Canyon Road
Canyon Road (formerly known as Great Plank Road
The Great Plank Road
By 1851, a dirt road, which was often muddy, ran between Portland and the Tualatin Valley—starting on Jefferson Street at the
The Portland & Valley Plank Road Company was chartered in January 1851 by the territorial government.[11] Editor of the Weekly Oregonian newspaper, Thomas J. Dryer, immediately invested $500 and promoted the project.[11] Stephen Coffin and William W. Chapman pledged $3000, with Daniel H. Lownsdale pledging $2,000.[8][11][12] Ultimately over $35,000 was pledged but not all was paid, with Coffin, Chapman and Lownsdale likely to have not paid in full.[11]
Coffin gave the contract to a sawmill owned by himself and
By spring of 1852, just over $6,000 had been collected and $14,000 spent, leading to the replacement of management and directors.[11] The project remained incomplete for three years until Supreme Court Justice Cyrus Olney required subscribers to pay at least 80% of the pledged amount.[11] Back wages were still owed by December 1855, leading Olney to demand full payment from subscribers and for county sheriffs to find delinquent subscribers.[11]
On January 25, 1856, the territorial government hired a new company to complete the road, and the city's merchant leaders (including
Part of Highway 26 now passes through Tanner Creek Canyon—the canyon near the Oregon Zoo as the highway approaches Portland's Goose Hollow neighborhood via the Vista Ridge Tunnels. However, Tanner Creek Canyon was originally a much deeper and narrower ravine. In the early twentieth century, when Tanner Creek was buried as it passes through Tanner Creek Canyon, the canyon was enlarged and infilled to raise Canyon Road. Then, in the 1960s when I-405 was being constructed, the excavated dirt was trucked into the canyon to further expand and fill Tanner Creek Canyon.[7]
This is the commencement of an era of commercial prosperity which will continue to increase until the iron horse takes the place of the plank road.
—Mr. Tilford, orator at Canyon Road's laying of first plank.[13]
In August 2015, remnants of the Great Plank Road were unearthed during a road widening project in Beaverton. The pieces weren't salvageable.[14]
Route
The historic route is almost completely paved over by modern roads. Beginning at Goose Hollow near where the
A plaque to commemorate the road was placed in the South Park Blocks by the Lang Syne Society in 1991.[15]
See also
References
- ^ "Great Plank Road". Portland Transportation → Inside PDOT → Transportation History. City of Portland. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
- ^ Trude Flores; Sarah Griffith (2002). "Rival Townsites in the Portland Region, 1825-1850". Oregon Historical Society.
- ^ Google (February 25, 2009). "Driving Directions from Google Maps" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
- ^ Google (December 6, 2022). "Arlington Heights to Portland" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ^ Google (December 7, 2022). "Portland to SW Tualatin Valley Hwy & Hocken" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
- ^ Google (December 6, 2022). "5698-5674 SW Canyon Ct to Arlington Heights" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7385-7472-1.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-57864-037-9.
- ^ "Daniel H. Lownsdale". Access Genealogy.com. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
- ^ Harvey Whitefield Scott (1890). History of Portland, Oregon. Syracuse, New York: D. Mason & Co. p. 475. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
daniel lownsdale.
- ^ ISBN 0-9603408-1-5.
- ^ "Daniel H. Lownsdale". Access Genealogy.com. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
- ^ a b Scott, p. 112
- OregonLive.com. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
- ^ "Plaques Commemorate Two Prominent Citizens". The Oregonian. December 18, 1991. p. C1.
External links
- Works related to Oregon Historical Quarterly/Notes and Comments number 2#169 at Wikisource