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General - Tigard Historical Narrative s. ( ria y } The history of the City of Tigard is a curious one. While the evolution of the city followed a pattern somewhat similar to other cities in the county, i .e., 1 from pioneer settlement community, to village, to incorporation, it underwent an j exceptionally prolonged incubation period as a village before officially becoming a city in 1961 . The reasons for the relatively late incorporation of the City of Tigard remains something of a mystery. Some of the reasons are no doubt to be found in the evolution of this fanning community in the southeast j corner of the county. Wilson M. Tigard, for whom the city was named, arrived in the area in 1852, establishing his DLC near his brother's claim. The area at that time was known ' I as Butte, or East Butte (not to be confused with Butteville farther south) . The I origins of this name are unclear. W.M. Tigard soon evidenced a flair for lead- 1 ership, being one of the organizers of the East Butte school in 1853, a log building. The community also had sufficient souls for a church, and an Evangelical church as organized , meeting at the school . This use no doubt accounts for the new frame school built in 1869. The pioneer community continued without much further civic organization until 1880 when Charles F. Tigard, W.M.' s son, built the general store and meeting hall that became the center of the Butte community. Unlike similar commercial developments in the area, such as the general store in Tualatin, the Tigard store was not located on a major frontier roadway. As a consequence, it did not presage substantial future development at that site. The store and its meeting hall upstairs did serve several area fraternal groups, and as a polling place. In 1886 a post office was established at the C. F. Tigard store, and was given the name of Tigardville by C.F. Tigard in honor of his pioneer father. Thus the previous name for the locale , Butte or E. Butte, was superseded by the name of -2- Tigardville. However, as the name officially applied only to the post office, Butte continued in use for the area by locals. Tigardville was not much more than a commercial focal point for a farming community at this time. In the same year the Evangelical organization in Butte built a new church building, called the Emanuel Evangelical Church, at the foot of Bull mountain, south of the Tigard s to re. In the early 1890's the little community began to grow noticably. John Gaarde opened a blacksmith shop across the road from the Tigard store, and a new E. Butte school was built in 1896 to accommodate more pupils. The growth in the community was based in large part on the influx of many German settlers during the 1880' s and 90's. Many German families and individuals from the midwest, or direct from Europe settled here due to the rich small farmholds available in the area. The German population of the community does not seem to have been a fac- tor in its early identity , unlike the ethnic populations in Helvetia and Ve rboo rt. As with other such communities in Washington County, the real pivotal point in Tigard 's history was the arrival of the electric interurban commuter trains that radiated out of Portland in the first decades of the twentieth century. It was the anticipation of the arrival of rail service that caused both a geographic reorientation for Tigardville and a major increase in development. Between 1907 and 1910, several new commercial buildings were built along what was to become Main Street. The focus for the emerging village had moved northeast approxima- tely one mile to the new rail stop. In 1907 Germainia Hall was built, a two story frame building featuring a restaurant, a grocery store, a dance hall and -3- rooms to rent. Two other buildings, a shop and post office combination, and a livery stable were built all on the east side of the road between the rail line right-of-way and Burnam Street, although the livery stable was moved across the road later. In 1908 limited telephone service began in Tigardville. In 1910, the Oregon Electric Railroad began its daily service to Tigardville, and almost immediately the railroad shortened the name on its station to Tigard, in order to avoid confusion with Wilsonville, located to the south. As the village was not an incorporated city the change was by fiat of the OERR, and it held. There is no record of any effort to oppose the change, so it appears that it was not an issue to the locals. In 1911 the Tualatin Valley Electric company electrified the Tigard community, joining it to a service grid that included Sherwood and Tualatin . In 1912 William Ariss built a blacksmith shop on Main Street, a business that evolved over the years into a modern service station. The new Tigard was taking on the look of a typical small town, with dirt streets, board walks, and wood frame, false-fronted shops. (Main Street was not paved or provided with concrete walks until the late '30s) . In the same year, St. Anthony' s Catholic church built a new brick school to accommodate its growing student body. The parish had organized itself a few years earlier, and had recruited vigorously amongst the large German community, to the extent that German-language services were a feature of the parish. It is during this period that Tigard became something of an anomaly when com- pared to the histories of other Washington County cities. The commercial deve- lopment caused by rail service usually resulted in incorporation within a few years. This was not the case in Tigard , and the reasons for this are unclear. -4- It may well be that there simply was not the civic leadership in Tigard to push for incorporation. In other county cities, it was often a business-oriented outsider with a broader perspective that pushed for incorporation, or a highly entrepreneurial local individual . In any event, no such leadership was present during the period of Tigard's initial growth, nor was there any evident support amongst its citizens for incorporation. Tigard' s population in 1915 was approximately 300. The Southern Pacific's "Red Electric" had by then joined the O.E. in providing commuter rail service to Tigard, on a parallel right-of-way. A period account characterized Tigard as a rail stop surrounded by fruit, walnuts and truck gardens. Over the next dozen years Tigard expanded its business community. In 1916 the Tigard Lumber Co. was initiated by the Johnson family, a major business on Main Street based on the new rail line. The company's success was based in large part on new homes built in the Tigard area. Another new business was a mattress factory in 1923. In the same year, Tigard got its first newspaper, the Tigard Sentinel . Perhaps more important to Tigard' s history, Tigard was transected by the new 2-lane Capitol Highway. The auto had come of age, and Tigard' s commercial district was by- passed by the new highway. The Lone Oak Service station was the first highway- related business built on the route. In 1925, Tigard acquired its first bank , organized by prominent locals, a bank which never closed its doors during the Depression. Other new businesses opened on Main Street, a Union High School district was formed , and a commercial club was organized. It was this organiza- tion that seemed to contain the seeds of civic leadership, as a volunteer fire department was a high priority on its agenda. In 1927 a major development for Tigard occurred when the Johnson building, a 2-story structure housing a drug -5- store , coffee shop and post office was built north of the rail line. Johnson drained a swampy area, and built not only this building but an auto dealership and a garage. Prior to this time , the north side of the tracks was simply residential . By the early thirties the population had not grown much beyond the 300 of 1915 (328 in 1928) . The growth of the twenties slackened, and a major fire on Main prompted a prominent businessman, Mr. Schubering, (whose store the fire damaged) to advocate incorporation and real fire protection. Tigard was still relying on the Portland Fire Department at this time. One of the more interesting aspects of the Depression years was the presence of a "Hooverville" on the rail line near the Huntziker farm outside Tigard. This encampment remained throughout the war and after. In 1940, an overpass for the Capitol Highway was built just west of main street, resulting in the move of a few of the old commercial buildings on Main . Tigard' s history during the war and post-war years was quiet. It was primarily a small community on Portland' s southwest edge. The pressures toward and interest in incorporation apparently became irresistable, even for stolid Tigard, and at the surprisingly late date of 1961 , Tigard legally became a city. In the early 1960' s, Tigard' s population was c. 2,000; by 1970, it was 6,300, and today is 18,364! Clearly the last twenty years have in many ways overwhelmed and transformed Tigard beyond recognition from even its pre-World War II days. Future scholars will have much work in dealing with Tigard' s more recent past, and how it dealt with the rapid growth of the seventies and eighties. Li � w,ao ST Qr< o r ii r�}Li_I\` i QEEKe�l I II I � � •°f, I _ �I ��i� = CRY S LAKE I J1 V^ �/• °t a ,4=' �, nJ/ f nc.Eur — JJ II� Ll t TIGAR ' ^• ; o ti ytr �CAF K tf« C� �I �. .��"F• ��°``��' Ori i tom) l�l( \ <_ "° ..� g � s) � «iy I V�l,<�. o^ ,`�."• sT i O,P K® •.a sT \�� .7✓ F �.� •�• � D....a. < SCO 'po c.raa.=T. =I=� r -J / ^e �• z SCF G1 a.vc �M'� - _ 11 0, ...._a« f• 99 •�^• /- Emm000 ST <o W C`9'C 111. 90i .c cb CA r /� / _�.,.-_���-�._11(-�- C'� ..;:���.- = I:`f����E�t�? .,•;� ' � ;- . 111 �� TIGARD: Findings o In a September 16th, 1983 memorandum concerning LCDC Goal 5 analysis, the Tigard Planning Dept. staff presented a list of 8 cultural resources, including the city' s one National Register site, the Tigard House, that had been identified in a field study. After a preliminary windshield survey, the Museum project staff identified and surveyed an additional 7 resources. All 8 of the originally identified resources as well as the 7 newly surveyed resources rated as primary after the inventory evaluation. o Many of the cultural resources associated with the original development of the Tigard area have not survived the record growth of the city during recent years. Various improvements to the Pacific Highway have also contributed to the demise of the city' s resource base. Those resources that have survived include a mix of residential , educational and commercial buildings. The resource findings, listed by type, are: Buildings surveyed: 12 Structures surveyed: 2 After initial research and inventory evaluation: Inventory buildings: 15 ( incuding one National Register site, the Tigard House) o The City of Tigard has an adopted Cultural Resource Overlay District which addresses the management of significant historic resources. o Our thanks to the Tigard Planning Dept. for their allocation of staff time for typing the final inventory forms as well as providing for photographic supplies and development funds. CITY OF TIGARO NATIONAL REGISTER SITES: o John Tigard Nouse, c. 1880 Location: 10310 S.W. Canterbury Lane, Tigard County Survey and Inventory No.