Cycle Tour of Tigard

Metzger is unincorporated and just beyond the Tigard city limits. Like every community I'm visiting today, Metzger was originally a stop on the Oregon Electric Railroad (OER). Herman Metzger owned the land and platted it around the time the rail was built (1910 ± 5 years).

It had a post office, general store, and church. The rail line is completely gone. Based on suspicious property boundaries (Rail Right Of Ways are eternal) and Wikipedia, I'm pretty sure that the station was at the intersection of Locust and Jefferson.

While I was taking photos, I spoke with a resident who was pretty sure that the station was east of here, along Hall Blvd. I hate to doubt a local, but that's unlikely. Perhaps he was directing me to a different community building like the general store or post office, though.

The area, today, has a wall of shrubbery and a lot of No Trespassing signs. The local told me that at one time the fire department used the area for training. Now, it looks like the nearby apartments are using it as a private park.

As near as I can tell, the signs are a lie: This is publicly owned, just not open access (like the Hillsboro water supply). In any event, it's probably not worth a visit unless you're a hardcore train historian.

Today, Metzger is an unincorporated census-designated place with a population of 4,000. I visited the elementary school (above) but missed the Ole Bolle Troll. I may have to go back. Along the way, I cross into Tigard and head to my next destination.

Greenburg

Greenburg was one stop further down along the OER. It was located at the intersection of North Dakota and Tiedeman Ave. The Greenburgs owned the land and thus gave the name. Based on the old USGS maps, this stop had less development than Metzger. Outside of Greenburg Rd, there's not much in this neighborhood to represent its namesake.

Unlike Metzger, the old OER line is still traceable: it's been converted to a pedestrian path (Tigard Heritage Trail). The path is smooth and wide with artwork and historical plaques sprinkled along the way. I take the trail into the heart of the city.

Tigard

At over 50,000 people, Tigard is the third largest city in Washington County. Larger than Forest Grove, Cornelius, North Plains, and Banks. Combined! It's a very nice town that's a little too far for me to visit often. It's a cute, bustling area.

The Heritage Trail ends at the Chamber of Commerce in, more or less, the historic center of the city. Unique for my locations, today, Tigard actually predates the OER line. It initially experienced a development boom in the 1880s but the rail didn't come through until the 1900s.

Its passenger train system still lives on as the Tigard stop of the WES (Westside Express Service) line of the Trimet for weekday commuters.

Finally, the John Tigard house was built in the 1880s. It was originally located in downtown. It got moved to its current home in the 1970s to save it from demolition. Now, it's safely outside of the downtown urbanized corridor.

I continue down the old OER path, adjacent to the (still active) Southern Pacific Line to the next stop.

Trece

Trece is another old stop and I have very little information about it. I assume it is, once again, named after the landowners at time of construction but I could be wrong.

I took the above photo from the location of the original stop: where the tracks cross Hall Blvd. Today, there appears to be a sizeable depot just a little south.

Trece doesn't look very developed in the 1916 USGS maps, it's just the place where the parallel Southern Pacific and OER tracks cross a road. I think this is another mirage town: a place that continues to appear on county maps despite never being a community.

I pass the Tigard City Hall on my way to the Fanno Creek Trail:

This isn't my first time on this trail, I rode a segment around Garden Home and another segment through Beaverton. I'm pleased to say that the trail continues to be high quality and picturesque to its terminus.

Bonita

Yet another station on the old OER (and SP) line. Bonita is now a neighborhood of Tigard with a very nice (and very empty) park. The name for the station was chosen by a local because it's beautiful.