Angel was originally settled in 1850 by Benjamin Cleaver, who later planned a townsite which he named Roy.

Adelhelm Odermatt, O.S.B., came to Oregon in 1881 with a contingent of Benedictine monks from Engelberg, Switzerland, in order to establish a new American daughter house.

After visiting several locations, he found Lone Butte to be the ideal location for a new abbey, and shortly afterwards ministered to several local Roman Catholic parishes, about the same time large numbers of immigrants from Bavaria settled in the area.

Due to his efforts, the city, post office and the nearby elevation Lone Butte came to be known as Mount Angel (an English translation of Engelberg) in 1883.

He also established Mount Angel Abbey, a Benedictine monastery and school, which was moved permanently to Mt.

The original Kalapuyan name of the butte is Tapalamaho, which translates to "Mount of Communion."

At the request of the Archbishop of Oregon City, the abbey opened Mount Angel Seminary in 1889 for the training of priests.

The original wooden buildings at the foot of the butte were destroyed by a fire in the 1890s, and another disastrous fire in 1926 consumed the second monastery, an imposing five-story edifice of black basalt at the top of the butte.

The current monastery building was completed in 1928, and subsequent structures followed, including a library built by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto in 1970.

They teach in schools and parishes; work as counselors, chaplains, and pastoral associates; they are artisans, cooks, and gardeners.

As a community, the Benedictine Sisters sponsor two ministries, the Shalom Prayer Center and the St. Joseph Shelter.

[4] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.14 square miles (2.95 km2), all of it land.

[6] Activity along the fault caused the 1993 Scotts Mills earthquake, which significantly damaged various structures in the town, in particular the parish church.

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F (22.0 °C).

[12] The Oktoberfest features beer and wine gardens, sports tournaments and races, arts and crafts exhibits, a farmers market, community dinners featuring sausage and sauerkraut, and a wide assortment of food, games, and entertainment.

Angel,[13] and the 1912 Saint Mary Catholic Church, both of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

[12] Located on the corner of Charles and Garfield streets, the four-story-tall glockenspiel is part of the Edelweiss Village Building.

Cipriano Ferrel, who would later found the Oregon farmworker's union Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste, graduated from Colegio Cesar Chavez.

In the mid-1980s, the former Colegio grounds and building were purchased by a private buyer and donated to the Benedictine sisters.

The Benedictine sisters now operate St. Joseph Shelter in the former Colegio building and dorms.

Angel is served by the weekly Silverton Appeal Tribune newspaper, which is published on Wednesdays by the Statesman Journal,[16] the monthly publications Our Town and Our Town Life,[17] and by the weekly Woodburn Independent.