Halfway, OR

Halfway is a small town in rural eastern Oregon. Halfway earned a place in the history of the dot-com era in December 1999, when it received and accepted an offer to rename itself as Half.com, Oregon, after the e-commerce start-up, for one year in exchange for $110,000, 20 computers for the school, and other financial subsidies. It became the first city in the world to rename itself as a dot com. Among the less obvious reasons the town was chosen were its small population size (and thus its likelihood to accept such an offer) and the city's location, which fit perfectly into Half.com's marketing scheme. "They're within four miles of the 45th parallel which makes it halfway between the equator and the North Pole". The proclamation did not legally change its name. The city created and posted two signs at its borders that greeted visitors with "America's First Dot-com City". The city auctioned one of these off in September 2007 for $1000; the winner was Half.com's founder Josh Kopelman.

The dot.com days are long gone and the town is back to being ordinary Halfway. The money, computers, and momentary fame are all history. During our visit the town's cafe was closed due to a power outage and the pizza place was seriously backed up as a result. We had to opt for having lunch in another town further down the road. Life in the slow lane.