Lawen, Oregon

Lawen, Oregon
Unincorporated community
Abandoned 2-story wooden storefront. A closed sign is nailed to the door, and the porch is covered in junk.
The Old Lawen Store, Highway 78
Lawen is located in Oregon
Lawen
Lawen
Location within Oregon
Lawen is located in the United States
Lawen
Lawen
Location within the United States
Coordinates: 43°26′35″N 118°48′04″W / 43.44306°N 118.80111°W / 43.44306; -118.80111
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyHarney
Elevation
[1]
4,108 ft (1,252 m)
Time zoneUTC-8 (PST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP codes
97720
Area code541
GNIS feature ID1136466[1]

Lawen is an unincorporated community in Harney County, Oregon, United States.[1] It has a post office with a ZIP code 97720.[2] Lawen lies along Oregon Route 78 just south of its interchanges with Oregon Route 205, U.S. Route 20, and U.S. Route 395 in Burns, the county seat. Lawen is just north of the East Fork Silvies River and Malheur Lake.[3]

In 2023, Taylor Perse of the Eugene Weekly described it as "a ghost town with a handful of rundown buildings."[4]

History

The namesake is Henry Lauen.[5]

Flooding in 1984 affected the region.[6]

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Lawen has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.[7]

Government and infrastructure

There was a Lawen Post Office that started in 1891.[5] The Sunday Oregonian stated that the post office building "is thought to have been built about 1896".[8] In 1920 The Times-Herald stated opposition to a plan to close the post office.[9] The structure, in 1929, moved to the new location of the community from the old one.[8] The building had two stories. In 1984 flooding occurred that threatened the post office.[6] 1985 flooding also threatened the post office.[8]

Education

Lawen is in Harney County School District 4 (Crane School, grades K-8) and Harney County Union High School District 1J (Crane Union High School).[10][11] Crane Union opened in 1918 in Lawen and moved to Crane in 1920.[12]

Harney County is not in a community college district but has a "contract out of district" (COD) with Treasure Valley Community College.[13] TVCC operates the Burns Outreach Center in Burns.[14]

The community was formerly in the Lawen Elementary School District, which operated Lawen Elementary School.[15] The Lawen school never reopened after a 1984 flooding, and the Lawen district merged into the Crane elementary district in 1988.[16]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lawen, Oregon
  2. ↑ "Lawen, Oregon". CD Light. 2014. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  3. ↑ "United States Topographic Map". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved January 3, 2016 – via Acme Mapper.
  4. ↑ Perse, Taylor (August 17, 2023). "School on the Range". Eugene Weekly. Eugene, Oregon. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Lawen". Burns, Oregon: Harney County Library. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Flooding inundates desert region". Statesman Journal. Salem, Oregon. Associated Press. August 20, 1984. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Lawen, Oregon". Weatherbase. CantyMedia. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 Braymen, Pauline (April 28, 1985). "Harney rancher warily watch rising lake". The Sunday Oregonian. p. A28 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Threaten to discontinue Lawen post office". The Times-Herald. Vol. 34, no. 3. November 20, 1920. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Harney County, OR" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 1(PDF p. 2/3). Retrieved March 11, 2024. Lawen Ln (use the intersection of Lawen Lane and Steens Highway) - Text list - Compare to the highway map.
  11. ↑ "Harney County Sheet 5 of 11" (PDF). Oregon Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2024. - Lawen indicated on the map. Compare with school district map.
  12. ↑ Flanigan, James (March 1, 1976). "At Crane, they board 'em". The Capital Journal. Salem, Oregon. p. 12. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Oregon Community Colleges and Community College Districts" (PDF). Oregon Department of Community Colleges & Workforce Development. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Burns Outreach Center". Treasure Valley Community College. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  15. ↑ Manzano, Phil (March 27, 1985). "Voters kill most Oregon school measures". The Oregonian. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Lawen School District merges with Crane". Statesman Journal. June 28, 1988. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
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