| O'Brien, Oregon | |
| Settlement Type: | Census-designated place |
| Pushpin Map: | Oregon#USA |
| Pushpin Label: | O'Brien |
| Pushpin Label Position: | top |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Oregon |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Josephine |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 13.56 |
| Area Land Km2: | 13.52 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.04 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 470 |
| Population Density Km2: | 34.75 |
| Timezone: | Pacific (PST) |
| Utc Offset: | -8 |
| Timezone Dst: | PDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -7 |
| Elevation Ft: | 1415 |
| Coordinates: | 42.0689°N -123.7208°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 97534 |
| Area Code: | 458 and 541 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 41-54350 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 1147100 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 5.24 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 5.22 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.01 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 90.02 |
O'Brien is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Josephine County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census, O'Brien had a population of 504. The unemployment rate is 6.9%, slightly higher than the national average of 5.2% [2] The community was named after John O'Brien, who was one of the first settlers to arrive at the locality.[3] In 2012, a small group started protecting the town when the police were cut due to budget cuts.[4]
The town consists of a few businesses at the intersection of Redwood Highway and Lone Mountain Road. These include Mann's O'Brien Country Store and Discount Gas, a post office with the zip code 97534, a fire station, the McGrew's restaurant, and the Lone Mountain RV Park. The Almost Heaven Member's Resort is located south of the other businesses, close to the California border. It is the southernmost town in Josephine county. To the east of O'Brien is the ghost town of Waldo, then further east is the unincorporated town of Takilma. To the north of O'Brien is the Illinois Valley's only city, Cave Junction, and further north are the towns of Kerby and Selma. To the northeast is the unincorporated Holland.
O'Brien is in southwestern Josephine County in the valley of the West Fork of the Illinois River, a north-flowing tributary of the Rogue River. U.S. Route 199 passes through the community, leading north 7miles to Cave Junction and to Grants Pass, and south 5miles to the California state line and to Crescent City, California.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the O'Brien CDP has a total area of 13.54sqkm, of which 0.04sqkm, or 0.26%, are water.[2]
O'Brien has a climate that is a Mediterranean (CSA) in nature with hot and dry summer days and cool and wet winters. It is also subtropical in nature due to its hot summer days, some of the hottest in Oregon, with temps often topping 95F. Summer lows are very low in comparison to its highs.