Portland's Slabtown
Published In
Images of America
ISBN
9780738596297
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
5-20-2013
Subjects
Slabtown (Portland Oregon) -- History -- Pictorial works, Slabtown (Portland Oregon) -- Social life and customs
Abstract
In Portland's first decades, the northwest side remained dense forests. Native Americans camped and Chinese immigrants farmed around Guild's Lake. In the 1870s, Slabtown acquired its unusual name when a lumber mill opened on Northrup Street. The mill's discarded log edges were a cheap source of heating and cooking fuel. This slabwood was stacked in front of working-class homes of employees of a pottery, the docks, icehouses, slaughterhouses, and lumber mills. Development concentrated along streetcar lines. The early 20th century brought the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, manufacturing, shipbuilding, Montgomery Ward, and the Vaughn Street Ballpark. Today, Slabtown is a densely populated residential neighborhood, with many small shops and restaurants and an industrial area on its northern border. Tourists still arrive by streetcar to the charming Thurman, NW Twenty-first, and Twenty-third Avenues. Famous residents include author Ursula Le Guin, baseball greats Johnny Pesky and Mickey Lolich, NBA player Swede Halbrook, and Portland mayors Bud Clark and Vera Katz.
Publisher
Arcadia Publishing
Citation Details
Prince, Tracy J.; Gholston, Norm; and Ryerson, Mike, "Portland's Slabtown" (2013). Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations. 95.
Description
Dr. Tracy Prince's research uncovered a Native American village in northwest Portland that was unknown to historians. She uncovered seasonal encampments (lasting until the 1930s) of Native Americans at what is now Wallace Park. She discovered a much wider area of Chinese vegetable gardens than previously known. Her research also uncovered Johnson Creek Gulch which had been completely forgotten in Portland's history and histories of Guild's Lake, Couch Lake, Kittredge's Lake, Doane's Lake, and Balch Creek. Her research on the historical hydrology of Portland in both this book and her 2011 Portland's Goose Hollow book, is widely regarded. She frequently lectures on the topic to both historical experts and hydrology practitioners. And she lectures on Portland's Forgotten Native American History and Portland's Chinese Vegetable Gardens.