When you think about Tigard, Oregon, history, you might picture a quiet suburb of Portland. But this city has a story that stretches back to Oregon Trail pioneers and a farming family who gave the town its name. What started as 320 acres of borrowed dreams became one of the most vibrant communities in Washington County.
One Man’s Name, One Town’s Legacy
The history of Tigard, Oregon, begins with Wilson McClendon Tigard, who arrived in the Tualatin Valley in 1852 after crossing the Oregon Trail with his wife, Mary Ann, and their young son. Wilson’s original surname was actually Tygart, but by 1853, he was signing documents as Tigard. With nothing but determination and two Spanish cows borrowed from a local farmer named George Richardson, Wilson purchased a 320-acre land claim and got to work.
The area was originally called Butte, then East Butte in 1876, when the election precinct was divided. Wilson became a community leader who helped organize the first school in Tigard, Oregon, in a log cabin and donated land to establish the Butte Grange in 1874, an organization that fought for farmers’ rights. The Tigard family raised potatoes, vegetables, grains, berries, and even hops while maintaining friendly relationships with the Atfalati Kalapuya people who lived nearby.
From Tigardville to Tigard: A Railroad Changes Everything
After Wilson died in an accident in 1882, his son Charles Fremont Tigard opened a general store on the family’s land claim along Taylor’s Ferry Road in the 1880s. Charles installed a post office in the store in 1886 and served as postmaster, officially changing the community’s name from East Butte to Tigardville. He later served two terms in the Oregon legislature and became president of the First Bank of Tigard.
The real transformation occurred when the Oregon Electric Railway arrived in Tigard on January 1, 1908. The railroad company shortened the town’s name from Tigardville to simply Tigard to avoid confusion with their Wilsonville station. A depot was built on Taylor’s Ferry Road, and suddenly, this farming community was mere minutes away from Portland.
The Railroad Boom and Main Street Development
The arrival of the Oregon Electric Railway in 1907 triggered rapid development along Main Street. Two-story buildings popped up, including the impressive Germania Hall around 1908, which featured a hotel and dance hall upstairs with a grocery store and restaurant downstairs. By 1910, products from Tigard, Oregon’s farming community, were being shipped to Portland’s Yamhill Market, connecting local agriculture to city consumers.
In 1911, the Tualatin Valley Electric Company brought electricity to Tigard, connecting it with neighboring Sherwood and Tualatin. William Ariss built a blacksmith shop on Main Street in 1912 that eventually became a modern service station. The 1930s brought paved streets and sidewalks to Main Street, along with another school to handle the growing population.
Becoming a Real City
For decades, Tigard held the title of Oregon’s oldest unincorporated community. That changed when business leaders realized the town’s complicated taxing districts were scaring away new industry. After two failed attempts in 1958, voters finally approved Tigard city incorporation on September 11, 1961, by just nineteen votes. The new city stretched 1.41 miles and had a population of only 1,749 people when Tigard incorporated.
Today, the Wilson Tigard Oregon pioneer legacy lives on in a thriving city that has grown far beyond those original 320 acres. From borrowed cows to bustling streets, Tigard’s journey shows how one family’s commitment to community can shape generations.
Sources: tigard-or.gov, oregonencyclopedia.org, tigardlife.com, en.wikipedia.org
Header Image Source: tigardlife.com
