1. In 1851, the Oregon territorial legislature created Columbia County, which was the first county created in Oregon after the original four counties established in 1843.

2. The first Oregon State Capitol in Salem was destroyed by fire on January 21, 1855. The fire was believed to have started in the chimney of the building's library, and it caused extensive damage throughout the building.

3. In 1865, Oregon governor George L. Woods signed a bill abolishing slavery in the state. Oregon had been the only state in the Union that still had laws allowing for slavery, despite the fact that the state had relatively few slaves.

4. On January 21, 1942, the Japanese submarine I-25 shelled the Oregon coastline near Brookings. The attack caused only minor damage, but it was the first and only time during World War II that the continental United States was attacked by enemy forces.

5. In 1971, the state of Oregon officially designated the Oregon Trail as a National Historic Trail. The Oregon Trail was a 2,000-mile route used by pioneers traveling from Missouri to Oregon in the mid-1800s. Today, many parts of the trail can still be seen and explored in Oregon and other western states.