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.