"See you after the parade!"

This lady is the Sherwood Historical Society's newest member. If you're from Sherwood, you remember her as City Recorder. She worked in Morback House when it was City Hall, before it was our Museum. She knows a lot of stuff about the building nobody else knows. She remembers why some electric plug-ins are painted orange and not others. She remembers when some kids planted marijuana plants all around the building when it was still City Hall and no one caught on for weeks and weeks. But right now she's helping the Society decorate for Christmas at Morback House. The Annual Christmas Parade is this coming Saturday and we don't want to be caught unprepared.

History Workshop attracts Old Families

It was an interesting group of people who descended on Morback House Saturday, November 17. We learned a lot about the beaver dam AKA onion flats AKA Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge territory. The Weckert and Galbraith families were especially well represented. A Sherwood High student from June Reynolds' history class ran the computer.

Rail Road Street 100 Years Ago

Welcome to Sherwood Oregon USA: The way we were at the Turn of the Century. There is a fire-plug at the lower right corner which means the year is later than 1898 (because that was when the water tower was built to prevent a disaster like the Great Fire of 1895). The sidewalk is made of wood, meaning we are earlier than 1913. You would have to visit some fairly remote part of the world to photograph a scene as rugged as this today. But wait.

DETAIL 1: Notice the two gents in front of the McConnell and Hall store. We assume they are the proprietors McConnell and Hall. They seem quite pleased with themselves and their surroundings. The Post Office is there. In the window on the right there is a bill advertising a 4th of July celebration. The Sherwin Williams logo is prominant. You can go to any store by that name today and learn more. The only anecdote about paint in Sherwood is the house that was painted blue in "Bluetown," mentioned elsewhere on this blog (October 2005).
DETAIL 2: Oh oh! Here are some teenagers in front of the Meat Market (Note the well-fed dog). They have probably drifted over from the train depot across the street just to get in on the photograph. Every railroad town had its "depot loafers." Get ready for some rough language. I wonder what they're laughing about.


DETAIL 3: At the far end of Railroad Street, Joe Morback is posing in front of his general merchandise store. And his bank. And his "Farm Produce A Specialty" depot. He wasn't just a successful businessman. J.E.Morback served as Mayor longer than any mayor anywhere in Oregon. He ran a tight ship. But wait! What's that going on at the corner of Railroad and Main just below the bank sign!?

DETAIL 4: The wagon meister appears to be busy keeping his small son's (or daughter's) attention off the couple on the corner. Or perhaps he's focused on not running over a pedestrian (note the leg sticking out). The picture is a bit too blurry to show the crop being hauled. Too oblong to be onions. Could be corn or potatoes.

DETAIL 5: Looks like hanky-panky, but no amount of photo analysis has been able to prove just what's going on here.



To purchase your own copy of the Master Photograph, contact the Oregon Historical Society.

How Long Ago Was That!?

SMOCK HOUSE in transit to HERITAGE CENTER--November 1, 2003
Lilly Morgan, Lilly Morgan, do you recall how we and Emmert International picked up this god-awful wreck of an historical asset and toted it down the street that cold November morning of November 1, 2003! Do you recall the "Why-On-Earth!?" we and the neighbors kept asking ourselves? Most of us weren't the least bit sure it was even the building Ronald Sherk's History of Sherwood identified as Sherwood's oldest house.

But it was! Thanks to hundreds of volunteer hours and Sherwood City Hall's patience, Smock House is one of Old Sherwood Town's prettiest landmarks today. Even as we speak, a back porch is being added by Don Livingston of Teller Construction and he's not charging us a cent! Jim Wiedeman, Fisher Roofing, and Chavez Lumber are providing valuable support.

Livingston's porch-work is part of a tradition among Sherwood contractors that is older than this blog! If this blog hasn't given some of you the attention you deserve, please forgive!

Sherwood High at Champoeg

Get ready to be interviewed by these folks soon. Sherwood Historical Society President June Reynolds and two of her Sherwood High School students are shown here taking a break from the seminar they attended at Champoeg Park today. The purpose of the class was to learn how to do better interviewing of historically interesting people.

Sherwood Meets Tualatin

Future banjo picker gets a lesson on strumming. Saturday, the Folks paid a visit to the town with the antebellum house along the Boone family road that crosses the prehistoric river that crosses the most pristine example of the J Harlen Bretz scablands in Oregon. We mean Tualatin of course. Our two historical societies have always hit it off and Saturday was no exception. It was their harvest day, and we had to leave our Sherwood Oregon USA Onion Festival behind... but not before performing a skit to explain the history of onion farming in the Sherwood-Tualatin area, and gorging down some of the best food served all year in Sherwood town.

Nameless Photos Collection: Who Was She?

The costume seems a bit overdone. Was she an actress? We haven't a clue. The feathered hat pin suggests a Sherwood Forest theme. A Gilbert and Sullivan-style play (actually by DeKoven and Smith) was big in 1890s. It was called "Robin Hood," and it's hit song was "Oh Promise Me."

Another Nameless Sherwoodian

The initials "M.W.M." are penciled on back. Could he have been a Morback? We don't know. Computer enhanced details may give a clue.


The timepiece (above right) is more than functional, and the lapel pin (at right) seems to have a design in it. These artifacts must be in somebody's collection. Any ideas out there?

On the Porch at Morback House

Sherwood Historians Sharing Scary Stories for Upcoming Ghost Tour.
Some members of the Historical Society believe in ghosts, others don't. "Frankly, I've never met a ghost." Clyde List remarked, "But I would like kids to know that creepy feeling I got when I was a Third Grader exploring the back alleys of Sherwood Old Town for the first time. With all those old buildings around me, I felt like an actor in Raiders of the Lost Ark! I discovered how interesting this town really is!"

Trail Days 2006

What could a bank robber, three Quaker girls, a coonskin hat, and a few sticks of dynamite have to do with the history of Sherwood?
The crowds just kept getting bigger during our fourth annual walking tour, also known as Heritage Trail Days. By Sunday afternoon there were between 15 and 20 visitors exploring our core area. This included a couple from Germany and another from England (from Nottingham, no less!). The Sherwood Gazette reports that "...tourism will likely grow in the Washington and Yamhill County areas." To which we might add: "...along with the world's curiosity about our typical little 19th Century railroad town."
See Gallery for more pictures.