Tryon Creek - History

History

Multnomah and Clackamas counties were named after groups of Native Americans who lived in the area before settlement by European Americans in the 19th century. Evidence suggests that people lived in the northern Oregon Cascades as early as 10,000 years ago. By 2,000 to 3,000 years ago, the Clackamas River basin, about 5 miles (8 km) upriver from the mouth of Tryon Creek and on the east side of the Willamette, was home to the Clackamas tribe. They were a subgroup of the Chinookan speakers who lived near the Columbia River from Celilo Falls to the Pacific Ocean. The Clackamas lands included the lower Willamette River from Willamette Falls at what became Oregon City to its confluence with the Columbia River. When Lewis and Clark visited the area in 1806, the Clackamas tribe consisted of about 1,800 people living in 11 villages. Epidemics of smallpox, malaria, and measles reduced this population to 88 by 1851, and in 1855 the tribe signed a treaty surrendering its lands. Another group of Chinookans, the Multnomahs, lived on Sauvie Island, about 17 miles (27 km) downriver from the mouth of Tryon Creek. Lewis and Clark estimated that 800 Multnomahs inhabited 5 villages on the island in 1806, but disease reduced them later in the century to near extinction.

In 1850, Socrates Hotchkiss Tryon, Sr., a pioneer settler of European descent, established a donation land claim at the south end of Tryon Creek canyon. Five years later, he died, leaving the land to his wife, Frances. The land then passed to other relatives, including Socrates Tryon, Jr., who sold the 645 acres (261 ha) in 1874 to the Oregon Iron Company. For nearly 25 years, the company cut virgin cedar and fir to use in its foundry in Lake Oswego. Its logging road later became Old Iron Mountain Trail in the Tryon Creek State Natural Area. In 1900, fire in the upper canyon left charred snags still visible along the natural area's Center and Big Fir trails.

Logging resumed in 1912 in the north part of the canyon, where The Boone's Ferry Wood and Tie Company had a site near what became Alfred Street. A sawmill and steam donkey engine operated near the future sites of Beaver Bridge and Obie's Bridge. The lumber was used chiefly for railroad ties, cordwood and flagpoles, and left huge cedar stumps that remain in the park. Intermittent logging continued through 1961, and a 1962 windstorm known as the Columbus Day Storm blew down many remaining trees.

Local efforts began in the 1950s to establish a park along the creek, In 1969, the government of Multnomah County bought 45 acres (18 ha) to start a large regional park and sought citizen assistance with the project. This led to formation of Friends of Tryon Creek Park, which raised funds, helped arrange land deals, worked on problems of jurisdiction in a two-county, two-city park, and sought help from the state. In 1970, Oregon Governor Tom McCall announced the formation of Tryon Creek State Park.

Over the next few years, the state bought more than 600 acres (240 ha) of land for nearly $3 million, including federal matching funds. The Friends and the state collaborated in park planning and further fund-raising. In 1973, more than 300 volunteers built trails, and the nature center and shelter were finished by 1975. The park was officially dedicated on July 1, 1975 and later renamed Tryon Creek State Natural Area.