Tualatin Plains facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tualatin Plains
Region
The plains south of Hillsboro
Country	United States
State	Oregon
Region	Washington County

The Tualatin Plains are a large, flat area of land in the middle of Washington County, Oregon, United States. You can find them near the cities of Hillsboro and Forest Grove. Long ago, the first people to live here were the Atfalati tribe, who were part of the larger Kalapuya group of Native Americans. People from Europe and America started settling here in the 1840s.

Where are the Tualatin Plains?

The Tualatin Plains are part of the wider Tualatin Valley. The Tualatin River flows through and drains this area.

Natural Borders of the Plains

The plains have natural boundaries all around them:

• To the north and east, you'll find the hills of the Tualatin Mountains.
• To the south, the hills of the Chehalem Mountains form a border.
• To the west, the foothills of the Northern Oregon Coast Range mark the edge.

History of the Tualatin Plains

Native Americans were the first people to live in the Tualatin Plains. They lived by hunting animals and gathering plants.

Native American Life and Changes

The Atfalati tribe, like many other tribes in the Willamette Valley, would regularly burn the flat lands. This helped new grasses grow, which was good for hunting and gathering seeds. It also kept many parts of the valley floor open, without too many trees.

However, by the 1830s, new diseases brought by settlers greatly reduced the number of Native Americans in the region. This included the people living in the Tualatin Plains. In the 1830s, the Hudson's Bay Company used some of these open, fire-cleared areas. They grew crops there to use at Fort Vancouver and for trading.

Early Settlers Arrive

In 1840, some former fur traders decided to settle in the northern part of the plains. These early settlers included people like George W. Ebbert, Joseph Meek, and Caleb Wilkins.

A minister named Harvey L. Clark started a missionary school in 1841. It was just north of what is now Hillsboro. The school soon moved to what is now Forest Grove. In 1847, Tabitha Moffatt Brown, known as the "Mother of Oregon," joined Clark there.

In 1842, David Hill settled on the eastern plains. He named his settlement Columbus, which later became the city of Hillsboro.

Forming a Government and New Roads

In 1844, some of these first pioneers started a church in West Union. This was the very first Baptist church west of the Rocky Mountains.

When the Provisional Government of Oregon was set up in 1843, the Tualatin Plains were part of the Twality District. This district covered the northwest part of the region, including what would become Portland. After Clatsop County was created from it, the rest became Twality County in 1845. It was then renamed Washington County in 1849.

At that time, Portland was still part of Washington County. Farmers from the Plains would take their crops to Portland to sell them. This led to the building of a special road called Canyon Road. It was a plank road, meaning it was made of wooden planks. This road helped make Portland the main port for Oregon.

Growth and Modern Industry

Over the years, more and more people settled in the Tualatin Plains. Many areas that were once farmland became towns and cities. Communities like North Plains, Beaverton, Reedville, and Cornelius grew up alongside Forest Grove and Hillsboro.

In the 1950s, an electronics company called Tektronix started to grow. This led to the development of many other tech companies in the area. This region is now often called the Silicon Forest, similar to Silicon Valley in California.