Indigenous peoples have lived in the Willamette Valley for about 10,000 years.  The north end, which includes the Tualatin Valley, is the homeland of the Kalapuya family and  subgroup Atfalati,  semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers who maintained permanent and temporary villages. One of the settlements was called Chakeipi, “the place of the beaver.”  Beaverton is the modern-day location.

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The road to Beaverton's incorporation began with the 1840s westward migration.  Newcomers had no use for beaver-engineered bodies of water and drained them to establish farms on fertile beaverdam land that  produced wheat, fruit, lumber, onions, and horseradish.  This was the foundation for our city,  an important trade and transportation terminal that began with the establishment of an 1871  rail line. Beaverton incorporated in 1893, population 250. 

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Agriculture continued to power the economy for several decades.  Swiss, German, Irish, and Italian immigrants arrived from the mid-West, East Coast, and Europe, established dairy and vegetable farms, as well as logging/lumbering operations.   The hamlet grew, adding medical and professional services,  banks, mercantiles, saloons, schools, churches, and a newspaper.   

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By the 1910s and 1920s, the pastoral town continued to expand:  electrified rail service had arrived, providing fast, clean commuter travel; owning a car became a reality for the everyday worker; the Great Plank Road ( SW Canyon Road) was paved and re-graded, reducing travel time from Portland, eight miles distant.  The “City of Homes” evolved into a developed bedroom community.  Population increased from 580 in 1920 to 863 by 1930.  The Great Depression saw a drop in population and private construction projects that picked up by the mid-1940s.

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Beaverton and Oregon changed significantly between 1945-1960.  The years after World War II profoundly altered the economic and social order as military personnel and shipyard workers from Portland remained.  Completion of U.S. Highway 26 (Sunset Highway) on the city's northern boundary fostered a shopping center and major residential expansion.  Open farmlands gave way to a built-up environment of industrial parks, private housing developments, and the start of the Silicon Forest. Population zoomed to about 6,000.

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Technology, apparel manufacturers, fresh food processors and distributors, electronics, and manufacturing are central to the area's vitality.  Agriculture, once the Tualatin Valley's dominant industry, remains an important component even as the economy diversifies.

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Beaverton's 2023 population is 99,800, the 7th largest city in Oregon and 2nd largest in Washington County. As a history association, we are proud of Beaverton's Past and excited about the potential in our future.