Town file
Oak Grove, Oregon
Oak Grove, Oregon (Clackamas County, Oregon) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 631, "Forest Serial Killer" (18 September 2025). Oak Grove, Oregon is a Portland suburb in Clackamas County, about twenty minutes from the city.
- Town
- Oak Grove
- County
- Clackamas County
- State
- Oregon
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 631
- Approximate location
- 45.413, -122.634
Episode 631 / 18 September 2025 / 184 min / full
Forest Serial Killer
"We're going to Oak Grove, Oregon, which is in northwestern Oregon, a Portland suburb about 20 minutes from Portland; this is in Clackamus County." about 0:04:36
The case: Murder of Jennifer Lisa Smith (August 7th, 1987); Molalla Forest murders (bodies found August 31st, 1987; victims taken in the months before); 1972 stabbing of a fifteen-year-old hitchhiker (August 25th, 1972). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2025
- Population
- 17,382
- Median age
- about 42.5
- Median household income
- $68,344 a year
- Median home value
- $439,800
- Two-bedroom rent
- $1,740
- Cost of living
- 134
- Religious
- 29.6%
- Property crime
- ▲ about 20%
- Violent crime
- ▼ about one third
History, in brief
- Named at the suggestion of Edward Cornell, a member of the surveying party platting the town site, who said they should call it Oak Grove after the grove of oak trees where they were sitting for lunch. about 0:05:12
- Platted in 1890. about 0:05:35
- A trolley was put in about 1893. about 0:05:42
- The railway station was originally named Center and another station in Saint Teresa was named Oak Grove; the post office department changed the name of the post office to Oak Grove and the Center station changed to match, forcing the Theresa station to change its name. about 0:05:47
The reviews read out
4 stars
"I love my neighbourhood; the writer moved there in seventh grade, says the sense of community is strong and the relationships with neighbours will be cherished years after moving."about 0:06:26
3 stars
"Very short and sweet: inexpensive cost of living and close to the river."about 0:06:59
3 stars
"Many people there are from a rough background or live in a rough house, many come from a background of violence but have chosen to become a better person, and there are traffic problems at the intersection."about 0:07:09
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Gresham, Oregon11 miles
- Colton, Oregon19 miles
- Skamania, Washington32 miles
- Dallas, Oregon47 miles
- Tillamook, Oregon58 miles
- Seaside, Oregon74 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.