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42
Fact Book 2013-14
October 24, 2013
Connecting Our Communities
By RAY PITZ
Pamplin Media Group
K
nowing that Beaver-
ton’s first teacher,
Mary Ann Spencer,
taught school out of
a log cabin, or that Sherwood
once produced more onions
than any other region in the
state, proves the history of a
community is as important as
its future.
Look no further than your
local historical society and
heritage center to prove that
point.
For example, did you know:
n
In 1851, early settlers Pe-
ter and Mary Ann Spencer
traveled to Beaverton via ship
around Cape Horn of South
America. Along the way, they
fought numerous storms that
ended up pushing them off
course, and they spent days
escaping pirates and enduring
long stretches with no wind.
n
Tigard’s roots began in
the 1850s when the communi-
ty was founded as East Butte.
The first post office was
opened in Charles F. Tigard’s
general store in 1886, at a time
when the small town was re-
named Tigardville, only to
have the “ville” dropped from
the name 20 years later.
n
Down the road, the story
of the Tualatin mastodon is
deeply embedded into local
history, or rather, prehistory.
In 1962, a Portland State Uni-
versity student uncovered
mastodon bones in a swampy
field in Tualatin. The bones,
estimated to be about 14,000
years old, are now on display
at the Tualatin Public Library.
n
Settled by farmers in the
mid-1850s, Sherwood’s early
settlers ventured into the big
city only twice a year to pur-
chase staples like salt, sugar
and syrup. A brickyard was
the city’s main industry, creat-
ing supplies that benefited
much of Portland’s growth. In
1896, the town suffered a dev-
astating fire that wiped out
most of the businesses in
what’s now know as Old Town.
Curious about your commu-
nity’s local history? Visit your
local historical society or mu-
seum.
Here are a few places to
start:
n
Beaverton Historical
Society
— Beaverton History
Center, 12412 S.W. Broadway St.
(503-430-0106 /
historicbeaverton.org)
n
Genealogical Society of
Washington County
(gswco.org)
n
Sherwood Historical
Society
— Morback House
Museum, 22552 Park St. (503-
625-1236 /
sherwoodhistoricalsociety.
blogspot.com)
n
Tigard Historical
Association
— John Tigard
House, 10310 S.W. Canterbury
Lane (503-747-9856 /
tigardhistorical.org)
n
Tualatin Historical Society
— Tualatin Heritage Center, 8700
S.W. Sweek Drive (503-885-
1926 /
tualatinhistoricalsociety.org)
n
Washington County
Heritage Online
(
washingtoncountyheritage.org)
n
Washington County
Museum
— 120 E. Main St.,
Hillsboro (503-645-5353 /
washingtoncountymuseum.org)
Looking for some local history?
—
Here it is
—
From fertile onion fields to mastodon bones, local communities
are loaded with history
Yvonne
Addington,
president of the
Tualatin
Historical
Society, stands
in front of the
14,000-year-old
bones of a
mastodon on
display at the
Tualatin Public
Library. The
mastodon was
found by
Portland State
University
student John
George in the
early 1960s.
TIMES FILE PHOTO
