The St. Paul Rodeo was created in the year of 1935 as a group of eight businessmen and local farmers came together and construct a rodeo that would take place in St. Paul, OR, that coming year.
The debut of the St. Paul Rodeo had a crowd of 50 Orgeon cowboys that showed up on July 4th, 1936 to compete for their piece of the $500 purse. This performance was unlike the rest, with an arena staged on an old baseball diamond, an eight-mile track, four bucking chutes, and four roping chutes.
By the 1940s, the arena upgraded with new lights, covered seats, and new chutes. Along with these new changes the St. Paul Rodeo made the decision to join the North West Rodeo and International Rodeo Associations. As the years progressed, so did the advancement of the arena itself. In 1956, the rodeo could now hold up to 10,500 people. Small trees lined the tracks for horse races, and those trees still stand today, holding a special symbol of what used to be.
Established in 1998, the mission of the St. Paul Rodeos is, " To enhance and enrich the community by supporting education, local history and western heritage through the Annual St. Paul Rodeo.”
Today the rodeo remains a nonprofit corporation with a giving volunteer staff. Members of the organization stand by the goal, “To produce the nation’s greatest 4th of July rodeo.”
The St. Paul Rodeo will now and forever be known as one of Oregon’s and America’s greatest rodeos as it’s name goes down in history at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.