Gales Creek is an unincorporated

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...

 community 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

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...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 on Oregon Route 8 northwest of Forest Grove

Forest Grove, Oregon

Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a bedroom suburb of Portland. Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in 1850 and then incorporated in 1872 and was the first city in Washington County...

 in the foothills of the Oregon Coast Range

Oregon Coast Range

The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, in the U.S. state of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean...

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Gales Creek shares its name with a stream

Gales Creek (Oregon)

Gales Creek, is a tributary, long, of the Tualatin River in Washington County, Oregon, United States. The headwaters of Gales Creek are on the north side of the mountain Round Top in the Northern Oregon Coast Range...

, a tributary of 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...

, that was named for pioneer Joseph Gale

Joseph Gale

Joseph Goff Gale was an American pioneer, trapper, entrepreneur, and politician who contributed to the early settlement of the Oregon Country...

, who settled in the area. The locale was sometimes called Gales City. Gales Creek post office was established in 1874. In the 19th century the town was the last stagecoach

Stagecoach

A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...

 stop on the way to Tillamook

Tillamook, Oregon

The city of Tillamook is the county seat of Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on the southeast end of Tillamook Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The population was 4,352 at the 2000 census...

. Gales Creek Elementary School was established in 1859 and is served by the Forest Grove School District

Forest Grove School District

Forest Grove School District is a public school district in Washington County, Oregon, United States. It serves the communities of Cornelius, Dilley, Forest Grove and Gales Creek. Yvonne Curtis is the superintendent of the district...

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External links

• Historic images of Gales Creek from Salem Public Library