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2274152

Antelope, Oregon

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2274152

Antelope, Oregon

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Antelope, Oregon

Antelope (known as Rajneesh from 1984 to 1986) is a city in rural Wasco County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2020 census, Antelope had a population of 37.

The city was established in 1872 at a stage and freight wagon road stop on the old Dalles to Canyon City Trail. It was incorporated as the City of Antelope in 1901.

In the early 1980s, hundreds of members of the Rajneesh movement moved in and built a small city in previously unoccupied land they purchased. The Rajneeshees effectively took over the government of the city by outnumbering the original residents with new voter registrations. On September 18, 1984, a vote was held, and the city was renamed Rajneesh, Oregon. By 1985, after several of the Rajneesh movement leaders were discovered to have been involved in criminal behavior (including a mass food poisoning attack and an aborted plot to assassinate a U.S. Attorney), leader Rajneesh left the country as part of a plea deal for federal immigration fraud charges, and the Rajneesh commune collapsed. On November 6, 1985, the remaining residents of the city, which included both original residents and some remaining Rajneeshees, voted 34 to 0 to revert to the name Antelope.

The Antelope Valley was probably named by European-American members of Joseph Sherar's party, who were packing supplies to mines in the John Day area. Sherar became known as the operator of a toll bridge across the Deschutes River, on a cut-off of the Barlow Road. In the early 19th century, the area supported many pronghorns, which are not true antelopes, but are often called "pronghorn antelopes".

In the mid-19th century, Antelope began as a station along the wagon road connecting The Dalles on the Columbia River with gold mines near Canyon City. After about 1870, the wagon road became known as The Dalles Military Road. The road crossed the Deschutes River on Sherar's Bridge.

The Antelope post office was established in 1871, with Howard Maupin, founder of Maupin, Oregon, as the first postmaster. The town's population peaked around 1900, shortly after the Columbia Southern Railway completed a 70-mile (110 km) rail line from Biggs, on the Columbia River, to Shaniko, a few miles north of Antelope. The railroad timetable for September 9, 1900, lists a daily stagecoach run from the train terminal in Shaniko to Antelope and beyond. Antelope was incorporated by the Oregon Legislative Assembly on January 29, 1901.

Rajneeshpuram, a farming and meditation commune founded by the Rajneesh movement, followers of Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh, was established near the town in 1981. The town attempted to disincorporate in April 1982 to avoid a takeover by the Rajneesh followers, who registered to vote in Antelope en masse and rejected the measure. The Rajneeshees gained a majority on the town council following the November 1982 elections and resignation of two other members. On September 18, 1984, the city was renamed "Rajneesh".

The organization collapsed in 1985 following the discovery by the authorities of criminal activities, such as a bioterror attack a year prior that exposed non-Rajneeshees in Wasco County to salmonella to prevent them from voting. On November 6, 1985, the remaining residents, which included both original residents and some remaining Rajneeshees, voted 34 to 0 to restore the original name, and it was subsequently restored in 1986. The U.S. Postal Service had never recognized the change of name.

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