Beaverton, Oregon
Encyclopedia
Beaverton is a city in Washington County
Washington County, Oregon
- Major highways :* Interstate 5* Interstate 205* U.S. Route 26* Oregon Route 6* Oregon Route 8* Oregon Route 10* Oregon Route 47* Oregon Route 99W* Oregon Route 210* Oregon Route 217* Oregon Route 219-Demographics:...

, Oregon, United States, seven miles (11 km) west of Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 in the Tualatin River
Tualatin River
The Tualatin River is a tributary of the Willamette River located in Oregon in the United States. The river is approximately long, and it drains a fertile farming region called the Tualatin Valley southwest and west of Portland at the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley...

 Valley.
As of the 2010 census, the population is 90,267. This makes it the second-largest city in the county and Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

's sixth-largest city. In 2010, Beaverton was named by Money
Money (magazine)
Money is published by Time Inc. Its first issue was published in October 1972. Its articles cover the gamut of personal finance topics ranging from investing, saving, retirement and taxes to family finance issues like paying for college, credit, career and home improvement...

magazine as one of the 100 "best places to live", among smaller cities, in the country.

History

According to Oregon Geographic Names
Oregon Geographic Names
Oregon Geographic Names is an authoritative compilation of the origin and meaning of place names in the U.S. state of Oregon. , the book is in its seventh edition and is compiled and edited by Lewis L. McArthur, who took over from his father, Lewis A. McArthur, as of the fourth edition...

, Beaverton got its name because of the settlement's proximity to a large body of water resulting from beaver
American Beaver
The North American Beaver is the only species of beaver in the Americas, native to North America and introduced to South America. In the United States and Canada, where no other species of beaver occurs, it is usually simply referred to as "beaver"...

 dams.

The area of Tualatin Valley which became Beaverton was originally the home of a Native American tribe known as the Atfalati
Atfalati
The Atfalati, also known as the Tualatin were a tribe or band of the Kalapuya Native Americans who originally inhabited the Tualatin Valley in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Oregon...

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.

19th century

The natives had a village called Chakeipi, meaning Place of the Beaver, and early settlers referred to it as "Beaverdam". Early settlers include the Hall Family from Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, the Denneys who lived on their claim near present-day Scholls Ferry Road and Hall Blvd, and Orin S. Allen, from western New York. 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. 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
Plank road
A plank road or puncheon is a dirt path or road covered with a series of planks, similar to the wooden sidewalks one would see in a Western movie. Plank roads were very popular in Ontario, the U.S. Northeast and U.S. Midwest in the first half of the 19th century...

 from Portland to Beaverton was completed over a trail called Canyon Road
Canyon Road
Canyon Road is a road connecting Beaverton and Portland, Oregon, United States. It was the first road between the Tualatin Valley and Portland and contributed significantly to Portland becoming the area's major deep water port, and subsequent early growth of the city.The total modern length is...

.

After the U.S. 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 thoroughfares in Beaverton are named for these early settlers.

20th century

Beaverton was an early home to automobile dealerships. A Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 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.

In the early 1920s, Beaverton was home to Premium Picture Productions
Premium Picture Productions
Premium Picture Productions is a former movie studio located in Beaverton, Oregon which was active in the early 1920s. The studio produced approximately fifteen silent films, including the following:* Crashing Courage * Flames of Passion...

, a movie studio
Movie studio
A movie studio is a term used to describe a major entertainment company or production company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to film movies...

 which produced about fifteen films. This site was later converted into an airfield known as Watts Airport and thereafter as Bernard's Airport
Bernard's Airport
Bernard's Airport was a non-commercial airfield in Beaverton, Oregon, USA. The airfield was originally named Watts Airport.-History:The site of Bernard's Airport was originally developed as a motion picture studio in the 1920s. After film making on the West Coast became concentrated in Hollywood...

.

The town's first library opened in 1925. Originally on the second floor of the Cady building, it has moved repeatedly; in 2000 it was moved to its current location on Hall Boulevard and 5th Street.

In the 1940s, Tualatin Valley Stages
Blue Bus lines (Oregon)
The “Blue Bus” lines was a group of four affiliated privately owned public transportation companies that provided bus transit service in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area in the 1950s and 1960s. The name was unofficial but was in common use in the 1960s, and variations included "Blue Bus...

, a division of Portland Stages, Inc., provided limited bus transit
Public transport bus service
Bus services play a major role in the provision of public transport. These services can take many forms, varying in distance covered and types of vehicle used, and can operate with fixed or flexible routes and schedules...

 service connecting the city with downtown Portland
Downtown Portland
Downtown Portland, the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States, is located on the west bank of the Willamette River. It is in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and is where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found....

, operating later as a separate company, Tualatin Valley Buses, Inc., through the 1960s. This was one of four privately owned bus companies serving the Portland metropolitan area
Portland metropolitan area
The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area , also known as the Portland metropolitan area or Greater Portland, is an urban area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered around the city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S...

 which became collectively known as the "Blue Bus" lines
Blue Bus lines (Oregon)
The “Blue Bus” lines was a group of four affiliated privately owned public transportation companies that provided bus transit service in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area in the 1950s and 1960s. The name was unofficial but was in common use in the 1960s, and variations included "Blue Bus...

. All four companies were replaced in 1970 by TriMet
TriMet
TriMet, more formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon...

, a then-new regional transit authority, which expanded bus service to cover more areas of Beaverton.

In the late 1970s a light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...

 system was proposed to connect Beaverton to downtown Portland, as part of Metro's
Metro (Oregon regional government)
Metro, formerly known as Metropolitan Service District, is the regional governmental agency for the Oregon portion of the Portland metropolitan area...

 plans for the region's transportation. In 1990, voters approved funding for Westside MAX; the project began construction in 1994 and was completed in 1998, with stations located at Millikan Way MAX station Merlo Road and Southwest 158th Avenue, Beaverton Creek
Beaverton Creek (MAX station)
The Beaverton Creek station is a light rail station on the MAX Blue Line in Beaverton, Oregon, United States. It is the 9th stop westbound on the Westside MAX.The station is located near parkland, which is near the Nike World Campus...

, Beaverton Central
Beaverton Central (MAX station)
The Beaverton Central station is a light rail station on the MAX Blue Line in Beaverton, Oregon, United States.The station, located near Beaverton's downtown area, is surrounded by a mixed-use development, The Round at Beaverton Central, the present location of the main offices of The Linux...

, and the Beaverton Transit Center
Beaverton Transit Center (MAX station)
The Beaverton Transit Center is a bus station, light rail and commuter rail station in Beaverton, Oregon, USA. It serves MAX Light Rail, being the 6th stop westbound on the Westside MAX. It serves the Blue Line, and serves as the western terminus for the Red Line. It also serves as the northern...

.

21st century


In December 2004, the city and Washington County announced an "interim plan" which will lead to Beaverton becoming the second-largest city in Oregon, second only to Portland. The "interim" plan actually covers a period of more than ten years; from the county's perspective, the plan supports its strategy of having cities and special districts provide urban services.

Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...

 led a legal and lobbying effort to resist the annexation. The lobbying effort succeeded quickly, with the Oregon Legislative Assembly
Oregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...

 enacting Senate Bill 887, which prohibits Beaverton from annexing Nike without Nike's consent. The bill also applied to property owned by Electro Scientific Industries
Electro Scientific Industries
Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. is a high technology company headquartered in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, more specifically in Washington County, in the unincorporated Cedar Mill area north of Beaverton, U.S.A. It is a pioneer developer, and leading supplier, of photonic and...

, Columbia Sportswear
Columbia Sportswear
Columbia Sportswear Company is a United States company that manufactures and distributes outerwear and sportswear. It was founded in 1938 by the late Paul Lamfrom, father of present chairperson Gert Boyle. The company is headquartered in Washington County, Oregon, in an unincorporated part of the...

, 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.) Nike's legal efforts to resist annexation cost Beaverton taxpayers over $360,000 .

Economy

Reser's Fine Foods
Reser's Fine Foods
Reser's Fine Foods, Inc. is a United States corporation, based in Beaverton, Oregon, that manufactures and distributes fresh and frozen prepared foods. Over 1,000 products are available in the 50 U.S. states, Canada, Guam, Mexico, and areas of the Far East. Its prepared foods are sold in national...

, processor and distributor of fresh prepared foods, has headquartered in Beaverton since 1960. Leupold & Stevens
Leupold & Stevens
Leupold & Stevens, Inc. is a manufacturer of telescopic sights, red dot sights, spotting scopes, and binoculars located in Beaverton, Oregon, United States...

, 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. Beaverton is home to the world headquarters of Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...

 Its headquarters are located on an unincorporated area
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 inside, but excluded from, Beaverton city limits. Cedar Hills Crossing
Cedar Hills Crossing
Cedar Hills Crossing, formerly Beaverton Mall, is a retail shopping center in the city of Beaverton, Oregon, United States. The center is notable in that it was the prior site of a historic airport, Bernard's Airport, where many of the early aircraft innovations of the 1920s and 1930s occurred...

 is a shopping mall within the city of Beaverton.

Phoenix Technologies
Phoenix Technologies
Phoenix Technologies Ltd designs, develops and supports core system software for personal computers and other computing devices. Phoenix's products — commonly referred to as BIOS or firmware — support and enable the compatibility, connectivity, security and management of the various components and...

 operates its Northwestern Regional Office in Beaverton.

As part of the Silicon Forest
Silicon Forest
Silicon Forest is a nickname for the cluster of high-tech companies located in the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Southwest Washington, and most frequently refers to the industrial corridor between Beaverton and Hillsboro in northwest Oregon.The name is similar to...

, Beaverton is the home to numerous technology organizations and companies.

Including:
  • Linux Technology Center
    Linux Technology Center
    The IBM Linux Technology Center is an organization focused on development for the Linux kernel and related open-source software projects. In 1999, IBM created the LTC to combine its software developers interested in Linux and other open-source software into a single organization. Much of the LTC's...

     of IBM.
  • Tektronix
    Tektronix
    Tektronix, Inc. is an American company best known for its test and measurement equipment such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and video and mobile test protocol equipment. In November 2007, Tektronix became a subsidiary of Danaher Corporation....

  • Maxim Integrated Products
    Maxim Integrated Products
    Maxim Integrated Products is a publicly traded company that designs, manufactures, and sells analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products. Maxim develops integrated circuits for the industrial, communications, consumer, and computing markets....

  • VeriWave
    VeriWave
    VeriWave is a company in Beaverton, Oregon, U.S. It was founded in 2002 to design and manufacture specialized testing equipment for Wi-Fi and Ethernet—products primarily of interest to manufacturers of wireless access points and network infrastructure....



Hollywood Video
Hollywood Video
Hollywood Entertainment Corporation , known as Hollywood Video, was a VHS, DVD, and video game rental shop company started in 1988...

 was headquartered in Beaverton until 1994, when it moved into Wilsonville
Wilsonville, Oregon
Wilsonville is a city primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A portion of the northern section of the city is in Washington County. Originally founded as Boones Landing due to the Boones Ferry which crossed the Willamette River at the location, the community became Wilsonville in...

.

Largest employers

According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the largest employers in the city are:
# Employer # of Employees
1 Beaverton School District
Beaverton School District
The Beaverton School District is a school district in suburban Beaverton and Portland, Oregon, United States. The Beaverton Elementary School District 48 was established in 1876, with other elementary districts later merged into the district. The elementary district was later merged with the high...

4,365
2 Cedar Hills Crossing
Cedar Hills Crossing
Cedar Hills Crossing, formerly Beaverton Mall, is a retail shopping center in the city of Beaverton, Oregon, United States. The center is notable in that it was the prior site of a historic airport, Bernard's Airport, where many of the early aircraft innovations of the 1920s and 1930s occurred...

1,106
3 IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

 Lender Business Process Services
730
4 City of Beaverton 681
5 Stream Global Services
Stream Global Services
Stream Global Services, Inc. is a global outsourcing solution provider, providing BPO services for Fortune 1000 clients , with more than 30,000 employees in 50 service centers of 22 countries in 50 contact centers; it currently manages more than 100 million voice, e-mail, and chat contacts a...

600
6 Beaverton Town Square 553
7 Cascade Plaza 511
8 Fred Meyer
Fred Meyer
Fred Meyer, Inc., is a chain of hypermarkets founded in 1922 in Portland, Oregon, by Fred G. Meyer. The company was one of the pioneers of one-stop shopping, eventually combining a complete grocery supermarket with a drugstore, clothing store, shoe store, fine jewelers, home decor store, home...

466
9 Reser's Fine Foods
Reser's Fine Foods
Reser's Fine Foods, Inc. is a United States corporation, based in Beaverton, Oregon, that manufactures and distributes fresh and frozen prepared foods. Over 1,000 products are available in the 50 U.S. states, Canada, Guam, Mexico, and areas of the Far East. Its prepared foods are sold in national...

450
10 Canyon Square 341

Geography


According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 16.3 square miles (42.2 km²), none of which is covered with water.

Climate

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 76,129 people, 30,821 households, and 18,646 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,664.5 per square mile (1,801.1/km²). There were 32,500 housing units at an average density of 1,991.3 per square mile(768.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.31% White, 9.65% Asian, 1.74% Black or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.67% Native American, 0.36% Pacific Islander, 5.53% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 3.74% from two or more races. 11.12% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 30,821 households out of which 32.3% had children younger than age 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 35.2% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,863, and the median income for a family was $60,289. 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.

2005–2007 American Community Survey Estimates (Race):
  • 76.1% – White (69.0% non-Hispanic White)
  • 13.8% – Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
  • 12.6% – Asian
  • 8.9% – Some other race
  • 3.1% – Black or African American
  • 2.5% – American Indian or Alaska Native
  • 0.4% – Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander

Education

The public schools of Beaverton are part of the Beaverton School District
Beaverton School District
The Beaverton School District is a school district in suburban Beaverton and Portland, Oregon, United States. The Beaverton Elementary School District 48 was established in 1876, with other elementary districts later merged into the district. The elementary district was later merged with the high...

. Private schools in the area include
German American School
German American School
The German American School of Portland, Oregon is a dual language program. Classes are offered from preschool to 5th grade.The school is located at 3900 SW Murray Blvd. Beaverton, Oregon 97005 Phone 626-9089...

,
Holy Trinity School,
Jesuit High School
Jesuit High School (Portland, Oregon)
Jesuit High School is a private Catholic high school in Beaverton, Oregon, United States. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1956, and uses the Jesuit curriculum. Located in the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, it is a college-preparatory school and accepts students of all faiths...

,
Saint Cecilia Grade School,
Southwest Christian School,
Valley Catholic School
Valley Catholic School
Valley Catholic School is a private Roman Catholic school in Beaverton, Oregon, United States.The school is owned and operated by the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon Campus Schools.-History:...

,
Valley Catholic Middle School, and
WoodHaven School.

Colleges and universities

  • Anthem College
  • Portland Community College (PCC)

-Although this is based in Portland, some facilities operate in Beaverton.

Sports

In 2006, the Murrayhill Little League baseball team qualified for the 2006 Little League World Series
2006 Little League World Series
-Pool play:The top two teams in each pool moved on to their respective semifinals. The winners of each met on August 27 to play for the Little League World Championship. Teams marked in green qualified to the knockout stage, while teams marked in red were eliminated. Ties are broken based on...

, the first Oregon team in 48 years to go that far. Murrayhill advanced to the semifinals 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
Kirkland, Washington
Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is a suburb of Seattle on the Eastside . The population was 48,787 at the 2010 census makes it the 9th largest city in King County and the 20th largest city in the state...

, 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.

Beaverton is home to Northwest Fencing Center, one of the largest fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...

 clubs in the United States.

Sister cities

Since 1987, Beaverton has established sister city relationships with six foreign cities:
Hsin Chu, Taiwan, Republic of China Birobidzhan
Birobidzhan
Birobidzhan is a town and the administrative center of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Trans-Siberian railway, close to the border with the People's Republic of China....

, Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Jewish Autonomous Oblast
The Jewish Autonomous Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated in the Russian Far East, bordering Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast of Russia and Heilongjiang province of China. Its administrative center is the town of Birobidzhan....

, Russia Cheonan
Cheonan
Cheonan is a city located in the northeast corner of South Chungcheong, a province of South Korea, and is 83.6 km south of the capital, Seoul...

, Chungcheongnam-do
Chungcheongnam-do
Chungcheongnam-do or Chungnam is a province in the west of South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the south-western half of the former Chungcheong Province and remained a province of Korea until the country's division in 1945, thereafter becoming part of South Korea...

, South Korea Cluses
Cluses
Cluses is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.Citizens are known as Clusiens. The commune is situated in the Arve Valley, on the river which bears the same name...

, France Gotenba, Japan Trossingen
Trossingen
Trossingen is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in a region called Baar, between the Swabian Alb and the Black Forest. Stuttgart is about an hour away, Lake Constance about half an hour, and the source of the river Danube can be reached in about twenty minutes by car.Trossingen...

, Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...

, Germany

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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