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West Linn Business & Community Guide 2012
www.westlinnchamber.com
The West Linn area was first settled
in the early 1840s when Robert
Moore purchased 1,000 acres of
land on the west bank of the Wil-
lamette River from the “Wallamut”
Indians. He built his cabin high on
a hillside overlooking Willamette
Falls and set about building a town,
Robin’s Nest.
By 1846, Moore had built four flour
and lumber mills, along with dwell-
ings for his mill workers. He also
operated a ferry to Oregon City. In
1845, Moore renamed his tiny town
Linn City in honor of his friend, well-
known free-state advocate Dr. Lewis
F. Linn, a U.S. Senator from Missouri
and sponsor of the Donation Land
Claim Bill.
Moore became the first postmaster
in 1850 and purchased an Oregon
City newspaper, “The Spectator,” in
1852. By then, his Linn City enter-
prises included a gristmill, sawmill,
warehouse, wharves and a break-
water to create a basin for boats to
tie up in for loading and unloading
cargo. But when he died in 1857,
Moore had still not seen his dream of
a completed town realized.
Not long after Moore’s death,
a devastating fire destroyed the
sawmill, gristmill, wharves and even
a steamer ship docked there. Local
businessmen began to rebuild, only
to see their hard work washed away
in the terrible floods of 1861. Linn
City was gone.
In 1873, the Willamette Falls Locks
began operating as a private enter-
prise—providing passage to shipping
around the Willamette Falls. The
locks have remained in continuous
operation, owned by the US Army
Corps of Engineers since 1915. They
are the oldest such locks west of the
Mississippi River.
In 1913, four areas—West Oregon
City, Bolton, Sunset and Willamette
Heights—voted to incorporate to
obtain needed services, utilities and
improvements without annexing
to Oregon City. After considerable
debate on a name, city founders
decided to honor the pioneer town
Moore had established while also
embracing the “West” from Oregon
City. (There is no Linn city, per se,
though Linn County is some 60 miles
south.)
The 1860 census listed 225 resi-
dents in the area. By 1920, the num-
ber had grown to 1,628. The 1960
census set the population at 2,923,
and by 1970, West Linn had grown to
more than 7,000. Major growth con-
tinued through the 1980s and 90s,
with the population today standing at
more than 24,000.
History
Period dress and walking tours are part of an annual celebration in Willamette's Historic District
featuring 19th century homes.
Ron Le Blanc