unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in
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 na ...
,
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
, United States. It is located about seven miles south of
Oregon City
Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 ...
, on
Oregon Route 213
Oregon Route 213 (OR 213) is an Oregon state highway that serves the eastern Willamette Valley between Portland and Salem. It is a north–south route. The route (except for its southernmost segment) is known as the Cascade Highway, tho ...
.
Carus had a post office from 1887 to 1907. The name may have come from a misreading of the name "Carns" on the application to the
Post Office Department
The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, established in 1792. From 1872 to 1971, it was officially in the form of a Cabinet departme ...
. It is unknown whether it was to be named for a place in another state or for a local family. The Fred Vonder Ahe House, now located in Molalla, served as the post office when it first opened. David Hunter was the first postmaster.
In 1915 the community had two
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
s, a daily
stagecoach
A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...
to Oregon City and a twice-daily stagecoach to Canby. As of 1990 there was a school and a church. Carus Elementary School is part of the
Canby School District
Canby School District is an public school district based in Canby, Oregon, United States, and serving students in Canby and the surrounding rural area of Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas County, including the community of Carus, Oregon, Car ...