Laurel 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 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 ...

, United States. Settled in 1872, the community is located between Hillsboro and Newberg, in the southern portion of 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, ...

in the foothills of the

Chehalem Mountains The Chehalem Mountains are a mountain range located in the Willamette Valley in the U.S. state of Oregon. Forming the southern boundary of the Tualatin Valley, the Chehalems are the highest mountains in the Willamette Valley. The range extends fr ...

. The community retains its agricultural heritage. Laurel is served by the

Hillsboro School District The Hillsboro School District 1J is a unified school district located in Hillsboro, Oregon, Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. The district operates 26 elementary schools, four middle schools, and four high schools. Founded in 1851, the school di ...

and includes the century-old Laurel Valley Store building, which is in the process of being turned into a restaurant. As an unincorporated community, Laurel has no defined boundaries or population statistics of its own.

History

When Euro-American settlers came to what is now Washington County, the area was inhabited by the

Atfalati The Atfalati , also known as the Tualatin or Wapato Lake IndiansRobert H. Ruby, John A. Brown & Cary C. Collins, Atfalati, in ''A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest'' (3d ed. 2010, University of Oklahoma Press) are a tribe of the ...

Native American group. Smallpox epidemics struck the Atfalati and by the mid-1830s, only 10 percent of the tribe was left. An 1855 government treaty removed the remaining Atfalati to the

Grand Ronde Indian Reservation The Grand Ronde Community is an Indian reservation located on several non-contiguous sections of land in southwestern Yamhill County and northwestern Polk County, Oregon, United States, about east of Lincoln City, near the community of Grand Ro ...

, where there are still about 20 individuals who identify themselves as Atfalati. In 1872, the Mulloy family settled the area that is now Laurel.Mulloy, E.C. "Laurel receives post office in 1879 after long wait". ''

Hillsboro Argus ''The Hillsboro Argus'' was a twice-weekly newspaper in the city of Hillsboro, Oregon, from 1894 to 2017, known as the ''Washington County Argus'' for its final year. The ''Argus'' was distributed in Washington County, Oregon, United States. First ...

'', October 19, 1976, Communities, p. 12. Laurel received its name in the spring of 1879 when a number of citizens in the surrounding area met at the Union Schoolhouse, which was located a quarter mile east of the crossroads, to petition for a post office. C. W. Williams, who then lived on what was later the Mainland place, suggested the name of Laurel and there being many trees in the vicinity that they thought were Laurel trees, the name seemed appropriate and was accepted. (Later it was discovered that those were Madrone trees and not Laurel trees.) In May 1879, the Laurel

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 ...

was established with Alfred Mulloy, Sr. as postmaster. Mail was delivered once per week until 1881 when deliveries increased to twice per week. The population was 150 people in 1880, but dropped to 29 in the 1900 census. The post office was closed in 1935. The Laurel Valley Store was opened in 1893 by Gus, Maud, and Jacob Messinger. In 1913 Ewell and Ella Turner purchased the store and in 1913 moved the store building and attached residence a short distance South and erected the present Laurel store building with residence attached.Gardner, Fran. Laurel Valley Store has survived nearly a Century. ''

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 ...

'', August 1, 1991. The last manager of the store was Hyun Chung Lee who in 2017 sold the store to Sean and Quin Denfeld. Renovation work is currently in progress. On June 14, 1856 the Laurel School District became the third elementary district formed in Washington County. The first building, a small

one-room school One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...

house was built in 1858 and was located north of the Laurel intersection. In 1881 the present location was chosen for a new building and in 1925 the current building was built with an addition made in 1952. In 1962 voters of Laurel and Farmington View voted to consolidate the districts and Laurel's students were moved to Farmington. Seventh and eighth graders went to a junior high school in Hillsboro. Laurel School was made into apartments. A telephone line was extended to Laurel in 1904 from Hillsboro with four customers. The population grew to 50 residents in 1910. In 1923, Laurel Community Hall was constructed for about $5,000. The purpose of the hall was "to promote sociability and friendship amongst its members and all people of the community." Finis Brown was the founder. The hall was dedicated on February 2, 1924; the mortgage was paid off in 1928. 400 people came to one of the fund raising chicken dinners and they paid $1.00 each. The hall has been used as a school gym, dance hall, Farmers Union meeting site, school Christmas programs and graduations, family gatherings, and is now the location of the Laurel Valley School of Dance.

Churches

In 1876, community members started a congregation at Mountain Top with W.C. Kantner as preacher.Felton, Charles. "Evangelical mission work started Laurel Church in early 1870s". ''

'', October 19, 1976, Schools and Churches, p. 6. A

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

church was also started that year by the Brown, Steventon, Shamly, and Messinger families. The Mulloy family donated to the church in 1878 for a chapel and cemetery, and a church was built and named the Mount Olive Baptist Church during the summer. The cemetery was laid out in 1880. Laurel, Oregon church

Laurel Church had its beginnings around 1888 when J.M. Beaumont, an

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

preacher, started preaching at the Baptist church. In 1892, the church was transferred to the Hillsboro mission of the church from the Newberg mission. In 1897, Rosilla and George Hathorn donated land and a new church was built, named Bethany United Evangelical Church. In 1800, the United Brethren Church was organized by Phillip Otterbein, with the churches merging in 1946. In 1947, Lester Moore began as the church's first full-time pastor. On September 22, 1948, the original church building burned down. A new structure was erected, and a dedication ceremony was held on January 29, 1950. In 1960, a new parsonage was added, followed by an expansion started in 1974. The multi-purpose building where services are now held was dedicated in 1997.

Present

The community has several agricultural farms and

plant nurseries A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general p ...

, although most of its residents commute to

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 ...

, Hillsboro, or Beaverton for work. The Laurel Valley School of Dance has provided dance lessons in the Laurel Hall for over 30 years. The old school building has been turned into the Laurel Apartments. Children attend schools in the

, with Farmington View serving as the elementary school. Fire protection services are provided by

Washington County Fire District 2 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 ...

. The two main cross streets in Laurel are SW Laurel Road, and SW Campbell Road. These used to be Laurel Road North, Laurel Road South, Laurel Road East, and Laurel Road West. These were changed to their present name when the county got rid of the old route/box number of addresses and implemented the present street address system, which is more common in the western United States. Laurel is located along the Washington County Scenic Loop. At the northwest corner of the main intersection in Laurel is the largest contiguous walnut

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

in Oregon's Washington County. Laurel Valley Store is located at the same intersection and has been in operation since 1893. The current two-story building was constructed in 1913.

References

External links

*http://www.laurelchurch.com *http://www.laurelgathering.com * {{Authority control Populated places established in the 1870s Unincorporated communities in Washington County, Oregon 1879 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1879 Unincorporated communities in Oregon