Boring, OR—The Most Exciting Place to Visit

Booooooooooring! So you might think, but Boring, OR, is anything but boring.

In fact, according to the town’s slogan, it’s the “the most exciting place to live.” 

Alright, maybe that’s a bit of marketing hyperbole, but the sentiment stands. There’s plenty of fun stuff to see and do in and around Boring to keep you from getting bored.

But why did the locals give their town such a dull name? Well, it actually has nothing to do with ennui.

The town is named in the honor of William Harrison Boring, a Union soldier and pioneer, who migrated to Oregon in 1874. His half-brother, Joseph, had lived in the area already for nearly two decades at that point, but it was William who donated land for the community’s first schoolhouse, so the distinction went to him.

Then again, William and Joseph had the same last name, so perhaps we can consider it a shared honor.