Dunthorpe is an unincorporated

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

 of Portland

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is located just south of the Portland city limits and north of the Multnomah County

Multnomah County, Oregon

Multnomah County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Though smallest in area, it is the most populous as its county seat, Portland, is the state's largest city...

 line on the west side of the Willamette River

Willamette River

The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...

. Lewis & Clark College

Lewis & Clark College

Lewis & Clark College is a private institution of higher learning located in Portland, Oregon. Made up of an undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences, a School of Law, and a Graduate School of Education and Counseling. Lewis & Clark is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges with athletic...

 and Lake Oswego

Lake Oswego, Oregon

Lake Oswego is a city located primarily in Clackamas County in the U.S. state of Oregon. Small portions of the city are also located in neighboring Multnomah and Washington counties. Located south of Portland surrounding the Oswego Lake, the town was founded in 1847 and incorporated as Oswego in...

 are nearby.

History

In January 1916, William M. Ladd's Ladd Estate Company purchased 215 acre (0.8700749 km²) from the soon to be dissolved Oregon Iron & Steel Company for $1. The company drafted very specific provisions for the Dunthorpe development, including: Only residential buildings were allowed, except for outbuildings to house domestic animals; Swine and goats were prohibited; The minimum cost of a house was $3000; No residence could be used or occupied by "persons of African or Mongolian descent" unless they were employed as servants; and the sale of "intoxicating liquor" was prohibited.

Museums and other points of interest

One of the notable attractions of the area is the Elk Rock Gardens of the Bishop's Close

Elk Rock Gardens of the Bishop's Close

Elk Rock Gardens of the Bishop's Close are located on a hillside estate overlooking the Willamette River in Dunthorpe, Oregon, in the United States. Peter Kerr started the gardens in 1916 on a estate that passed to the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon after his death in 1957...

, an estate which consists of 13 acres (52,609.2 m²) on a high bluff on the western bank of the Willamette River. The property includes approximately 6 acres (2.4 ha) of cultivated English-style gardens

English garden

The English garden, also called English landscape park , is a style of Landscape garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The...

 that were designed by the New York firm of Olmsted and Son

Frederick Law Olmsted

Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...

, who also designed Central Park

Central Park

Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. The garden is open to the public seven days a week and is widely known for the many varieties of magnolia

Magnolia

Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....

s as well as for examples of many other native and exotic plants.

Education

As a community, Dunthorpe was historically anchored by Riverdale grade school. In the early 1990s, the Oregon legislature

Oregon Legislative Assembly

The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...

 decreed that all school districts should have both primary and secondary schools, and expected smaller school districts like Riverdale to merge. While an old grade school was purchased and renovated for use as Riverdale High School, high school students were bussed to nearby Marylhurst University

Marylhurst University

Marylhurst University is a private Catholic liberal arts university located in Marylhurst, Oregon, United States, nine miles south of Portland on the Willamette River. It is among the oldest collegiate degree-granting institutions in Oregon, awarding its first degree in 1897...

 in the neighboring city of West Linn

West Linn, Oregon

West Linn is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. Now a prosperous southern suburb of Portland, West Linn has a history of early development, prompted by the opportunity to harvest energy from nearby Willamette Falls. It was named after Senator Dr. Lewis Fields Linn of Ste...

, where space was leased by the school district. The high school moved into its permanent building, a renovation and expansion of an existing but unused public school structure, in September, 2002. In November 2008, the voters of Riverdale School District passed a measure authorizing the District to issue bonds in an amount up to $21.5 million to renovate and expand the existing grade school building. In July 2009, the original grade school was demolished. The building was rebuilt in the style of the original in 2010.