At the close of the last ice age, a mastodon, perhaps injured or in poor health, died in the area that is now Tualatin.

Later, the Atfalati tribe of the Kalapuya Indians settled in the region, rich with game, fish and natural foods. Many of their artifacts were found by the first homesteaders and later farmers.

Coming by covered wagons over the Oregon Trail, pioneers began arriving in 1850. By 1853, 26 families settled donation land claims and the hamlet was known as Galbreath for the local ferry by that name. Taylor's Ferry was upriver and Brown's Ferry, down river.

When a covered bridge was built over the river in 1856, the village became known as Bridgeport. In 1858, the Sweek house was built, still our oldest structure in continuous use.

"Incorporated in 1913, Tualatin became a transportation and commercial hub"

In 1889, with the coming of the SP&S railroad and the first town plat, the name was changed to Tualatin. Steamboats plied its waters and a plank road made wagon travel a little easier. The Smith family became the town's first entrepreneurs operating a sawmill and brickyard that supported commercial and residential development.

Incorporated in 1913, Tualatin became a transportation and commercial hub with its plank roads, ferries, and a second railroad leading to markets in Portland.

The next decades highly-productive farms, summer homes, the Tualatin Country Club, two popular picnic and swimming "day resorts" and prosperous manufacturing companies. With the coming of I-5 and eventually I-205 and more infrastructure, Tualatin was soon one of Oregon's fastest growing cities.

Tualatin Historical Society Special Programs

Tualatin's Oral Chronicle