Offbeat Oregon History podcast

Listen, download, subscribe

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

‘Diamond Bill’ Barrett was a modern Mr. Wickham

'Diamond Bill' Barrett earned his nickname by sweet-talking a jewelry store into letting him borrow a $55,000 diamond, which he promptly hocked. Later, he deployed that legendary charm to sweet-talk two heiresses into marrying him, then disappeared with showgirl-turned-trophy-wife Sidi Wirt Spreckels' $100,000 string of pearls. But the mystery remains: Did he really steal Sidi's pearls ... or did he fence them for her? (Hillsboro, Washington County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1905c.diamond-bill-barrett-heiress-whisperer-548.html)

• 

  Heppner's devastation brought out heroism in face of watery death (2 of 2)

• 

  Worst natural flash flood in U.S. history struck here (Part 1 of 2)

• 

  Mount Angel Abbey owes grandeur to colorful monk

• 

  ‘Unwritten Law’ no help for man who murdered his wife's brother

• 

  Frontier murder was even darker than it appeared

• 

  Pixieland and Oregon's midcentury culture

• 

  ‘Daredevil Al’ Fossett was Evel Knievel of the ’20s

• 

  West’s first female lawyer: A legal Mother Teresa?

• 

  Pioneering “lady lawyer” deserved a better legacy

• 

  Acquitted murder suspect became first ‘lady lawyer’

• 

  Fiery explosive shipwreck gave Boiler Bay its name

• 

  Bob Straub stopped plan to put highway on the beach

• 

  Shanghaied in Astoria: A once-perilous port city

• 

  Secretary imposed martial law on rowdy town

• 

  Legislators shut down Salem with a raging party

• 

  Wolf Creek Tavern was a refuge for Hollywood stars