Greenville to Banks

Greenville had a post office starting in the 1870s and it's position roughly equidistant between the timber towns (Buxton) and Hillsboro made it an ideal supply hub. 

Today, there's still an atypically high density of homes in and around the intersection, the last signs of the former boom town. The most famous landmark now is Greenville Farms, a little west of the old town and a fixture at farmers' markets.

Greenville ended when the Pacific Railway & Navigation line (PR&N) was built in the first decade of the 1900s. The rail passed two miles north of Greenville. Within a few years, most of the town moved to the line. This new community was named Banks. I'm headed there, but I'm going to take the long way around.

Kansas City

If Greenville was a thriving pioneer hub and Banks a post-rail boomtown, Kansas City was never much of anything. Old maps show a schoolhouse in the area and I found mentions of a community hall. Both are now missing or well-hidden.

The name is filled with misnomers. Supposedly the founders were transplants from Missouri but I couldn't verify that. As far as I can tell, there was never anything approaching a city here. Narry a post office nor a general store. The only thing "Kansas" about the area today is the propensity for corn.

The community, itself, was at the intersection of Kansas City Road and Greenville Road. Today, that's two nurseries and a hazelnut farm. One of the nurseries has an impressive reservoir.

Killin Wetlands is the most exciting destination in the area for me. It's a little east of historic Bakersfield and an unsung wildlife gem. It's relatively new (the Killins were early pioneers in the area. The wetland used to be a cattle farm). 

From my few visits, the waterfowl has been impressive with a mix of heron, ducks, and shorebirds. I find the best viewing to be from the road which is unfortunate because there's no walkway or shoulder. Bicycle may be the best way to experience the wetlands.

Killin is rarely attended. It's a great place to stop on the way to Tillamook and walk the short trail, especially in the morning. The welcome center would also make a good place to park and start a bike ride. 

I stop at Killin and have a snack, use the bathroom and reapply sunscreen before continuing east to my final destination, Banks.

Banks

Let me get this out of the way first: there's no great way to bike to Banks. My arrival required an unprotected left-hand turn followed by a 1-mi sprint down Hwy 6. The official scenic bike trail directs riders to the Hwy 47 underpass, a very busy cloverleaf interchange with no shoulder.

Alternately, you could also dash across either Hwy 6 or 26 at a few uncontrolled crossings and climb a modest hill. There are many ways to reach Banks but I don't really endorse any of them. A short pedestrian connector along the tracks under highway 6 would do wonders to increase accessibility.

In any event, Greenville relocated 2 miles north and rebranded as Banks, after the local landowners at the time. By 1911, Banks was the junction for two separate companies: the PN&R and United Railways. PN&R joined Hillsboro to Tillamook via the Salmonberry Canyon. UR was an interurban line to Portland via North Plains and Burlington.

In 1920, the UR track was extended north to Vernonia (and onward to Keasey) for logging traffic under the name Portland, Astoria and Pacific Railroad (PA&P). Banks had become a major rail hub in a short time.

It didn't last. There's no more rail traffic northwest of Banks. The PA&P stopped hauling freight in the 50s and was formally abandoned in the 70s. After a series of progressively worse storms, PN&R closed in 2007. 

The tracks east of Banks survived but are all consolidated into Southern Pacific ownership and servicing a dwindling number of customers.

That's beneficial to cyclists, pedestrians and equestrians. Most of the time I'm in Banks, it's to ride the Banks-Vernonia trail. The abandoned PA&P was converted to a 21-mile multipurpose path. It passes through many other WashCo communities so I'll cover the trail in more detail later.

Today, Banks has evolved beyond the railroad hub past. The lines to Portland are still active. There's still a lumber industry in the region. But there's also breweries and bike rentals.

The prevalence of old-timey false fronts on dog grooming stores speak to the fusion of a historic town with modern sensibilities.

From here, I head back to Hillsboro along Scotch Church Road for more farmlands and another historic church that isn't in any historic community.

Less ambitious cyclists can make a much smaller loop starting from either Banks or Killin. When traveling from Banks to Greenville, don't follow 47. Avoid the traffic and swing east on Wilkesboro Road through Roy then double back on Greenville road.