<strong>Bend</strong> astride the Deschutes River at the eastern foot of the Cascade Range gotits name from a place on the river that runs through it. Pioneer t... » 

Bend astride the Deschutes River at the eastern foot of the Cascade Range gotits name from a place on the river that runs through it. Pioneer travelerscalled the place Farewell Bend because it was where they had their last view ofthe double bend in the river that afforded a good place to camp and to ford thewaterway otherwise flowing through deep canyons. When the U.S. Post OfficeDepartment approved a name for a post office established there in 1886 itsettled on a shorter versionBendbecause there already was a Farewell Bend onthe Snake River in eastern Oregon. Arrival of a railroad in 1911 connected Bendwith a market for Central Oregons vast timber resources. Large sawmills beganoperations in 1916 and Bend grew tenfold in 10 years. And it kept on growinginto a favored place to live. By its centennial in 2005 some 75000 peoplecalled Bend home. «