Latourell, Oregon

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Latourell, Oregon
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pushpin_map_caption =Location within the state of Oregon
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subdivision_type = County
subdivision_name = Multnomah County
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timezone = Pacific
utc_offset = -8
timezone_DST = Pacific
utc_offset_DST = -7
latd=45 |latm=32 |lats=25.98 |latNS=N
longd=122 |longm=13 |longs=1.34 |longEW= W
elevation_m = 43
elevation_ft = 140
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Latourell is an unincorporated area, formerly a town, located in Multnomah County, Oregon, United States, on the Historic Columbia River Highway about eight miles (13 km) east of Troutdale and 5.5 miles (9 km) east of Multnomah Falls. Compared to its peak in the 1880s, it is now virtually a ghost town.

History

The town is named for Joseph "Frenchy" Latourell who immigrated to Oregon in the 1850s. Latourell owned a mercantile, a fish wheel, and was a boatman on the Columbia River. He was the local postmaster in 1887.

The Latourells had eight children and were known to Portlanders who visited by steamboat to sing, dance, dine and listen while the family played musical instruments.

At its height, Latourell was a working timber town and had five saloons and a well-known brass band. Large scale commercial logging did not arrive until the 1880s. Before that, many Columbia River Gorge residents cut and delivered cordwood to Columbia River steamships.

Guy W. Talbot State Park is here, along with a few residential houses. Latourell Falls, part of Guy W. Talbot State Park, is close by up the hill, and is almost certainly named after the town.

References

* Information sign at Guy W. Talbot State Park