Roads Less Traveled in Northwest Oregon ii

Roads
Less Traveled
in Northwest Oregon ii

Roads
From the rolling hills, coastal bays, valley rivers and
mountain forests, northwest Oregon is a region of
fertile farmlands, covered bridges and Pacific wonders.
Roads Less Traveled in Northwest Oregon II
leads modern explorers on nearly 500 miles of routes

Less Traveled
and explains what they’ll find along the way.

Three Ferries Across the Willamette

Part A: Canby to Wheatland (56 miles)
Part B: Wheatland to Buena Vista (40 miles)

Exploring Three Capes –

in Northwest Oregon ii
Kiwanda, Meares and Lookout Second Edition
Pacific City to Elsie (89 miles)

In Search of Wisdom and Basketball Trophies

Philomath to Florence (127 miles)

Discovering Lesser Known Coastal Byways

Waldport to Wren (80 miles)

Three Miles of Gold Panning –

Yellow Bottom to Quartzville
Foster to Idanha (71 miles)

ss Travele A Guide to Back Roads and Special Places

e learn more at:
Steve Arndt
d

www.roadslesstraveledoregon.com
Roads L

in Oregon
Steve Arndt Roads Less Traveled in Northwest Oregon II
Second Edition
ISBN 978-0-9844294-2-4
Steve Arndt
$19.00
 Roads
Less Traveled
in Northwest Oregon II
A Guide to Back Roads and Special Places
Second Edition

Steve Arndt

About the Roads Less Traveled Series:

"The series will stitch together the state's history and habitat
for anyone who pays as much attention to what they're driving
through as where they're going."
— Bill Monroe, The Oregonian

www.roadslesstraveledoregon.com

Also by Steve Arndt:

Roads Less Traveled in Northeast Oregon
Roads Less Traveled in Northwest Oregon
Roads Less Traveled in North-Central Oregon
Roads Less Traveled in Southwest Oregon

Forthcoming books in the series:

South-Central Oregon
Southeast Oregon
Roads Less Traveled in Northwest Oregon, Second Edition
A Guide to Back Roads and Special Places

Steve Arndt

Copyright © 2011, 2008 Steve Arndt

All rights reserved.

Photographs by
Diane Arndt of Woodburn, Oregon

Maps by
Justin Eslinger, Box Lunch Design

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-0-9844294-2-4

Front Cover:
Oregon Coast near Cape Meares
(Photograph by Diane Arndt)

Back Cover (from top to bottom)

Road between Aurora and Butteville
Yaquina Bay Bridge in Newport
Champoeg Winery
Chitwood Bridge
Quartzville Creek
(Photographs by Diane Arndt)

Designed by

Justin Eslinger | Box Lunch Design

boxlunchdesign@gmail.com
Dedicated to our much anticipated first
grandchild

Lia (Diane Magdalena Liani Vega)

May she inherit from us a passion for

exploration and a lifelong thirst for
knowledge. May she eagerly anticipate
what lies beyond each bend in the road, and
may she grow to have a deep appreciation
of Oregon’s beauty and splendor, rich
history and cultural diversity.

Lia's first road trip

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
—Robert Frost (1874-1963)
from his poem, "The Road Not Taken"

Robert Frost's yellow wood

 Acknowledgements
Special Thanks to:
The Wheeler City Manager Pacific City Visitors Center

Walt Slayter The Tillamook Museum and staff

grandson of an early Blachly settler
Tillamook Visitors Center
Judy Gibbs
Waldport museum worker Members of the Bay City Methodist Church

Scott McArthur Teachers at Cornerstone Academy

for information about Monmouth and Bethel in Bellfountain

Stan Hiller Monroe Merchants

long time resident of St. Paul
Blachly Post office employees
Harmony L. Courtney
proofreader extraordinaire Canby Museum employees

Numerous residents of Hubbard Canby Chamber of Commerce

who freely shared about their community and Visitors Center

Merchants in Wheeler Owners of the Crow General Store

City of Donald Benton County Museum workers

City of Aurora All who provided assistance in the production

of this book or shared information about
Independence Historical Society their communities and with sincere
apologies to anyone not mentioned by
Monmouth-Independence name.
Chamber of Commerce
Contents
Introduction i
Three Ferries Across
the Willamette 1
Part A: Canby to Wheatland (56 miles)
Canby 3
Barlow 6
Whiskey Hill 7
Hubbard 8
Aurora 10
Butteville 13
Champoeg 14
Donald 15
Broadacres 16
St. Paul 17
Part B: Wheatland to Buena Vista (40 miles)
Wheatland 21
Hopewell 22
Spring Valley (Zena) 23
Bethel 24
Oak Grove 25
Rickreall 26
Monmouth 27
Independence 29
Buena Vista 32
Exploring Three Capes —
Kiwanda, Meares and Lookout 33
Pacific City to Elsie (89 miles)
Pacific City 35
Cape Kiwanda 36
Sandlake 37
Netarts 38
Oceanside 39
Cape Meares 41
Tillamook 43
Bay City 46
Garibaldi 47
Mohler 49
Wheeler 50
Nehalem 51
Elsie 52
In Search of Wisdom
and Basketball Trophies 53
Philomath to Florence (127 miles)
Philomath 55
Bellfountain 57
Alpine 58
Monroe 59
Franklin 61
Alvadore 62
Elmira 63
Veneta 64
Crow 65
Vaughn 66
Noti 67
Blachly 68
Triangle Lake 69
Swisshome 70
Florence 71
Discovering Lesser Known
Coastal Byways 73
Waldport to Wren (80 miles)
Waldport 75
Newport 77
Toledo 79
Elk City 80
Chitwood 81
Eddyville 82
Blodgett 83
Wren 84
Three Miles of Gold Panning —
Yellow Bottom to Quartzville 85
Foster to Idanha (71 miles)
Foster 87
Quartzville 89
Marion Forks 91
Idanha 92
 Canby 
99E

er


R iv

m e tt
e
Butteville
 
Champoeg 

la
Wil
5



219 Aurora Barlow

St. Paul  Donald 


 
99E


5

Broadacres  
Hubbard Whiskey Hill

219


211


221

5


99E

Hopewell  
Wheatland
99W


Bethel
5


221 
99E PART A

Spring Valley (Zena)

99E


99W
Oak Grove

221

5
OREGON

22

 
22

Rickreall
er

Canby . . . . . . . 3

PART A
R iv

tt e
me
Barlow . . . . . . . 6
la


Wil

51
99W Whiskey Hill . . . . . . . 7
5 Hubbard . . . . . . . 8

 Independence
99E


Aurora . . . . . . . 10
Butteville . . . . . . . 13
Monmouth
Champoeg . . . . . . . 14
Donald . . . . . . . 15
99W Broadacres . . . . . . . 16

 
5
PART B St. Paul . . . . . . . 17


Buena Vista Wheatland . . . . . . . 21
PART B

99E

Hopewell . . . . . . . 22
Spring Valley (Zena). . . . . . . 23

Part A: Canby to Wheatland

Bethel . . . . . . . 24
Oak Grove . . . . . . . 25

Part B: Wheatland to Buena Vista

Rickreall . . . . . . . 26
Monmouth . . . . . . . 27
Independence . . . . . . . 29
1
Buena Vista . . . . . . . 32
Three Ferries Across
the Willamette
Part A: Canby to Wheatland (56 miles)
Part B: Wheatland to Buena Vista (40 miles)

The 309 mile long Willamette River is the life-blood of our state and
the Willamette Valley, home to more than 70% of Oregon’s popu-
lation. The Willamette River is one of the few rivers in the world
that flows south to north, a geologic phenomena caused during the
ice age when the Missoula Floods eroded the Columbia Gorge and
carved the Willamette Valley.

Three ferries operate on Oregon’s longest river:

Canby, Wheatland and Buena Vista. For a dollar
and change, cars are ushered across the river on
any of these ferries. The Willamette River is used
for navigation, irrigation, and recreation and
played an important role in establishing Oregon
City, Portland and Salem as major historical and
population centers. The rich soils and the mild
climate of the Willamette Valley made the area
a coveted destination for pioneers, and early
settlers homesteaded the fertile farmlands on
both sides of the river.

This route begins in Canby, a short nine miles

south of Oregon City, winds through Wheat-
land, where Salem actually began, and concludes
in Buena Vista, once famous for its fine pottery.
Forty-three miles by crow, 136 miles by car, the
route passes through many of Oregon’s oldest Wheatland Ferry
communities.

This trip will be divided into two parts, A and B. Part A begins in Canby and
the first of the three ferry landings. Part B begins at Wheatland, the location
of the second ferry, and ends in Buena Vista, the third of the ferry crossings.
2
Part A: Canby to Wheatland
Canby
Elevation: 152 feet
Location:
45.16.000 N • 122.40.007 W
Services:
gas, food, lodging, RV, B&B

The first settler in the area was James Baker, who came to
Canby in 1838 after driving cattle through the Willamette
Valley from California. In 1848, Philander Lee and his wife
Anna purchased land, farmed 80 acres of apple trees, and sold
most of their apples to the gold-rush miners in California.
In 1868, Joseph Baker settled on Baker Prairie (near the
present Baker Cemetery), and opened the community’s first
general store. In 1870, the railroad arrived, and the town
was platted with streets wide enough to “drive two span of
oxen and freight wagon.” The post office opened in 1888. By
1890, Canby, named for General E.R.S. Canby, who was killed
during peace talks with Modoc Indians in 1873, boasted of a
bank, a general store, a blacksmith shop, a department store,
and three hotels. The city incorporated in 1893 and is now Canby Chapel
own of the fastest growing communities in the state.

Points of Interest
• Site of Earthen Mound
(NW 1st and Elm)
Canby was an important trading
location for nomadic Native
Americans. Large quantities of
artifacts and the remains of a
Native American fortification
were unearthed here.
• Masonic Lodge (288 NW 1st)
The lodge was built in 1912 and
today is used by the Masons,
Eastern Star, Job’s Daughters and
Rainbow Girls.
• Canby Bank and Trust
Building (302 NW 1st)
Built in 1906 by O. Roscoe
Mack and known as the Arestad
Building, this is the oldest bank
building in Canby. A geologic
marker is located in the concrete
steps near the front entrance.
• William Knight Building
(394 NW 1st)
This 1890 building was
constructed of hand-planed
lumber. Originally, the ground
floor was home to the Carlton and
Rosenkrans Department Store
and the upstairs housed the first
City Council Chambers.

William Knight Residence

3
• William Mack Home
(139 SW 2nd)
Mack, founder of Macksburg
(west of town), had this home
constructed in 1879. The Mack
home was completely restored
in 1975 and is the second oldest
home in Canby.
• Canby Chamber of
Commerce (191 SE 2nd)
Information, brochures and a
friendly staff.
• Methodist Church
(NW 2nd and Elm)
Frank Dodge built this mission
style church in 1913. The original
stained glass windows were moved
to the new United Methodist
Church located on Territorial
Road.
• Hoyt Brown House
(409 NW 2nd)
Brown, a Southern Pacific
Railroad official, built this home
in 1900.
• F.A. Rosenkrans House
(451 NW 2nd)
This 1890 home was owned by
one of the co-owners of Canby’s
first department store.
• United Methodist Church
Building (NW 3rd and Elm)
The church, with a tall steeple,
was built by the Methodists in
1884 and was relocated to this
spot in 1912, the year it was sold
to the Catholic Church.
Canby Train Depot
• William Bair home
(375 NW 3rd)
Bair, twice Canby’s mayor, had
this craftsman styled home built
in 1912.
• Wait Park Block
(NW 3rd to 4th and Grant to Holly)
The block was named for Aaron
Wait, the state of Oregon’s first
chief justice of the Supreme
Court. Wait served from 1859 to
1862. A roller skating rink once
stood in the center of the park.
Aaron Wait’s home, which still
stands, was between North Ivy
and North Holly.
• Maple Trees (NW 4th and Grant)
The Canby Civic Women’s Club
planted the trees between 1908
and 1925. They also planted maple
trees on the local school grounds
and in many residential yards.
• William Knight Residence
(525 SW 4th)
Knight was Canby’s first
postmaster and later Clackamas
County’s sheriff. His residence,
built in 1875, is one of Canby’s
oldest.
• Canby Historical Society
(888 NE 4th)
The oldest commercial building in
Canby, the circa 1871 train depot,
was moved to its current location
from Ivy and Main, where
Blockbuster Video now stands.
An old Southern Pacific caboose
sits in front of the depot. The rail
line from Portland to Canby was
built by Ben Holladay and became
part of the Oregon and California
Railroad. The Clackamas County
Fairgrounds are located adjacent
to the old depot museum.
• Otto Krueger Home
(216 NW 5th)
Krueger, a builder of many
homes and businesses in Canby,
constructed this bungalow in
1910.
• James Vinyard House
(290 NW 5th)
This house was built about 1913
and was home to James Vinyard,
who owned a mercantile store
that stood at the corner of NW
1st and Holly. Vinyard served as
Canby’s mayor from 1933 until
1946.
• Carlton and Rosenkrans
Department Store
(181 N Grant)
In 1912, after being in business for
21 years, Carlton and Rosenkrans
built this large, modern store.
At the time, it was Clackamas
County’s largest department
store. It was gutted by fire in
1973 and is known as the Graham
Building.
4
 Roads Less Traveled in Northwest Oregon ii
Roads
Less Traveled
in Northwest Oregon ii

Roads
From the rolling hills, coastal bays, valley rivers and
mountain forests, northwest Oregon is a region of
fertile farmlands, covered bridges and Pacific wonders.
Roads Less Traveled in Northwest Oregon II
leads modern explorers on nearly 500 miles of routes

Less Traveled
and explains what they’ll find along the way.

Three Ferries Across the Willamette

Part A: Canby to Wheatland (56 miles)
Part B: Wheatland to Buena Vista (40 miles)

Exploring Three Capes –

in Northwest Oregon ii
Kiwanda, Meares and Lookout Second Edition
Pacific City to Elsie (89 miles)

In Search of Wisdom and Basketball Trophies

Philomath to Florence (127 miles)

Discovering Lesser Known Coastal Byways

Waldport to Wren (80 miles)

Three Miles of Gold Panning –

Yellow Bottom to Quartzville
Foster to Idanha (71 miles)

ss Travele A Guide to Back Roads and Special Places

e learn more at:
Steve Arndt
d

www.roadslesstraveledoregon.com
Roads L

in Oregon
Steve Arndt Roads Less Traveled in Northwest Oregon II
Second Edition
ISBN 978-0-9844294-2-4
Steve Arndt
$19.00