Canyon Road

Canyon Road (Great Plank Road at inception [ cite web
url = http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=36416&a=65584
title = Great Plank Road
publisher = City of Portland
work = Portland Transportation → Inside PDOT → Transportation History
accessdate = 2007-11-20 ] ) 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. [ cite web
url = http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm?doc_ID=000AA3B1-3458-1E6E-891B80B0527200A7
title = Rival Townsites in the Portland Region, 1825-1850
publisher = Oregon Historical Society
author = Trude Flores
coauthors = Sarah Griffith
date = 2002 ]

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 east side of the Tualatin Mountains.Buan, Carolyn M. "This Far-Off Sunset Land: A Pictorial History of Washington County, Oregon". Donning Company Publishers, 1999.] A plank road was suggested by Portland entrepreneur and proprietor Daniel H. Lownsdale as a means to transport abundant Tualatin Valley farm produce and grains to California Gold Rush-inflated markets in San Francisco, California. [ cite web
url = http://www.accessgenealogy.com/oregon/multnomah/daniel-lownsdale.htm
title = Daniel H. Lownsdale
publisher = Access Genealogy.com
accessdate = 2007-11-20 ] 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. cite web
url = http://books.google.com/books?id=UsKKpvOVRRUC&pg=PA475&vq=Canyon+Road&dq=daniel+lownsdale
title = History of Portland, Oregon
author = Harvey Whitefield Scott
date = 1890
publisher = D. Mason & Co
pages = 475
accessdate = 2007-11-20
location = Syracuse, New York ] 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 river 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.

Quote box
width=200px
align=right
quote= This is the commencement of an era of commercial prosperity which will continue to increase until the iron horse takes the place of the plank road.
source="—Mr. Tilford, orator at Canyon Road's laying of first plank." Scott, p. 112 ] 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 is likely Canyon Road continued further west originally.

References