Rhododendron 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 hav ...

Clackamas County Clackamas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the Native ...

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 Idah ...

, United States. It is located within the Mount Hood Corridor, between

Government Camp Government Camp is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, on the base of Mount Hood and north of Tom Dick and Harry Mountain. It is the only town within of Mount Hood and therefo ...

and

Zigzag A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular. In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...

on U.S. Route 26 (a.k.a. the

Mount Hood Scenic Byway Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

). It is one of the communities that make up the Villages at Mount Hood. A post office was established in the area in 1909 and named "Rowe" after Henry S. Rowe, a mayor of Portland, Oregon who was interested in developing the state's scenic attractions. In 1917 the office was renamed "Zig Zag" and shortly thereafter "Zigzag". (The name was later reused for the post office in the current community of Zigzag.) In 1920 the office was renamed "Rhododendron" because of the large number of

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nativ ...

s growing near there. The community started out as a summer resort colony, but with the increased popularity of

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ...

, it became a year-round settlement.

References

See also