Town file
Ontario, Oregon
Ontario, Oregon (Malheur County, Oregon) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 503, "My Dead Mother Told Me To" (20 June 2024).
- Town
- Ontario
- County
- Malheur County
- State
- Oregon
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 503
- Approximate location
- 44.025, -116.977
Episode 503 / 20 June 2024 / 166 min / full
My Dead Mother Told Me To
"We are in Ontario, Oregon, very far eastern Oregon, on the Idaho border, in Malheur County, which is spelled MALHEUR." about 0:05:56
The case: Murder of Anita Harmon and David Bates (January 2017); Kidnapping of Rosa Carrasco and Emilio Montwheeler (March 1996); Murder of Linny Laverne Hendrix (1974). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2024
- Population
- 11,465
- Median age
- about 34
- Median household income
- $42,568 a year
- Median home value
- $278,400
- Cost of living
- 80
- Religious
- 58%
- Property crime
- ▼ two and a half times the average
- Violent crime
- ▲ only slightly above the national average
History, in brief
- Ontario was founded in June 1883 by Bill Morfit, Mary Richardson, Daniel Smith and James Virtue, all developers rather than settlers. about 0:06:31
- In March 1984 Richard "Dick" Welch started a post office for the area, and it was named after Ontario in Canada. about 0:06:53
- Two months later James Morton applied for a post office of his own about a mile away and wanted it called Morton. about 0:07:09
- Gold miner and lumberman James Virtue bought a great deal more land, so his post office won the name. about 0:07:22
- Everyone knew the railroad was coming, so people wanted to move there. about 0:07:40
- By the Second World War Ontario became a place for Japanese Americans moved inland from the west coast. about 0:07:48
- Mayor Elmo Smith said it would be downright cowardly to take any other stand than to move Japanese aliens and nationals inland. about 0:08:07
- There were about 134 people in the city then, and recruiting farm workers during the war pushed the number to about a thousand. about 0:08:42
- The town motto is Where Oregon begins, because it sits right on the border. about 0:06:21
The reviews read out
5 stars
"Grew up there all their life, prefers small rural towns, calls it comfortable and quiet, close to Boise and to camping, hiking and fishing; people keep to themselves but will help."about 0:09:03
3 stars
"Would plant more trees and get homeowners and businesses to take more pride in their yards; there is quite a bit of trash and litter, and they found a stranger in their backyard at 1 a.m. and now lock doors, windows and vehicles."about 0:09:54
2 stars
"Lived there all their life and has seen the crime rate go up; the prison has made it worse for people to live there and the local swimming pool has been closed for four years."about 0:11:34
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Garden City, Idaho42 miles
- La Grande, Oregon105 miles
- Bellevue, Idaho141 miles
- Jerome, Idaho153 miles
- Lewiston, Idaho164 miles
- Denio, Nevada164 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.