashion.鈥欌��

“Woo-woo” feelings aside, Mary McArthur warns that when the next edition is published, it just might be the last printed version. She and her husband don鈥檛 have children, and there鈥檚 not an obvious fourth generation successor among her nieces and nephews. Add to this the fact that very few new names are being considered by the Oregon Geographic Names Board each year.

On top of all that, Mary McArthur points out, this is the digital age, and a big, thick, and expensive printed book can鈥檛 be the only way to present this material in the 2020s, especially if the goal is to make it relevant and accessible for younger audiences who are more accustomed to using apps than reading books.

Though Mary McArthur is pretty sure her dad wouldn鈥檛 agree about that digital part.

鈥淒ad would be horrified,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e would say, 鈥楴o, no, no. Never do that.鈥欌��

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle鈥檚 Morning News, read more from him鈥�here, and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast聽here. If you have a story idea, please email Feliks鈥�here.