Concern over the apparent disparity between the farm use value and current market value of property in agricultural areas continues to remain a source of concern in many areas. This concern has intensified in recent years, particularly in those agricultural areas situated near urban centers and recreational areas. The main thrust of the study was directed toward determining the relationship between net real estate income per acre and sale price pier acres of properties in selected agricultural areas of Oregon. Three areas, ostensibly called agricultural areas, were selected for analysis. The areas, as classified, included a basic agricultural production area (dry land grain area in northcentral Oregon), an urban-recreation influenced area (Douglas County in southwestern Oregon bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Umpqua National Forest on the east) and an urban influenced area (Marion County in the populous and productive Willamette Valley in northwestern Oregon). In addition to determining the influence of net real estate income on property prices, the influence of other property characteristics on property prices was analyzed in each area. The other property characteristics included: year of sale, number of acres in sale, assessed value of buildings per acre, miles to nearest paved road, and miles to nearest town of at least 1,000 population. Simple and multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the influence of particular property characteristics on sale price per acre. The same six-variable model was used in each area to test whether partial regression coefficient values on corresponding variables differed significantly among areas. Overlapping of 95 percent confidence intervals around corresponding partial regression coefficient values among areas was observed for all independent variables except net real estate income per acre. The income variable was an important determinant of sale price per acre only for grain area and Douglas County sales. However, the partial regression coefficient value of 49.71 in urban-recreation influenced Douglas County implies an approximate 2.0 percent capitalization rate compared to a coefficient value of 17.11 and a 5.8 percent implied capitalization rate in the grain area. Year of sale was an important influence on sale price per acre in areas influenced more strongly by nonagricultural influences, i.e., Douglas and Marion Counties, as evidenced both by the level of significance of the coefficient value and the value of the coefficient in each of these areas. The annual rate of property price appreciation at the mean was 14.3 percent in urban-recreation influenced Douglas County and 12.1 percent in urban influenced Marion County. While not significantly different from zero, the rate of price change was slightly negative in the grain area. Conclusions from the study were (1) that there is a significant difference in the influence of net real estate income and other property characteristics on prices of properties among selected agricultural areas of Oregon, (2) that the nature and degree of relationship between prices oi property sales analyzed and property characteristics of these sales varied considerably within each agricultural area selected for analysis, but especially in the urban-recreation and urban influenced areas, and (3) that in spite of relatively low mean rates of return in all three areas studied, a disparity between the farm use value and current market value of land was found to exist only in urban-recreation influenced Douglas County. Implication of these results are that variously influenced agricultural areas do exist, and that motives for and sources of satisfaction from ownership of property in agricultural areas vary within and among areas. / Graduation date: 1972

The 134-year old Frantz-Dunn House in Hoskins. Oregon is an intact, well-preserved example of rural Gothic architecture in the Willamette Valley. The old farmstead sits on a former Civil War Fort site and represents a link in the history of the region to the larger patterns of expansion in America during the nineteenth century. This study focuses on the family history of three generations of occupants of the historic dwelling. The information was gathered from extant materials and official documents, historic publications, local museum collections, visual observation of the house and from interviews with the relatives of the pioneer families and selected Hoskins residents. Special interest was paid to the interior furnishings and finishes in the interest of the material culture of the house. Interior furnishings were discussed from interview and extant elements. Recommendations for further study of this and other historic houses with focus on the interior material culture of are given. / Graduation date: 2006 / Best scan available for photos.

This thesis provides an extensive look at where permitted non-farm uses and dwellings have clustered within Exclusive Farm Use (EFU) zones in the Northern Willamette Valley in Oregon. There is a looming concern that non-farm related uses and dwellings, or non-farm development, are conflicting with agricultural preservation strategies. Specifically, non-farm developments can potentially undermine the critical mass of farmland needed to keep the agricultural economy sustainable, but until now, studies have lacked spatially precise data to systematically track these phenomena. This thesis offers methodological contributions towards analyzing these operations and presents a broad account of what has been occurring in the region. Using permit approval data from the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) and 2015 county tax lot shapefiles, I geocoded the locations of these uses and dwellings. I used location quotient and spatial autocorrelation coefficients to identify non-farm hotspots in the region and summarized different typologies that have developed. The findings reveal that viticulture operations have amassed near Dundee and Newberg in Yamhill County, while commercial activities and home occupations have clustered near the Salem-Keizer UGB. Concurrently, dwellings have clustered near the Yamhill-Polk County border. Finally, I offer suggestions to improve Oregon's agricultural land use policy and data management process, as well as advocate for more intensive research in the future to generate narratives for our results.