Tigard History Articles From Tl* gardvl'* lle to Tl* gar
Wilson Tigard arrived in the Ore- a
gon Territory from Fort Smith, Arkan-
sas in 1852, after a six-month journey
and a battle with cholera. He called his
wagons to a halt in the Willamette Val-
ley, near the present town of Milwau-
kie, but he didn't stay long.
Wilson ventured over to the Tuala-
tin River, looking for a place to settle
which would be free from `fevers and
ague.'When he reached the present Ti-
gard area,he met with five families who
already were living here. The local
folks, anxious for enough settlers to
build a schoolhouse, persuaded Wilson a
to stay- 1 i r8
1
Thus the Tigard family—including
Wilson, his bride, his mother, his sister z l
and brothers, and assorted nieces and
nephews—found a permanent home.
Folks in the area were impressed with
Wilson, largely because he owned two Restoration of the John Tigard House by the Tigard Area Historical and
rare Spanish cows worth $50.00 apiece. Preservation Association is currently under way.
Perhaps that's why Tigard is called Ti-
gard instead of Richardson or ter of the old community. The store and operated one of the town's land-
Graham—one of the earlier settlers' became a branch post office in 1886. marks and gathering places for more
names. Over the years, the name of the than 40 years. The O'Mara family set-
community changed from East Butte to tled into local prominence,with Loyola
It wasn't long before Wilson and his O'Mara becoming Superintendent of
neighbors had raised a to schoolhouse Tigardville to Tigard.The latter change the Washington County Road Depart-
and had hired a teacher for $20.00 per when railroad passengers continued to
month. The Tigards alone had I I chit- confuse Tigardville with Wilsonville,
dren, all of whom were well !-nown in anethcr stop just down the line. I'he Schamoni family was response
the local area. John, the oldest, started ble for building much of the present
the first coach route between Tigard The railroad completed in 1907 downtown Tigard. In 1907, William
and Portland, and was also one of the brought a more significant change. Schamoni opened the first building in
first people in the area to be killed in With the opening of the Oregon Elec- the new downtown, Germania Hall.
an automobile accident. tric service, the city shifted its center The main floor of the building (part of
from Pacific Highway and McDonald which still stands just east of the rail-
Charles F. Tigard, seventh child of Street to the present downtown area road tracks) was restaurant, grocery
Wison, became the most prominent Ti- surrounding Main Street. store and living quarters for the family,
gard and his name is applied to a num- while the upper floor was used as a
ber of things in the community today. From that point on, progress was hotel and dance hail. The Schamonis
Picking up his father's interest in poli- rapid. Tigard already had organized its also built a livery stable at SW Main
tics, Charles was elected to his first first church in 1867. John Gaarde had and Burnham, and operated the first
term in the Oregon State legislature in opened the first blacksmith shop in downtown post office in the building
1885. For years he registered voters in 1893.The first local telephone was con- Which currently houses L'Ecurie Res-
the Tigard area, serving as local pre- nected in the Tigardville Store in 1901, taurant.
cinct committeeman and offering his and by 1911 Tigard was ready to be
place of business as a polling place. connected to electricity and telegraph At a certain point, however, Ti-
wires. gard's growth slowed, and the commu-
nity proceeded with life at a slow, rural
Charles went on to become the Tigard's turn-of-the-century resi- pace. That was until about 1960, when
president of the first local bank, the dents built the foundation of today's urbanization hit Tigard, causing the
Bank of Tigard. He opened the area's city. The McDonald family, whose community to burst its rural seams and
first general store at SW Pacific High- name is applied to McDonald Street, triple its population in the next 20
way and McDonald Street, in the cen- bought the Tigardville store in 1909 years.
2
r
History of T
The following is an except from "A family of 11 children was born to Mr. and
the book Tigardville by Mary Payne. Mrs. Tigard, five of whom still survive--John „a
W., Charles F., and H. Butler, of Tigard;
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were the early pioneers for Dr. C.S. of Portland, and Mrs. Fannie K. Smith
whom the City of Tigard was named. It was of Los Angeles (ALL ARE NOW DECEASED).
originally called Tigardville but was shortened The faith of these pioneers has been justified, for
some time after 1910 when the railroad came the country grew and prospered, and was
through. When the conductor called the stations, gradually settled.
passengers would confuse Tigardville with
Wilsonville which was also on the rail line. "The forests gave way to farms, and after the
coming of the railroad and highway, the farms,
The following is a history of the first Tigards in in many cases, giving way to gardens and ®`
the area. It is taken from the first issue of the suburban tracts. This region undoubtedly has a '
Tigard Sentinel, August 1, 1924: great future, and the present generation of
citizens must develop its resources and build its
"Wilson M.Tigard arrived in Milwaukie,Oregon institutions.
in December, 1852--after more than six months'
journey from Arkansas. He then came on to the "On a sloping knoll on the place now owned by
famous Tualatin Plains to find a location. When Dr. C.E. Jonesnow Ri le s Furniture Store)
Jones (now fit ,
P Y „ra�rrl i „,i � �
he arrived here was already settled George which is on of the most beautiful places in theip
Richardson, his brother, Solomon, David Tualatin Valley, stands the mighty maple trees
Graham, William W. Graham and John L. which were planted b Mr.Tigard in 1861. This '
Hicklin. is a living monument to him and his work and
stands as a symbol of their industry, vision and
"Their greatest need seemed to be more settlers, growth.
so that a school could be established, and they
prevailed upon Mr. Tigard to stay there for that Mr. Tigard died August 13, 1886 and
reason. He liked the location, and had an Mrs. Tigard died February 6, 1900.
abiding faith in the future of the section which
he had chosen for a home. Here he found game
in abundance, a great wealth of timber, and a The John Tigard House — Restoration by the Ti-
very productive soil with good natural drainage. gard Area Historical and Preservation Association.
The climate was very healthy, being free from
fevers and ague, such as he had left behind in
his native state.
NOTES FOR MAYOR'S 25TH BIRTHDAY PARTY SPEECH
o Tigard Sanitary District established at election on 12/0/55. 121 vote for,
42 against.
o City of Tigard proposed incorporation elections:
6/10/58 - Failed by 2 vote margin
10/20/58 - Failed
0/11/61 - Passed - 240 Yen, 230 No
o 11/6/62 Election
City Charter Adopted - 456 Yeo' 175 No
Established $15,000 Tax Base - 388 Yes, 257 No
o First Mayor and Council
Elton Phillips - Mayor
Edward Woodard, James Aiken, Karl Hanneman, & Earl Reid - Councilors
o Other Firsts:
City Attorney, Fred Anderson
City Superintendent, Chareo Janue
City Clerk (Recorder), Pearl Brandon
Municipal Judge, Ralph Symons
Chief of Police, Charles Janoe
o Miscellaneous Stats:
o Population: 1062-1804; 1970-6300; 1076-10,228; 1080-14,865;
1086-22'000 approx.
o Assessed Value: 1062-8.4 mill. ; 1076-218.5 mill; 1985-86-025. 1 mill
o Employees - 1970-53 employees; 1981-80.25 employees; 1986-86 empl.
o NP&' o began in early 1070'y and Tigard was one of the first cities in
the nation to blaze the trail for enhanced citizen involvement
programs. Now wanting to expand organization to encompass more than
land use.
o Doris (Hunziker) Hartig is the longest serving employee today - she
was hired on 1/3/64
o Old Library used to be Warner' s Cold Storage
o Mr. Johnson' s Feed and Sued was the train depoe.
o Her8mann` u Restaurant was the Texas Cafe when St. Anthony ' s church
was on 00W next to St. Anthony' s School.
u Karl' s Florist on Main Street was Tigard' o first florist shop.
u Luny Mayerniok got center turnlanu on 99W in mid-70' s
u Old area names : Carl Sandburg, Hunzikur' Tigard, Metzger, Hriou, Warner'
Gaarde, Anderson, Buchholz, Bishop, Sohechla, Amsted, Bechtold, Ems, Cook,
Brazil, Giro6, Jack' s, Sattler.
How did our city get its name?
Our city was initially called East Butte when the first immigrant arrived in 1847. Later,
the name was changed to Tigardville, in honor of Wilson Tigard who located here in
1852. Around 1892 the name of our city was shortened to Tigard, to avoid confusion
with other neighboring cities such as Wilsonville.
Who are some famous people in Tigard's history?
Wilson Tigard, for whom our city is named, arrived in Tigard with his family after a six-
month wagon train journey from Arkansas. Wilson quickly became an influential
member of the community and helped to build the first school house in Tigard. Wilson
had 11 children, many who were also prominent citizens in Tigard. The oldest son John
started the first coach route between Tigard and Portland. The seventh son, Charles,
became involved in politics and was elected to the Oregon State Legislature. He later
became the president of the first local bank and opened Tigard's first general store and
meeting hall.
The first blacksmith shop was opened in 1893 by John Gaarde. The Schamoni family
built many of the buildings along Main Street in downtown Tigard. Other notable early
Tigard families included the McDonalds and the O'Maras.
Are there any famous Tigard buildings?
Probably the most noteworthy historic building is the John Tigard House, listed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The house was built in 1830 by Wilson
Tigard's oldest son at the time of his marriage. In the late 1980s the Tigard Area
Historical and Preservation Association worked to renovate and restore the house to its
original condition. The house was subsequently moved from Highway 99W to its
current location at 103d and Canterbury lane.
Sources for more information:
Tigard Area Historical and Preservation Association, owners of the John Tigard House,
639-2857
Book called Tigardville by Mary Payne