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Former Oregon lumber town rides digital wave to a comeback

In this July 1, 2016 photo, traffic passes through downtown Prineville, Ore. When timber was king, Crook County was the nation's top producer of ponderosa lumber. But with the catastrophic decline in the timber industry, and the global recession after that, suddenly the digital revolution is providing the county and its main town, Prineville, with a rare second chance. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky) In this July 1, 2016 photo, traffic passes through downtown Prineville, Ore. When timber was king, Crook County was the nation's top producer of ponderosa lumber. But with the catastrophic decline in the timber industry, and the global recession after that, suddenly the digital revolution is providing the county and its main town, Prineville, with a rare second chance. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

By Associated Press July 26, 2016 1 min read

PRINEVILLE, Oregon (AP) – Crook County, located on the edge of a national forest in Oregon, used to have five major lumber mills. But amid restrictions on harvesting from federal lands, logging began a freefall.

The county’s mills began to close. The global recession hit a few years later. County unemployment soared to around 20 percent, the highest in Oregon.

Now, the digital revolution is providing Crook County and its main town, Prineville, with a second chance.

Facebook completed its first wholly owned data center in Prineville in 2011. Within months, it began building a second. Facebook is now building a third. Then Apple came to town and built two data centers.

The future looks much brighter. Unemployment is down to 6.8 percent. Recently, Prineville announced that Apple will build a third data center.