State of Oregon - Washington
County
Washington County, bounded north by
Columbia and Multnomah, east by Multnomah and Clackamas,
south by Yamhill, and west by the Coast Range,
separating it from Tillamook and Columbia. Area, 2,314
square miles. Assessed valuation of property for 1874,
$l,500,000.
County seat, Hillsboro. Principal towns, Cornelius,
Centerville, Forest Grove, Gaston and Tualatin. The
Willamette runs with many curves along the eastern
boundary, and the Tualatin, a navigable stream formed by
numerous branches rising in the Coast Range, flows
through the center of the county.
Washington is distinguished for the beauty of its
scenery, the fertility of soil, its inexhaustible beds
of iron ore, the pleasant alternation of prairie and
park-like groves of timber, its convenient access by
land and water, and the general advancement of society.
The Tualatin Plains are in this County, exceedingly
fertile, and well adapted to the production of grain,
fruit, and vegetables. These plains are from a few acres
to several hundred in extent, sometimes two or three
thousand, the open field and woodland alternating
frequently. The groves are usually of tall evergreens,
so beautifully arrayed, and the ground so open and neat,
that they seem as if planted and arranged for the
ornamentation of age and series of pleasure grounds.
The Tualatin River is navigable for some distance, thus
giving cheap transportation to the farmer's produce. Two
important scholastic institutions are established in the
County, the Pacific University at Forest Grove, and the
Tualatin Academy.
The county is now crossed by the Oregon Central Railroad
passing through its center, giving rapid and easy
communication, and another from Salem, or Portland, is
projected to Astoria, which will also pass through
Washington.
Officers; A. C. Archbold, County Judge;
A. Snelling, Clerk, Recorder, and Auditor; H. Y.
Thompson, District Attorney; C. T. Tozier, Sheriff and
Tax Collector; W. Simmons, Treasurer; J. A. Flippin,
Assessor; J. Withycomb, Surveyor; G. T. Ledford,
Coroner; D. M. C. Gault, Superintendent Public Schools.
Pacific Coast Business Directory
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Oregon Territory Index
Oregon Directory and Gazetteer
Source: Pacific Coast Business
Directory for 1876-78, Compiled by Henry G. Langley, San
Francisco, 1875.
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