Cherry Grove is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Washington County,

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, United States. Cherry Grove is situated on the north bank of the

Tualatin River The Tualatin River is a tributary of the Willamette River in Oregon in the United States. The river is about long, and it drains a fertile farming region called the Tualatin Valley southwest and west of Portland at the northwest corner of the W ...

near where it exits the

Northern Oregon Coast Range The Northern Oregon Coast Range is the northern section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, located in the northwest portion of the state of Oregon, United States. This section of the mountain range, part ...

and enters Patton Valley. Cherry Grove was founded by

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

immigrant August Lovegren in 1911. He had previously operated a

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

Preston, Washington Preston is an unincorporated and exurban community in the northwest United States, located east of Seattle in King County, Washington. It was named after railway official William T. Preston. Preston is a historic mill town on the northeast ...

, after arriving in the United States in 1883. He wanted a name for the community that was connected with fruit growing, but his choice of "Appleton" was already taken by a place in Oregon. His cousin then suggested the name of her home of Cherry Grove, Minnesota. Lovegren established a sawmill in the community and in September 1911 began operating a private electricity grid in Cherry Grove. He used the sawmill's boiler in the operation, and in September 1913 completed a dam on the Tualatin River to create a large log

retention pond A retention basin, sometimes called a wet pond, wet detention basin, or stormwater management pond (SWMP), is an artificial pond with vegetation around the perimeter and a permanent pool of water in its design. It is used to manage stormwater ...

. In January 1914, a flood destroyed both the dam and the boiler, leaving the community without electricity until

Portland General Electric Portland General Electric (PGE) is a Fortune 1000 public utility based in Portland, Oregon. It distributes electricity to customers in parts of Multnomah, Clackamas, Marion, Yamhill, Washington, and Polk counties - 44% of the inhabitants ...

added service in 1935. Cherry Grove's post office ran from 1912 through 1959 when service was transferred to Gaston.

Demographics

References

External links

Historic photos of Cherry Grove from Salem Public Library
and the Willamette Valley & Coast Railway from Abandoned Railways of the Pacific Northwest
Cherry Grove history from VanNatta ForestrySeveral images of the falls on the Tualatin River above Cherry Grove
from the

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...

Archives Swedish-American culture in Oregon Unincorporated communities in Washington County, Oregon 1911 establishments in Oregon Unincorporated communities in Oregon {{WashingtonCountyOR-geo-stub

Demographics

References

Further reading

External links