Commuting Through Unincorporated Beaverton

Cedar Mill, Cedar Hills, and Marlene Village

Leedy Grange in Cedar Mill

It's no secret that like most cyclists, I'd much rather bike through the forests of western Washington County or the central farmlands than the urban areas that make up much of the eastern side. Today, the sun was shining and I had a few errands that were best done on a bike so I headed toward the rolling city streets of Cedar Hills, Cedar Mill, and Marlene Village.

While I started from my house further west, I show the sample ride beginning in Tanasbourne. The ample parking and easy access from US-26 make it a good place to start a bike ride, especially if your driving in from Portland or further. Bonus: the area has an REI with parts and repair for bike emergencies and a hospital for human ones.

I continue east on Cornell over the highway during morning rush hour (the bike lane is safe and clearly marked) to my first stop.

Cedar Mill

Looking south from Historic Downtown Cedar Mill at the intersection of Cornell and Murray.

Cedar Mill began as a pioneer community in the latter half of the 19th century. It had a sawmill in the 1850s but the main town was a little west.

I'm here to meet up with a friend for coffee. She tells me about the local sites including the grange (above).

Cedar Mill Falls on Cedar Mill Creek

The original sawmill was very close to the falls. Just down the street is the historic John Quincy Adams Young House, the site of the original post office (JQAY got to pick the name).

JQAY house was built in 1869 and on the National Registrar of Historic Places. Tualatin Hills Parks and Rec manages the property but the inside is not open to the public.

Today, these small historic sites are interspersed with strip malls that line Cornell Road and surrounded by suburbs that span from Forest Park to the highway.

After coffee I head south on Cedar Hills Blvd under the Sunset highway (note: There are better cycle routes across 26! This one has no sidewalk or bike lane and you have to cut through the 2-lane entrance ramp) to my next destination

Cedar Hills

No matter what the sign says, this strip mall is over the Beaverton city limits and thus not officially in Cedar Hills.

The Mill is much older than the Hills. I'm here to drop off some paperwork at the bank. Cedar Mill was a pioneer town and Cedar Hills began as a post-war preplanned community.

As a sprawl of ranch houses interspersed with major traffic arteries and modern shopping centers, of Cedar Hills is a collection of odd decisions. First is the name: Cedar Hills is flatter than Cedar Mill and doesn't have many cedar trees. I suspect the developers chose the name deliberately to sow confusion among homebuyers.

One more odd decision: take a look at the city limits of Beaverton:

Beaverton is in blue, Cedar Hills, Marlene Village and parts of Cedar Mill are unincorporated.

There's a couple of odd holes where Beaverton starts and stops. Incorporation is a prickly issue and I've written before about Dersham's campaign to incorporate and Bull Mountain's campaign against. However, when I see a cookie-cutter map like this, my first thought is that there's a corporation fighting to minimize property taxes.

Cedar Hills is mostly homes with a couple of strip malls. What big businesses could be meddling in local politics?

Oh.

Joining Beaverton would give Cedar Hills access to greater funding for parks and police but they already have a pretty nice park.

Commonwealth Lake Park

The Cedar Hills residents may be doing just fine without joining Beaverton. As far as the U.S. government is concerned, Cedar Hills is a Census Designated Place. That's their fancy way of saying "lots of people. no local government." With over 8000 residents crammed into 2 sq miles, Cedar Hills has more people than all of Wallowa County in eastern Washington.

After the bank, I head home, but I pass through one more community on the way.

Marlene Village

Marlene Village is probably the least familiar stop today. It's another Census Designated Place created as another post-war preplanned development. It's named after the granddaughter of the developer. Marlene might still live in the area today.

Everything between Highway 26 and Walker Road on either side of Murray Blvd.

There's not much for me to get excited over here. It's mostly 50s-era single family ranch homes in wooded areas in suburban streets. Beaverton even threw the area a bone and maintains a small park close by:

Pioneer Park

So why is Marlene Village still unincorporated? Nike and the Silicon Forest are nowhere near here so there can't be corporate interests, right?

Leupold & Stevens may not have the same name recognition of Nike, but at over 100 years old, they are a true O.G. of WashCo big business. I use their spotting scopes for bird watching. Their biggest customer is the U.S. military (not for bird watching).

L&S is the easternmost property in a massive business park (Greenbrier Pkwy). The Beaverton city limits are drawn so that every single business except L&S lies within the city (thus pays city property taxes). Greenbrier Pkwy, itself, is in Beaverton.

Local government and industry dealings can be complex, but from my position, it looks like Beaverton residents pay to maintain the very long driveway of a company that posts $200,000,000 in revenues each year. For what it's worth, the driveway was very nice.

I make my way home via the Tanasborne Mall.

I started this project partially as a way to identify new biking routes. The Cedars and Marlene Village all seem like nice places to live and plenty safe to ride, but as leisure destinations, they don't compare to the farms or forests. I don't expect this route to enter my normal rotation like Snooseville or Hillside.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse