Woodburn Area Chamber of Commerce
124 W. Lincoln Street
PO Box 194
503-982-8221
Fax: 503-982-8410
webmaster: ygmedia@mac.com
Our History
Woodburn’s roots in agriculture pre-date the founding of our community.
At 23 years old, Jesse Settlemier started a nursery business here in 1863 when he bought 80 acres to the north of his father’s Donation Land Claim in what is now Mount Angel.
In 1870, when the Oregon & California Railroad began construction of a line to link Portland with San Francisco, the tracks plowed through the middle of Settlemier’s land. Quick to see an opportunity, Settlemier platted four blocks of a new city along the railroad. His promise of a free lot to anyone who would put up a building encouraged growth and by 1878 Woodburn had a population of 145.
Jesse Settlemier’s son, Frank, recounted how his father and a hired hand came up with the name “Woodburn” while burning the slash piles from land cleared for farming and homes. In another version of the story, a Southern Pacific Railroad official visiting a large fire from the slashings suggested the name “Woodburn.”
Just as the city grew, Settlemier’s Woodburn Nursery flourished. Selling fruit, decorative and ornamental trees, it was known as one of the largest and most reliable on the Pacific Coast. It eventually encompassed 300 acres and by his retirement in 1892, the nursery had 1.5 million young trees and sales amounting to more than $80,000.
Settlemier’s role in the community was expansive. After the city’s incorporation in 1889 he was the town’s first mayor. He was founder and president of the Bank of Woodburn, served on the Oregon Board of Agriculture, and represented Woodburn’s citizens in the Oregon Legislature. Settlemier donated land for schools and churches, and today is remembered with both a street and a park named in his honor. His 5,000 square foot, 14-room Victorian home built for $10,000 in 1892 at the corner of Garfield Street and Settlemier Avenue near downtown has become Woodburn’s centerpiece.
Today the Settlemier House is open for tours on the first Sunday of each month. Th e home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is cared for by the French Prairie Historical Society.
Cindy Thomas, vice president of the society, points out there are numerous Craftsman touches added to the home by Frank. The house is decorated with period pieces – a few belonging to the Settlemier family.
“This house is really a time capsule,” Thomas said. “It’s an important piece of our town’s history. People can see how things were and what they looked like; and it’s fun to look at kitchen gadgets and think about how they were used.”
Transportation and agriculture have continued to play a key role in Woodburn’s history. The construction of Interstate 5 in 1954 put it on the key artery for north-south motor vehicle travel, and the richness of its land drew successive waves of emigrants.
Hispanic laborers came to work the fields during World War II when the call to arms created a labor shortage. An important labor force, farmers came to depend upon them each harvest season. By the 1960s farm workers and their families were settling in Woodburn.
About the same time Orthodox Russian refugees, fleeing religious and political persecution, were attracted to Woodburn by its fertile farmland and welcoming attitude. Today, more than half of Woodburn’s residents are of Hispanic descent, and 20 percent trace their roots back to Russia. This makes the city one of the most culturally diverse communities in Oregon. It is the foundation for Woodburn’s tradition as “the City of Unity.”
Leadership, land, location key to our history
Don’t miss...
The Settlemier House
1892 Victorian mansion built by Woodburn’s founder. Corner of Settlemier Avenue and Garfield Street. Tours on the first Sunday of each month, 1 - 4 p.m., or by appointment. 503-982-1897 www.settlemierhouse.com
Woodburn Historical Museum
Displays of photographs and artifacts associated with the town’s beginnings: farming, logging, the railroad and rural life. 455 N. Front St. Fridays - Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. 503-982-9521
The SP 1785
A carefully restored steam engine that once chugged up and down the West Coast. Cleveland Street at Railroad Avenue.
WOODBURN
AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
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503-982-8221
