Helvetia is a small

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 ...

Washington County, Oregon Washington County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon and part of the Portland metropolitan area. The 2020 census recorded the population as 600,372, making it the second most populous county in the state and most populous "Wash ...

. It is located in 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, ...

along

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 ...

, 15 minutes west of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. It was named by

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

immigrants to

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

in the 19th century. Notable features are the church, cemetery, the Rice Mineral Museum, Helvetia Vineyards and Winery, which is co-owned by former U.S. Congresswoman

Elizabeth Furse Elizabeth Furse (October 13, 1936 – April 18, 2021) was a Kenya Colony-born American small business owner and former faculty member of Portland State University. She was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 1999 ...

, Roloff Farms, and the Helvetia Tavern. The

reality television series Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

Little People, Big World ''Little People, Big World'' is an American reality television series that premiered on March 4, 2006, and airs on TLC (TV network), TLC. The series chronicles the lives of the six-member Roloff family farm near Portland, Oregon. Many of the epi ...

'' is set on Roloff Farms in Helvetia, making the location a popular tourist attraction. The Helvetia area is only a few miles from both the Intel and Nike headquarters campuses. It consists of heritage farms and million dollar estate properties. The area is part of

Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue (TVF&R) is a special-purpose government fire fighting and emergency services district in the Portland metropolitan area of Oregon. Established in 1989 with a merger between Washington County Fire District 1 and the Tu ...

's service area. The Holcomb Creek Trestle, the longest wooden railroad bridge currently in use in the United States, is located in the Helvetia area.

References

External links

* Swiss-American history Unincorporated communities in Washington County, Oregon Unincorporated communities in Oregon {{WashingtonCountyOR-geo-stub