Linnton is a

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 ...

neighborhood located between

Forest Park A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment. Examples Chile * Forest Park, Santiago China *Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai * Mufushan National Fores ...

and 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 ...

along U.S. Route 30 (NW St. Helens Rd.), close to the agricultural community of Sauvie Island. It borders the neighborhoods of Northwest Industrial on the south, St. Johns and Cathedral Park via the

St. Johns Bridge The St. Johns Bridge is a steel suspension bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States, between the Cathedral Park neighborhood in North Portland and the Linnton and Northwest Industrial neighborhoods in Northwest ...

across the Willamette on the east, and

(with which it overlaps substantially) on the west. The neighborhood extends north somewhat beyond Portland city limits into unincorporated Multnomah County, ending at the

Sauvie Island Bridge The Sauvie Island Bridge crosses the Multnomah Channel of the Willamette River near Portland, Oregon, United States. The original Parker truss bridge, built in 1950 with a main span, was replaced with a tied arch bridge with a span in 2008 due to ...

History

According to ''

Oregon Geographic Names ''Oregon Geographic Names'' is a compilation of the origin and meaning of place names in the U.S. state of Oregon, published by the Oregon Historical Society. The book was originally published in 1928. It was compiled and edited by Lewis A. McArth ...

'', the Town of Linnton was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...

ted in 1843 by

Peter Burnett Peter Hardeman Burnett (November 15, 1807May 17, 1895) was an American politician who served as the first elected Governor of California from December 20, 1849, to January 9, 1851. Burnett was elected Governor almost one year before California's ...

(later, the first governor of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

) and Morton M. McCarver. The two named the community for U.S. Senator

Lewis F. Linn Lewis Fields Linn (November 5, 1796October 3, 1843) was a physician and politician who represented his home state of Missouri in the United States Senate from 1833 to his death. Early life Linn was born near Louisville, Kentucky on November 5, 17 ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, a proponent of settling the

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, co ...

. Linnton had its own

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

from 1889–1975. Industrialization began in 1889 when the Portland Smelting Company started to build a smelting plant, followed by the Linnton Manufacturing Company starting in 1892. Columbia Engineering Works arrived in Linnton in 1910. Linnton was incorporated on October 5, 1910, after a vote on September 12. At that time it was a company town for Clark-Wilson and West Oregon lumber mills, and the Columbia Engineering Works shipyard. In 1913, the

Portland Gas & Coke Company NW Natural, formerly Northwest Natural Gas Company, is an American publicly traded utility headquartered in Portland, Oregon, United States. Primarily a natural gas distributor, the company services residential, commercial, and industrial customers ...

moved its manufacturing plant to the town's southern border large oil refiners began to purchase sites for shipping and storage. Linnton was soon annexed by Portland in 1915, bringing with it much of today's

. In 2006 there was talk of secession following a rejection by Portland Mayor

Tom Potter Thomas Jay Potter (born September 12, 1940) is a former American politician and law enforcement officer in the U.S. state of Oregon. He served as Mayor of Portland from 2005 to 2009, and had been the chief of the Portland Police Bureau. As mayor ...

and two other city council members of a waterfront revitalization plan over toxic industrial waste concerns. File:Linnton drawing 1909.jpeg, Sketch of Linnton from 1909 File:StJohnsBridge1.jpg, The St. Johns Bridge, as seen from Linnton File:Robert Rynerson Pacific Northwest transportation --- 0157 (23880865892).jpg, Linnton and the St. Johns Bridge in 1963

Parks

* Clark & Wilson Property – NW Germantown Rd. * Forest Park – NW 29th Ave. & NW Upshur St. to Newberry Rd. * Kingsley Park – NW St. Helens Rd. * Linnton Park – NW 105th Ave. & St. Helens Rd.

Popular culture

Walter W. Cole, known as

Darcelle XV Darcelle XV (November 16, 1930 – March 23, 2023) was the stage name of Walter Willard Cole, an American drag queen, entertainer, and cabaret owner and operator in Portland, Oregon. Guinness World Records had certified him as the oldest drag q ...

, is from Linnton. The train hopping scenes from the movie '' Paranoid Park'' (2007) were filmed around the NW 107th Ave grade crossing.

Leave No Trace (film) ''Leave No Trace'' is a 2018 American drama film directed by Debra Granik. The film is written by Granik and Anne Rosellini, based on Peter Rock's 2009 novel ''My Abandonment'', which is based on a true story. The plot follows a military veter ...

follows the real-life story of a father and daughter living above St. Helens Rd. in Forest Park, a part of Linnton.

References

External links

Linnton Neighborhood Association

(PortlandNeighborhood.com)

{{Portland neighborhoods 1843 establishments in Oregon Country 1915 disestablishments in Oregon Former cities in Oregon Neighborhoods in Portland, Oregon Northwest Portland, Oregon