ABOUT

In 1870, Oregon pioneer, James Lindley, planted a modest crop of strawberries in the fertile soils of the Mid Willamette Valley. Within half a century, other local farmers followed suit, and more than 600 ares of strawberry fields existed in and around the Lebanon area, close to the banks of the Santiam River. The small rural town of Lebanon quickly became known across the country for its sweet, deep red strawberries, producing and exporting as many as two hundred tons of fresh strawberries a year. In 1909, the city of Lebanon organized the first ever "Strawberry Festival" to celebrate the growth and progress that the strawberry industry brought to the region. 

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Though the number of strawberry crops throughout Linn County has diminished over the years, the Strawberry Festival continues to draw the community of Lebanon together each June. As an ongoing tribute to the economical and historical foundations of the city, the Santiam Spokes Bicycle Club started the Strawberry Century in 1991, drawing cyclists from across the Pacific Northwest. 

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Now, in 2024, the event has been reimagined as the Lebanon Strawberry Century- a nod to Lindley and all those before who paved the way for this annual supported ride to exist and roll on.