Everything about Canyon Road totally explained
Canyon Road (
Great Plank Road at inception) is a
road connecting
Beaverton and
Portland, Oregon,
United States. It was the first road between the
Tualatin Valley and Portland and contributed significantly to Portland becoming the area's major
deep water port, and subsequent early growth of the city.
Background
By 1851 a dirt, and often muddy, road had been completed between Portland and the Tualatin Valley following the canyon of Tanner Creek on the eastside of the Tualatin Mountains. A
plank road was suggested by Portland entrepreneur and proprietor
Daniel H. Lownsdale as a means to transport abundant Tualatin Valley farm grains and produce to
California Gold Rush-inflated markets in
San Francisco, California. Col.
William Williams Chapman, another proprietor, expended considerable time and expense providing the basics for fledgling Portland to counter competition by other upstart towns and
Hudson's Bay Company. His contributions include founding
The Oregonian, enlarging Portland's platt, improving the city's streets, and ushering construction of Canyon Road. A number of other entrepreneurs and businessmen invested in Portland also contributed to making it the prime seaport of the region, including persuading others to join them, removing water obstructions, and importing goods from Asia and beyond. The Portland & Valley Plank Road Company was formed and sold stock to finance the planking in 1851, with area residents such as
John S. Griffin purchasing stock.
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The ratification and ceremonial first plank was laid at a ceremony in October 1851. The road was completed in 1856, though never completely planked, it was favored by farmers of
Polk,
Yamhill, and
Washington counties since it saved between three and ten miles travel to the next nearest ports at St. Johns and St. Helens, but on a rough muddy road through deep woods.
Route
The historic route is almost completely paved over by modern roads. Beginning at
Goose Hollow near where the
Vista Bridge is now, Jefferson Street transitions into Canyon Road, both in street signs and modern maps. It went up the canyon behind the
Vista Ridge Tunnels where the
Sunset Highway—also known as
U.S. Route 26—goes over Sylvan hill. Part way up the hill, the road in front of the
Oregon Zoo is named
Canyon Road, so perhaps the road zigzagged to ascend the grade. Slightly west of Sylvan, an interchange with modern Canyon Road, also known as
Oregon Route 8, continues southwest into Beaverton. At the junction with Hocken Road two blocks west of Cedar Hills Boulevard, the contemporary road name changes to
Tualatin Valley Highway ("TV Highway"), though it's likely Canyon Road continued further west originally.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Canyon Road'.
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