Tualatin Valley
Encyclopedia
The Tualatin Valley is a farming and suburban region southwest of Portland
, Oregon
in the United States
. The valley is formed by the meander
ing Tualatin River
, a tributary of the Willamette River
at the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley
, east of the Northern Oregon Coast Range
. Most of the valley is located within Washington County
, separated from Portland by the Tualatin Mountains
. Communities in the Tualatin Valley include Forest Grove
, Cornelius
, Hillsboro
, Aloha
, Beaverton
, Sherwood
, Tigard
, and Tualatin
.
, a hunter-gatherer Kalapuyan band of that spoke a dialect of Northern Kalapuyan
. In the middle 19th century, the Atfalati lived in several villages in the valley, including Chakeipi ("Place of the Beaver", translated by early white settlers as "Beaver Dam"). Early Euro-American settlers called the valley the "Twality Plains", a corruption of the name of the Atfalati tribe. Other early variations included Falatin, Nefalatine, Twalaity, and Quality, with each roughly translated as slow river to describe the Tualatin River, or may translate as land without trees.
The valley was one of the earliest settled farming regions in Oregon, as settlers began arriving in 1840. In the spring of 1847, Lawrence Hall filed the first land claim, comprising 640 acres (2.6 km²), at Beaver Dam (later Beaverton) and constructed the first grist mill in the valley. In 1849 Thomas Hicklin Denney and his wife Berrilla built the first sawmill in the Beaverton area, leading to a later boom in the timber industry.
The lack of roads connecting the upper valley to the Willamette River quickly became a hindrance to early settlers. In 1850, the Oregon Territory
created the Portland & Valley Plank Road Company to build a road through the Tualatin Hills connecting Portland with Beaverton. The road was completed in 1860 after financial setbacks. According to Oregon historian
Stewart Holbrook
, the building of the plank road
was the decisive event that allowed Portland to surpass its rival Oregon City
for supremacy as the economic hub of the territory. The railroad was extended into the valley in 1868.
The growth of agriculture in the valley eventually was limited in the middle 20th century by the need for irrigation
. In 1966, the United States Bureau of Reclamation
built the Tualatin Project, bringing additional water to many parts of the valley in the last federal reclamation project in the Pacific Northwest
.
In the second half of the 20th century the valley became increasingly suburbanized and now forms a distinct cultural area that rivals Portland itself in political and economic influence. The communities along the Tualatin Valley Highway
(the descendant of the old plank road), form a suburban corridor stretching west of Beaverton. Beaverton is famous as the location of the Nike, Inc.
campus, the company's world-wide headquarters. Nike, along with Intel in Hillsboro, provide a large base of employment in the valley. Much of the valley is now within the Portland urban growth boundary
, resulting in a suburban growth patterns that interspersed with remaining areas of orchards and farm fields. Most of the communities in the valley are served by TriMet
, the Portland-area mass transit agency. In 1998, the MAX Light Rail system was extended from Portland into the valley as far as Hillsboro.
and is bordered on the north and east by the Tualatin Mountains
, a spur of the Northern Oregon Coast Range
. The later range also comprises the valley's western border. To the south lie the Chehalem Mountains
, separating the region from the main Willamette Valley
. The Tualatin River flows mainly from the west to the east and leaves the valley in the southeast at West Linn in Clackamas County. Tualatin Valley's geographical center is located southeast of Hillsboro, and the general elevation of the valley is 180 feet (54.9 m) above sea-level.
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...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The valley is formed by the meander
Meander
A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...
ing Tualatin River
Tualatin River
The Tualatin River is a tributary of the Willamette River located in Oregon in the United States. The river is approximately long, and it drains a fertile farming region called the Tualatin Valley southwest and west of Portland at the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley...
, a tributary 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...
at the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
, east of the Northern Oregon Coast Range
Northern Oregon Coast Range
The Northern Oregon Coast Range is the northern section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, located in the northwest portion of the state of Oregon, United States. This section of the mountain range, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, contains peaks as high...
. Most of the valley is located within Washington County
Washington County, Oregon
- Major highways :* Interstate 5* Interstate 205* U.S. Route 26* Oregon Route 6* Oregon Route 8* Oregon Route 10* Oregon Route 47* Oregon Route 99W* Oregon Route 210* Oregon Route 217* Oregon Route 219-Demographics:...
, separated from Portland by the Tualatin Mountains
Tualatin Mountains
The Tualatin Mountains are a range of hills on the western border of Multnomah County, Oregon, United States...
. Communities in the Tualatin Valley include Forest Grove
Forest Grove, Oregon
Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a bedroom suburb of Portland. Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in 1850 and then incorporated in 1872 and was the first city in Washington County...
, Cornelius
Cornelius, Oregon
Cornelius is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. The population was 9,652 at the 2000 census. The 2007 estimate is 10,895 residents.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, Hillsboro
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
, Aloha
Aloha, Oregon
Aloha is a census-designated place and an unincorporated community in Washington County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 49,425.-History:...
, Beaverton
Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, seven miles west of Portland in the Tualatin River Valley.As of the 2010 census, the population is 90,267. This makes it the second-largest city in the county and Oregon's sixth-largest city...
, Sherwood
Sherwood, Oregon
Sherwood is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. Located in the southeast corner of the county, it is a residential community in the Tualatin Valley southwest of Portland. The population was 11,791 at the 2000 census. The 2006 estimate is 16,115 residents...
, Tigard
Tigard, Oregon
Tigard is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. The population was 48,035 at the 2010 census. As of 2007, Tigard was the state's 12th largest city. Incorporated in 1961, the city is located south of Beaverton and north of Tualatin, and is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, and Tualatin
Tualatin, Oregon
Tualatin is a city located primarily in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oregon. A small portion of the city is also located in neighboring Clackamas County. It is a southwestern suburb in the Portland Metropolitan Area that is located south of Tigard...
.
History
In the early 19th century the valley was inhabited by the AtfalatiAtfalati
The Atfalati, also known as the Tualatin were a tribe or band of the Kalapuya Native Americans who originally inhabited the Tualatin Valley in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Oregon...
, a hunter-gatherer Kalapuyan band of that spoke a dialect of Northern Kalapuyan
Northern Kalapuya language
Northern Kalapuyan is a Kalapuyan language indigenous to northwestern Oregon in the United States. It was spoken by Kalapuya groups in the northern Willamette Valley southwest of present-day Portland....
. In the middle 19th century, the Atfalati lived in several villages in the valley, including Chakeipi ("Place of the Beaver", translated by early white settlers as "Beaver Dam"). Early Euro-American settlers called the valley the "Twality Plains", a corruption of the name of the Atfalati tribe. Other early variations included Falatin, Nefalatine, Twalaity, and Quality, with each roughly translated as slow river to describe the Tualatin River, or may translate as land without trees.
The valley was one of the earliest settled farming regions in Oregon, as settlers began arriving in 1840. In the spring of 1847, Lawrence Hall filed the first land claim, comprising 640 acres (2.6 km²), at Beaver Dam (later Beaverton) and constructed the first grist mill in the valley. In 1849 Thomas Hicklin Denney and his wife Berrilla built the first sawmill in the Beaverton area, leading to a later boom in the timber industry.
The lack of roads connecting the upper valley to the Willamette River quickly became a hindrance to early settlers. In 1850, the Oregon Territory
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
created the Portland & Valley Plank Road Company to build a road through the Tualatin Hills connecting Portland with Beaverton. The road was completed in 1860 after financial setbacks. According to Oregon historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Stewart Holbrook
Stewart Holbrook
Stewart Hall Holbrook was an American lumberjack, writer, and popular historian. His writings focused on what he called the "Far Corner": Washington, Oregon, and Idaho...
, the building of the plank road
Plank road
A plank road or puncheon is a dirt path or road covered with a series of planks, similar to the wooden sidewalks one would see in a Western movie. Plank roads were very popular in Ontario, the U.S. Northeast and U.S. Midwest in the first half of the 19th century...
was the decisive event that allowed Portland to surpass its rival Oregon City
Oregon City, Oregon
Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...
for supremacy as the economic hub of the territory. The railroad was extended into the valley in 1868.
The growth of agriculture in the valley eventually was limited in the middle 20th century by the need for irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
. In 1966, the United States Bureau of Reclamation
United States Bureau of Reclamation
The United States Bureau of Reclamation , and formerly the United States Reclamation Service , is an agency under the U.S...
built the Tualatin Project, bringing additional water to many parts of the valley in the last federal reclamation project in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
.
In the second half of the 20th century the valley became increasingly suburbanized and now forms a distinct cultural area that rivals Portland itself in political and economic influence. The communities along the Tualatin Valley Highway
Tualatin Valley Highway
The Tualatin Valley Highway No. 29 is an Oregon highway which passes through the Tualatin Valley, between the cities of McMinnville and Beaverton...
(the descendant of the old plank road), form a suburban corridor stretching west of Beaverton. Beaverton is famous as the location of the Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
campus, the company's world-wide headquarters. Nike, along with Intel in Hillsboro, provide a large base of employment in the valley. Much of the valley is now within the Portland urban growth boundary
Urban growth boundary
An urban growth boundary, or UGB, is a regional boundary, set in an attempt to control urban sprawl by mandating that the area inside the boundary be used for higher density urban development and the area outside be used for lower density development.An urban growth boundary circumscribes an...
, resulting in a suburban growth patterns that interspersed with remaining areas of orchards and farm fields. Most of the communities in the valley are served by TriMet
TriMet
TriMet, more formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon...
, the Portland-area mass transit agency. In 1998, the MAX Light Rail system was extended from Portland into the valley as far as Hillsboro.
Geography
The valley is traversed by the Tualatin RiverTualatin River
The Tualatin River is a tributary of the Willamette River located in Oregon in the United States. The river is approximately long, and it drains a fertile farming region called the Tualatin Valley southwest and west of Portland at the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley...
and is bordered on the north and east by the Tualatin Mountains
Tualatin Mountains
The Tualatin Mountains are a range of hills on the western border of Multnomah County, Oregon, United States...
, a spur of the Northern Oregon Coast Range
Northern Oregon Coast Range
The Northern Oregon Coast Range is the northern section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, located in the northwest portion of the state of Oregon, United States. This section of the mountain range, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, contains peaks as high...
. The later range also comprises the valley's western border. To the south lie the Chehalem Mountains
Chehalem Mountains
The Chehalem Mountains are a mountain range located in the Willamette Valley in the U.S. state of Oregon. Forming the southern boundary of the Tualatin Valley, the Chehalems are the highest mountains in the Willamette Valley...
, separating the region from the main Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
. The Tualatin River flows mainly from the west to the east and leaves the valley in the southeast at West Linn in Clackamas County. Tualatin Valley's geographical center is located southeast of Hillsboro, and the general elevation of the valley is 180 feet (54.9 m) above sea-level.