Canyon Road
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Canyon Road (formerly known as Great Plank Road) is a major
road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...
and partial
state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
, which serves as a connector between Beaverton and
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It was the first major road constructed between the
Tualatin Valley The Tualatin Valley is a farming and suburban region southwest of Portland, Oregon in the United States. The valley is formed by the meandering Tualatin River, a tributary of the Willamette River at the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley, ...
and Portland, and has contributed significantly to Portland becoming the area's major
deep water port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
, and subsequent early growth of the city. The total modern length is , and of the route is coterminous with
U.S. Route 26 U.S. Route 26 (US 26) is an east–west United States highway that runs from Seaside, Oregon to Ogallala, Nebraska. When the U.S. highway system was first defined, it was limited to Nebraska and Wyoming; by the 1950s, it continued into Idaho and ...
. In addition, the segment of the road signed as
Oregon Route 8 Oregon Route 8, also known as Oregon Highway 8, is an Oregon state highway which serves the western suburbs of Portland. The road is locally known as Canyon Road and Tualatin Valley Highway, and travels through the center of the Tualatin Valley ...
under the name Canyon Road spans for . There is an additional, small portion of a driveway in the
Oregon Zoo The Oregon Zoo, originally the Portland Zoo and later the Washington Park Zoo, is a zoo located in Washington Park, Portland, Oregon, approximately southwest of downtown Portland. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest zoo west of the Mississippi Ri ...
parking lot that is also named Canyon Road; this is a continuation of a local suburban street named Canyon Court.


The Great Plank Road

By 1851, a dirt road, which was often muddy, ran between Portland and the Tualatin Valley—starting on Jefferson Street at the
Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...
then passing through
Tanner Creek Tanner Creek is a small tributary of the Willamette River in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. Named after a tannery owned by one of the city's founders, it begins in what is now the Sylvan–Highlands neighborhood in the Tualatin Mountains ...
Canyon that cuts through the
Tualatin Mountains The Tualatin Mountains (also known as the West Hills or Southwest Hills of Portland) are a range on the western border of Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. A spur of the Northern Oregon Coast Range, they separate the Tualatin Basin of Washi ...
. A
plank road A plank road is a road composed of wooden planks or puncheon logs. Plank roads were commonly found in the Canadian province of Ontario as well as the Northeast and Midwest of the United States in the first half of the 19th century. They were oft ...
was suggested by Portland entrepreneur and proprietor Daniel H. Lownsdale as a means to transport abundant Tualatin Valley farm produce and grains to
California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
-inflated markets in
San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. Col. William Williams Chapman, another proprietor, expended time and expense providing the basics for fledgling Portland in an effort to counter competition by other upstart towns and
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...
. He founded ''
The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...
'', enlarged Portland's platt, improving the city's streets, and ushered construction of Canyon Road. Others already invested in the city contributed to help make Portland the prime seaport of the region, including persuading others to join them, removing river obstructions, and importing goods from Asia and beyond. The Portland & Valley Plank Road Company was chartered in January 1851 by the territorial government. Editor of the '' Weekly Oregonian'' newspaper,
Thomas J. Dryer Thomas Jefferson Dryer (January 8, 1808 – March 30, 1879) was a newspaper publisher and politician in the Western United States. A member of the Oregon Territorial Legislature in 1857, Dryer is best remembered as the founder of ''The Oregonian, ...
, immediately invested $500 and promoted the project.
Stephen Coffin Stephen Coffin (1807 – 1882) was an investor, promoter, builder, and militia officer in mid-19th century Portland, Oregon, Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. Born in Maine, he moved to Oregon City, Oregon, Oregon City in 1847, and in 1849 he ...
and
William W. Chapman William Williams Chapman (August 11, 1808October 18, 1892) was an American politician and lawyer in Oregon and Iowa. He was born and raised in Virginia. He served as a United States Attorney in Iowa when it was part of the Michigan and Wisconsin ...
pledged $3000, with Daniel H. Lownsdale pledging $2,000. Ultimately over $35,000 was pledged but not all was paid, with Coffin, Chapman and Lownsdale likely to have not paid in full. Coffin gave the contract to a sawmill owned by himself and
Simeon Reed Simeon Gannett Reed (April 23, 1830 – November 7, 1895) was an American businessman and entrepreneur in Oregon. A native of Massachusetts, he made a fortune primarily in the transportation sector in association with William S. Ladd. Reed is the ...
, and the first plank was laid on September 27, 1851, leading to a large celebration. By November 1851, less than $3,000 in pledges had been collected, while $11,000 had been spent. The road had progressed fewer than three miles. The route, however, was excavated, following the canyon of Tanner Creek on the east side of the Tualatin Mountains. By spring of 1852, just over $6,000 had been collected and $14,000 spent, leading to the replacement of management and directors. The project remained incomplete for three years until Supreme Court Justice
Cyrus Olney Cyrus Olney (October 11, 1815 – December 12, 1870) was an American politician and lawyer in what would become the state of Oregon. He was the 6th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court serving while the region was still the Oregon Territory. A nati ...
required subscribers to pay at least 80% of the pledged amount. Back wages were still owed by December 1855, leading Olney to demand full payment from subscribers and for county sheriffs to find delinquent subscribers. On January 25, 1856, the territorial government hired a new company to complete the road, and the city's merchant leaders (including
William S. Ladd William Sargent Ladd (October 10, 1826 – January 6, 1893) was an American politician and businessman in Oregon. He twice served as Portland, Oregon's mayor in the 1850s. A native of Vermont, he was a prominent figure in the early developme ...
and
Josiah Failing Josiah Failing (July 9, 1806 – August 14, 1877) was a businessman and the fourth mayor of Portland, Oregon, United States. Born in New York, he moved to Portland when it was still a small town of a few hundred. He and his son Henry, who also b ...
) raised $75,000 for the new Portland and Tualatin Plains Plank Road Company, finishing the road by the end of 1856. The road, though never completely planked, was favored by farmers of
Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places *Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missouri ...
, Yamhill, and
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
counties since it saved between three and ten miles (16 km) travel to the next nearest ports at St. Johns and St. Helens, but on a rough muddy road through deep woods. Harvey W. Scott said this new
toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...
was still difficult for travel and the entrance was "almost inaccessible", but the road was finished. Part of Highway 26 now passes through Tanner Creek Canyon—the canyon near the
Oregon Zoo The Oregon Zoo, originally the Portland Zoo and later the Washington Park Zoo, is a zoo located in Washington Park, Portland, Oregon, approximately southwest of downtown Portland. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest zoo west of the Mississippi Ri ...
as the highway approaches Portland's Goose Hollow neighborhood via the
Vista Ridge Tunnels The Vista Ridge Tunnels are highway tunnels through the Tualatin Mountains ("West Hills") of Portland, Oregon, United States. Located in the Goose Hollow neighborhood, the tunnels pass through a hillside locally known as Vista Ridge which i ...
. However, Tanner Creek Canyon was originally a much deeper and narrower ravine. In the early twentieth century, when Tanner Creek was buried as it passes through Tanner Creek Canyon, the canyon was enlarged and infilled to raise Canyon Road. Then, in the 1960s when I-405 was being constructed, the excavated dirt was trucked into the canyon to further expand and fill Tanner Creek Canyon. In August 2015, remnants of the Great Plank Road were unearthed during a road widening project in Beaverton. The pieces weren't salvageable.


Route

The historic route is almost completely paved over by modern roads. Beginning at Goose Hollow near where the
Vista Bridge The Vista Bridge (officially, Vista Avenue Viaduct) is an arch bridge for vehicles and pedestrians located in Portland, Oregon, United States. It connects the areas of King's Hill and Vista Ridge (the entire southern hillside is also referred to ...
is now (), Jefferson Street transitions into Canyon Road, both in street signs and modern maps. It went up the canyon behind the Vista Ridge Tunnels where the Sunset Highway—also known as
U.S. Route 26 U.S. Route 26 (US 26) is an east–west United States highway that runs from Seaside, Oregon to Ogallala, Nebraska. When the U.S. highway system was first defined, it was limited to Nebraska and Wyoming; by the 1950s, it continued into Idaho and ...
—goes over Sylvan hill. Slightly west of Sylvan, an interchange with modern Canyon Road, also known as
Oregon Route 8 Oregon Route 8, also known as Oregon Highway 8, is an Oregon state highway which serves the western suburbs of Portland. The road is locally known as Canyon Road and Tualatin Valley Highway, and travels through the center of the Tualatin Valley ...
, continues southwest into Beaverton. Two blocks west of Cedar Hills Boulevard, at the junction with Hocken Road (), the contemporary road name changes to
Tualatin Valley Highway The Tualatin Valley Highway No. 29 (see Oregon highways and routes) is an Oregon highway which passes through the Tualatin Valley, between the cities of McMinnville and Beaverton. Between McMinnville and Forest Grove, the highway is signed as ...
("TV Highway", though the original plank road continued farther west. A plaque to commemorate the road was placed in the
South Park Blocks The South Park Blocks form a city park in downtown Portland, Oregon. ''The Oregonian'' has called it Portland's "extended family room", as Pioneer Courthouse Square is known as Portland's "living room". Twelve blocks in length, it is intersecte ...
by the Lang Syne Society in 1991.


See also

*
List of streets in Portland, Oregon Much of the U. S. city of Portland, Oregon is built to a grid plan oriented north/south and east/west. However, the streets in the central downtown area are aligned to magnetic north—presumably at the time the area was platted—and so is ori ...


References


External links

* {{coord, 45.504516, -122.747551, type:landmark_region:US-OR_source:googlemaps_scale:50000_elevation:210, name=Canyon Road (midpoint), display=title History of transportation in Oregon Streets in Portland, Oregon Transportation in Beaverton, Oregon Roads in Oregon Transportation in Washington County, Oregon 1851 establishments in Oregon Territory Plank road