Images of America

What is known as Ashland today was historically less of a destination than a crossroads. Native Americans had passed through the valley for centuries, often establishing small villages. Farmers in search of new lands followed the Applegate Trail, bringing their wagons through the area on their way north to the fertile Willamette Valley. Gold seekers, coming and going to California, or on their way to the nearby tent town called Table Rock City (Jacksonville), came through as well. A handful of men, though, some fresh from the California goldfields, sought a more stable way of making a living and decided that outfitting those afflicted with gold fever might prove more profitable. Over time, mills, a Chautauqua, a lithia water experiment, a railroad terminal, a college, and finally an award-winning Shakespeare festival with an eight-and-a-half-month season, coupled with numerous "best places to retire" articles, have culminated in Ashland becoming a destination in itself.

One of Portland's oldest neighborhoods, Goose Hollow is steps from downtown and beloved for its quirky character, historic homes, spectacular views, and walkability. Over a century ago, the actual "hollow" was dramatically altered when the meandering Tanner Creek, in a deep gulch with several trestle bridge crossings, was diverted underground and infilled. The creek's presence is still felt in the ravine carved through the Tualatin Mountains (spanned by the Vista Bridge) and in the neighborhood's identity. This book provides definitive answers to how Goose Hollow got its name and how Tanner Creek Gulch was filled. Stories are also told of the Great Plank Road, City Park's slow-moving landslide, and famous residents such as Daniel Lownsdale, C. E. S. Wood, Dr. Marie Equi, John Reed, and Bud Clark. Historic institutions such as Civic Stadium, Multnomah Athletic Club, Lincoln High School, and Washington Park are also featured.

In Portland's first decades, the northwest side remained dense forests. Native Americans camped and Chinese immigrants farmed around Guild's Lake. In the 1870s, Slabtown acquired its unusual name when a lumber mill opened on Northrup Street. The mill's discarded log edges were a cheap source of heating and cooking fuel. This slabwood was stacked in front of working-class homes of employees of a pottery, the docks, icehouses, slaughterhouses, and lumber mills. Development concentrated along streetcar lines. The early 20th century brought the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, manufacturing, shipbuilding, Montgomery Ward, and the Vaughn Street Ballpark. Today, Slabtown is a densely populated residential neighborhood, with many small shops and restaurants and an industrial area on its northern border. Tourists still arrive by streetcar to the charming Thurman, NW Twenty-first, and Twenty-third Avenues. Famous residents include author Ursula Le Guin, baseball greats Johnny Pesky and Mickey Lolich, NBA player Swede Halbrook, and Portland mayors Bud Clark and Vera Katz.

Once rolling countryside and bucolic dairy farmland, the area that became Multnomah Village was transformed when the Oregon Electric railroad line connecting Portland to Salem placed a station here in 1908 and brought Multnomah within 15 minutes of Portland's downtown core. The electric train opened the way for individual families to build the charming homes of their dreams. Over the next 20 years, as the rise of the automobile transformed transportation options, the village continued to grow and thrive, with its own post office, grocery stores, pharmacy, movie house, churches, school, and bank to meet the needs of those living nearby. The subsequent rise of shopping centers and large retail grocery chains led to a change in the character of the village, which was annexed piecemeal by the city of Portland beginning around 1950. The former village center is now an eclectic yet dynamic mix of shops, restaurants, and galleries tucked into the storefronts of a generation ago. The "bones" of the village as it was in the past remain visible.