Forest Grove

Images of America: Oregon

by Lisa Amato, Mary Jo Morelli, Friends of Historic Forest Grove

Forest Grove, one of the first settlements in the Oregon Territory, owes its name to its many varieties of trees. The first Euro-American settlers arrived in West Tualatin Plains in 1841 and were soon joined by other missionaries, including those fleeing the tragedy of the 1847 Whitman Massacre. Anticipating the inevitable emigrant migration, the missionaries hoped to teach the Native Americans about farming and religion. The rich soil and plentiful creeks made the area perfect for growing crops, and the abundant forests would provide a future lumber industry. Without any academic prospects, however, the area would not appeal to families. Two remarkable men, Rev. Harvey Clark and Rev. George Atkinson, and a feisty, lovable old woman named Tabitha Brown were determined to establish a school. Thanks to their combined efforts, an orphanage that began in a log cabin would grow into the prestigious institution of higher learning that exists today—Pacific University.

Genres: History

128 pages, Paperback

First published August 10, 2010

Reviews

[Jeanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting history of the Forest Grove town, which is close to me. I always like local history.

[Ken Bilderback · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mary Jo Morelli knows pretty much everything about Forest Grove history and she shares much of it here. The weaknesses in this book are not the authors' as much as it is the format of these Arcadia books, which rely too much on photos and brief cutlines and skimp on context and storyline.

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good picture book on Forest Grove. Images are interesting, would have liked to have some more text and substantial information on the actual history of the Grove, but since it is called "images" maybe that's asking a bit much...