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Mason County Sheriff's Office - NOT in Oregon......

posted 16 years ago by maximustheman
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This movie's town and lumberyard scenes WERE shot in Oregon (Vernonia). HOWEVER - the town is intended to be Shelton, WA. The courthouse and sheriff's headquarters for Mason County Sheriff is in Shelton, The Mason County Deputies - complete with authentic uniforms and patches - depicting a christmas tree and with MASON COUNTY prominently displayed - are in WA. The Washington State Patrol Trooper, who was infact a serving trooper in Shelton at the time, was wearing his own uniform for the movie - complete with WASHINGTON State Patrol insignia. Several commenters have stated the police officers are Oregon officers of some sort from an oregon town. Totally incorrect. However portions were shot in vernonia as a stand in for Shelton. (apparently vernonia makes a better shelton, than shelton. lol.)

[–] White_Walrus 16 years ago

Vernonia was chosen as a filming location because the movie required a scene in which a sawmill burned down. The mill at Vernonia was massive, and dilapidated, and therefore considered a good candidate. The mill at Shelton, however, is still in use! (As of 2008.) One simply can't go burn down a mill that's still in operation. :)

The ruins of the Vernonia sawmill are still there, by the millpond, in the form of piles of concrete slabs, and one particularly interesting building that has no roof, but the concrete walls still stand, with sizable trees growing inside it. They've probably been growing since the mill was burned in 1961 for the film.

I haven't been able to get a copy of the movie and see it, but perhaps some shots of the town needed the mill in the background, and that had to be the same mill that burns down in the film?