Madras, Oregon, United States

🇺🇸 Madras is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Oregon, United States. Originally called "The Basin" after the circular valley the city is in, it is unclear whether Madras was named in 1903 for the cotton fabric called "Madras" that originated in the city of Madras (now Chennai) in Tamil Nadu, India or from the name of the city itself.

History The original plat for Madras was filed on July 18, 1902, by Scandinavian immigrant John A. Palmehn, for whom the town was originally named "Palmain". The name was rejected by the U.S. Postal Service over its similarity to a post office named Parmen, and the name "Madras" was adopted, inspired by the cloth fabric of the same name, itself named for the city of Madras (now Chennai) in India.

Madras was incorporated as a city in 1911. An Army Air Corps base was built nearby during World War II. This airfield now serves as the Madras Municipal Airport. Homesteads approximately 5 miles (8 km) north of the city on Agency Plains were based on dryland wheat.

GMO incident In 2003, a Scotts Company large field trial of GMO bentgrass near Madras resulted in pollen spreading the transgene, which is Roundup-resistant, over an area of 120 square miles (310 km²). Because the grower could not remove all genetically engineered plants, the U.S. Department of Agriculture fined the grower $500,000 for non-compliance with regulations in 2007.

2017 solar eclipse The centerline of the path of totality of the Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, ran through the centre of Madras. Because the city is located in a high desert environment and has consistently clear skies in August, it was considered a prime eclipse viewing location. All of the hotel and motel rooms in the area had been reserved for several years. The town had prepared for an influx of about 100,000 visitors for the eclipse.

Sights Madras is home to the Erickson Aircraft Collection, a privately owned collection of airworthy vintage aircraft. The collection is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Jefferson County Fair is held on county property along Fairgrounds Road in Madras. The annual fair takes place in late July.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.02 square miles (13.00 km²), all land.

Transport: Road • U.S. Route 26 • U.S. Route 97.

Transport: Rail • BNSF Railway (formerly Oregon Trunk Railway) • Union Pacific Railroad shares operations on the same tracks.

Transport: Air In addition to the public City-County Airport, Madras has several private use airports in the area: • Bombay Farms Airport • St. Charles Madras Heliport • Ochs Private Airport • Six Springs Ranch Airport.