According to Oregon Geographic Names, Beaverton's name is derived from the settlement's proximity to a large body of water resulting from beaver dams.
The area of Tualatin Valley that became Beaverton was originally the home of a Native American tribe known as the Atfalati, which settlers mispronounced as Tualatin. The Atfalati population dwindled in the latter part of the 18th century, and the prosperous tribe was no longer dominant in the area by the 19th century when settlers arrived. The tribe named their village Chakeipi, which translates to "place of the beaver",[12] which early settlers referred to as "Beaverdam."
Early settlers include the Hall Family from Kentucky, the Denneys who lived on their claim near present-day Scholls Ferry Road and Hall Blvd, and Orin S. Allen, from western New York.[12] Lawrence Hall purchased 640 acres (2.6 km2) in Beaverdam in 1847 and built a grist mill with his brother near present-day Walker Road.[12] His was the first land claim in the area. He was soon followed by Thomas Denney in 1848, who came to the area and built its first sawmill. In 1860, a toll plank road from Portland to Beaverton was completed over a trail called Canyon Road.[12]
After the American Civil War, numerous other settlers, including Joshua Welch, George Betts, Charles Angel, W. P. Watson, and John Henry, laid out what is now known as Beaverton hoping they could bring a railroad to an area once described as, "mostly swamps & marshes connected by beaver dams to create what looked like a huge lake." In 1872, Beaverton's first post office opened in a general store operated by Betts, who also served as the first postmaster of the community. Betts Street, where the current post office now stands, is named in honor of him. In 1893, Beaverton, which by that time had a population of 400, was officially incorporated. Alonzo Cady, a local businessman, served as the first mayor. Many major roads in Beaverton are named for these early settlers.
20th century
Aerial view of Beaverton in the 1950s
Beaverton was an early home to automobile dealerships. A Ford Motor Company dealership was established there in 1915; it was purchased by Guy Carr in 1923 and over the years Carr expanded it into several locations throughout Beaverton. There are still several dealerships near the intersection of Walker and Canyon Roads.
Beaverton Depot for Oregon Electric Railway, c. 1911
In the early 1920s, Beaverton was home to Premium Picture Productions, a movie studio which produced about fifteen films. The studio site was later converted into Watt's Field and associated aircraft manufacturing facilities. A second Beaverton airport, Bernard's Airport, was later developed farther north, at the present location of the Cedar Hills Crossing mall.
The town's first library opened in 1925. Originally on the second floor of the Cady building, it has been moved repeatedly; in 2000 it was moved to its current location on Hall Boulevard and 5th Street. A branch location was opened for the first time in June 2010, when the Murray-Scholls location opened near the Murrayhill neighborhood. The Beaverton libraries and 15 other local libraries participate in the Washington County Cooperative Library Services.
21st century
The Round in 2009
In December 2004, the city and Washington County announced an "interim plan" which would lead to Beaverton becoming the second-largest city in Oregon, second only to Portland.[13] The "interim" plan actually covered a period of more than ten years; from the county's perspective,[13] the plan supported its strategy of having cities and special districts provide urban services. The city of Beaverton also attempted to annex certain businesses, including Nike, which responded with a legal and lobbying effort to resist the annexation.[14] The lobbying effort succeeded quickly, with the Oregon Legislative Assembly enacting Senate Bill 887,[15] which prohibited Beaverton from annexing Nike without the company's consent. The bill also applied to property owned by Electro Scientific Industries, Columbia Sportswear, and Tektronix, and in August 2008 the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals ruled that the bill also barred the city from annexing property belonging to Leupold & Stevens. (See below, under Economy.) Beaverton's legal efforts to annex Nike cost the city over one million dollars.[16]
The Oregon State Legislature has also passed legislation which redetermined Washington County's urban growth boundary to include more development.[17][18] In 2018, the Metro Council voted to once again expand the urban growth boundary to include the Cooper Mountain urban reserve area.[19]
In 2016, voters approved a $35 million bond for a new 75,000-square-foot (7,000 m2) Public Safety Center built to withstand a major earthquake. The center, which opened in fall of 2020,[20] now houses the city's Emergency Management and Police Departments.[21] Construction began in September 2018.[22][23]
The city has tried to encourage transit-oriented development around the city's MAX Light Rail stations. The Round, a mixed-use development around Beaverton Central MAX Station on the site of a former sewer plant, was announced in 1996.[24] In 2014, the City of Beaverton moved its city hall into The Beaverton Building, an office building in The Round.[25] The Round currently consists of 24,000 square foot of retail space with 63 residential condominiums located above.[26]BG's Food Cartel, Beaverton's first food cart pod, opened in 2018 and has 31 food carts, a speakeasy bar, and an event venue.[27][28] Adjacent to The Round, the 550 seat Patricia Reser Center for the Arts opened in 2022,[29] and was made possible by pledges from the Beaverton Arts Foundation and Pat Reser along with public sources. The groundbreaking was performed on November 13, 2019.[30] In addition to the Reser Center, a new 125-room hotel opened next to The Round in February of 2021.[31] The performing arts center, apartments, city hall, hotel, MAX light rail station, plazas, food carts, and nearby businesses are collectively known as Downtown Beaverton.
Geography
Beaverton covers a total area of 19.7 square miles (51 km2), all of it land except for small creeks, ponds, and lakes.[32] The city is located along the eastern edge of the Tualatin Valley just west of the Tualatin Mountains. It is bordered by Portland to the east, Hillsboro to the west, and Tigard to the south. Much of the remaining area surrounding Beaverton in the north and southwest constitutes unincorporated Washington County land.[33] The elevation within city limits ranges from as high as 698.2 feet (212.8 m) above sea level to as low as 131.7 feet (40.1 m) above sea level. The city averages at 189 feet (58 m) above sea level.[34]
Neighborhoods
The city of Beaverton is divided into 13 neighborhoods: Central Beaverton, Denney Whitford, Raleigh West, Five Oaks, Triple Creek, Greenway, Highland, Neighbors Southwest, Sexton Mountain, South Beaverton, Vose, West Beaverton, and West Slope. Each neighborhood runs a Neighborhood Association Committee (NAC) to discuss neighborhood affairs, with the exception of Five Oaks and Triple Creek, and Denney Whitford and Raleigh West each sharing a NAC.[35]
Climate
Climate data for Beaverton, Oregon (normals 1972-2007, heat extremes 1972-present)
As of 2020 the median income for a household in the city was $38,261, and the median income for a family was $71,806.[41] Males had a median income of $41,683 versus $31,204 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,419. About 5.0% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.
2010 census
As of the census[42] of 2010, there were 89,803 people, 37,213 households, and 21,915 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,794.6 inhabitants per square mile (1,851.2/km2). There were 39,500 housing units at an average density of 2,108.9 per square mile (814.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 73.0% White, 2.6% African American, 0.6% Native American, 10.5% Asian, 0.5% Pacific Islander, 8.2% from other races, and 4.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 16.3% of the population.
There were 37,213 households, of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.1% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.03.
The median age in the city was 34.7 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 33% were from 25 to 44; 24.5% were from 45 to 64; and 10.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.
Economy
Company headquarters
Reser's Fine Foods, processor and distributor of freshly prepared foods, has headquartered in Beaverton since 1960. Leupold & Stevens, maker of rifle scopes and other specialty optics, has been located on property adjacent to the City of Beaverton since 1968. The Beaverton City Council annexed that property in May 2005, and Leupold & Stevens challenged that annexation. The company eventually won the legal fight in 2009 with the city, thus the company was de-annexed from the city.[43]
The current mayor of Beaverton is Lacey Beaty, who was first elected in 2020.[52] The Beaverton City Council consists of six councilors. The Mayor and City Councilors are all elected at large to serve four-year terms in a council-manager form of government where the Beaverton City Council and Mayor hire a city manager who is the administrative head of the city.
In 2014, the Beaverton–Aloha Little League Intermediate baseball team won the state tournament and traveled to Nogales, Arizona to play in the regional tournament, where they accumulated a 2–2 record.[53][54]
In 2006, the Murrayhill Little League baseball team qualified for the 2006 Little League World Series, the first Oregon team in 48 years to go that far. Murrayhill advanced to the semi-finals before losing; the third-place game was rained out and not rescheduled. In addition, a Junior Softball team from Beaverton went to 2006 World Series in Kirkland, Washington, ending in sixth place.
In 2002, Beaverton's Little League Softball team took second place to Waco, Texas, in the Little League Softball World Series.
Curling
In January 2013, Beaverton became the first city in Oregon to have an ice rink dedicated to the sport of curling, the Evergreen Curling Club.[55][56] In January 2017, the Evergreen Curling Club hosted the United States Curling Association Senior Women's National Championship.[57]
Oregon Electric and Red Electric interurban lines once served the city in the early 20th century. In the 1940s, Tualatin Valley Stages, a division of Portland Stages, Inc., provided limited bus transit service between the city and downtown Portland;[66] it operated later as a separate company, Tualatin Valley Buses, Inc., through the 1960s. This was one of four privately owned bus companies that served the Portland metropolitan area and were collectively known as the "Blue Bus" lines. All four companies were replaced in 1970 by TriMet,[67] which expanded bus service to cover more areas of Beaverton.
The city is the location of a major freeway interchange for U.S. Route 26 (US 26; Sunset Highway) and Oregon Route 217 (OR 217). The Sunset Highway connects Beaverton to Hillsboro and the Oregon Coast to the west and Portland to the east. OR 217 travels from Beaverton south through Tigard and terminates at an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5).
^"Stage Fares To Increase". The Oregonian. August 6, 1947. p. 9.
^Federman, Stan (September 2, 1970). "Tri-Met Action Averts Strike Of Bus Drivers; Agency To Assume Operation Of Four Suburban Blue Lines". The Oregonian. p. 1.
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