Cycle Tour of Beaverton

Strange start, my first stop is a Before-Beaverton historic post office. Oceola (sometimes Oseola) was founded in the 1850s by Laurence Hall. I couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the office. It was long-gone before Beaverton started.

The Hall Donation Land Claim covered the main Nike location (Phillip H Knight Campus) and the west side of Cedar Hills and the post office was east of Beaverton Creek. Since I've already covered Cedar Hills, let's focus on Nike here. 

Of course, thanks to successful lobbying, Nike has remained an enclave of not-Beaverton, surrounded on all sides by Beaverton. Fun fact though: this pristine forest of idylic running trails across the street from their main buildings is within the city limits. They still forbid all non-employees from using it, though but tax money from Beaverton residents are used to maintain every road entrance to the campus.

Several other satellite campuses are also within the incorporated Beaverton. From here, I head east to Cedar Hills Blvd, then south to the main event today

Beaverton

Compared to the other major population centers in the county, Beaverton was a late-bloomer. Both Hillsboro and Forest Grove were well-established by the time it incorporated in 1893. In the later half of the 20th century, the city grew rapidly, supplanting Hillsboro as the largest city in the county before losing it again in the 21st Century. 

I attribute its rapid growth to its closeness to Portland and its recent curtailing to lack of room. While Hillsboro's city limits continue to expand, Beaverton is surrounded on all sides by existing cities and hostile corporations. 

The original Beaverton streets are easily identified on a map as the grid south of Hwy 10 where single-family homes freely mingle with banks, libraries, and businesses. More recently, Beaverton built The Round, a New Urbanist neighborhood with the Beaverton Central station as a focal point and the site of most of their municipal buildings. It's also close to the Trek bike shop, where I purchased most of my rides over the years.

Downtown Beaverton is a busy place with a lot to do but it's not a fun place to ride a bike. I continue south to my next neighborhood.

Fanno

Warning, these next few places are all close together and there's no clear distinction between one another. Fanno is named after Augustus Fanno, the onion king of Oregon. I've discussed the role of onions in pioneer development once before with Gaston and I'm bound to discuss it again (Cipole & Onion Flats).

The Fanno Farmhouse still stands on their old DLC land. There's also the long creek that winds from Raleigh Hills down to the Tualatin River named Fanno with a nice multipurpose path I've ridden before. However, modern maps place Fanno somewhere else entirely:

Fanno used to be the name of a train station on the Westside Rail. Now, there's a small park on what used to be the NE corner of the Fanno family plot and to the west of Hwy 217. Fanno Creek runs through the park and there are beaver dams. I head through the park then to the next destination.

Progress

Progress was a train station on the Westside Rail. Now, the TriMet WES line (temporarily electric, now diesel once again) has the Hall & Nimbus stop at about the same location. Progress had a post office with most of the town center east of Hwy 217. 

Today, the area is most associated with Washington Square shopping center, within the Tigard city limits. I'll cover Tigard in another article. I continue east.

 Bradley Corner

Look, there's not much to say about this place. I'm not sure why it's on the maps at all. It's a small neighborhood and the main intersection is all heavily developed. It's noteworthy only because it's the 3-point nexus between Beaverton, Tigard, and (unincorporated) Metzger.

All the records I've found of Bradley Corner involve inter-city squabbles about who will pay for the maintenance and development. It's a dumb place to hang out on a bicycle, so I backtrack to my last destination of the day.

Greenway

Back on Fanno Creek Trail, continuing south. the trail is filled with runners, walkers and cyclists. I pass through Koll Wetlands, one of the metro area's premier birdwatching sites. If I lived closer, I'd visit more often, even though it's frequently flooded: