eBeaverton

History of the people of Beaverton, Oregon – Francis Robinson: Beaverton’s First Doctor

Francis Marion Robinson graduated from Willamette University in 1885 with a degree in medicine, and started a practice in Beaverton. In 1887, Dr. Robinson had a Queen Anne-style, Victorian home built on Broadway. In 1893, he had a pharmacy built next to his residence. Today the former Robinson house and pharmacy have been combined and converted into the popular Beaverton Bakery.

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The Formation of Beaverton, Oregon

The original town charter in 1893 stated that the “…mayor and council shall receive no pay for their services… The indebtedness of said corporation shall never exceed the sum or $500, excepting for the purpose of supplying the town with water and light.”

The popularity of bicycling by the early 1900’s prompted the Beaverton City Council to create a special speeding ordinance: If a person or persons operated a bicycle at a speed of greater than eight mph the fine would not be less than $10 and not more than $50. If the violator couldn’t pay, he was looking at time in the town jail for not less than five days or not more than 30.

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History of Beaverton Transportation

Developing a system of roads became a priority in 1849, and by 1850 the Portland-Tualatin Valley Plank Road Company was chartered by the Territorial Legislature to build the Pacific Coast’s first plank roads. Plans called for the road to start in Portland and go out to Hillsboro along the wagon-beaten dirt trail called Canyon Road. Building came to a standstill when the company went bankrupt. Then in 1855 efforts were renewed. Public subscriptions were sold to raise money and a toll was charged for passage: from $1 to $5 for a wagon and team, with additional fees per head for loose livestock. By 1860, Canyon Road to Beaverton was complete, boosting the economic success of Beaverton farmers and merchants.

The appearance of the railroad in 1868 was a catalyst for the incorporation, or legal formation of the village of Beaverton, although it didn’t officially happen until 1893. The officers of the corporation were the mayor, four councilmen, a recorder, a treasurer and a marshal.

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Beaverton Historical Facts, The Allens

The busy intersection of SW Allen and Hall Blvd. is the location where early Beaverton resident Orrin S. Allen lived. Allen was said to be scholarly (a faithful reader of the New York Tribune) as well a carpenter and painter.

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History of the people of Beaverton, Oregon – The Denneys

Thomas Hicklin Denney was running a sawmill and grist mill near Concord, Indiana around 1848, when he met his cousin, Berrilla F. King. Encouraged by relatives who had made the trip out West, the cousins decided to travel together and make their way to Oregon. Before long, their relationship grew. Thomas Denney and Berrilla King were married on January 4, 1849. When they began their trip in early March, Berrilla was pregnant. Although the last half of the journey was fraught with frequent bad weather and scarce water, the trip across the Cascades was uneventful. Their first stop in Oregon Territory was Mills (Milwaukie). There they met Augustus Fanno, who told them about a fine section of land that adjoined his in the lush Tualatin Valley. Thomas thought it was a good piece of land, and by 1850, the Denney’s had moved into a three-room log house on their claim, near what is now Scholls Ferry Road and Hall Blvd.

Read more: History of the people of Beaverton, Oregon – The Denneys