Bull Run, Oregon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bull Run Power Plant c. early 1900s

Bull Run is an unincorporated community in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States.[1] It is located about 5 miles northeast of Sandy, near the Bull Run River and the powerhouse of the defunct Mount Hood Railway and Power Company (later the Bull Run Hydroelectric Project).[2]

George H. Himes believed the name "Bull Run" may have been because of the presence of wild cattle along the river in the pioneer era of 1849–55.[3] This story is corroborated by settler , who said that cattle would escape from the early immigrants to the area and ran wild for several years, and so they named the area Bull Run.[3] A 1920s story in the Gresham Outlook states that in the 1860s, a man named Frank Mognet was living in the Cedar Creek area near Sandy. He was attempting to catch a bull that had gone wild when it ran into the then-unnamed stream. Because this was just after the Battle of Bull Run, and the bull had given him a "strong run", he immediately named the stream Bull Run.[3]

The first post office in the area, established in 1893, was named Unavilla.[3] It is unknown why that name was chosen.[3] The name of the post office was changed Bullrun in 1895, and to Camp Namanu in 1939.[3] The summer-only Camp Namanu post office closed in 1953.[3]

In 1915, Bull Run had a population of 100, a public school and a large gladiolus farm.[4] The community was the eastern terminus of the Mt. Hood division of the Portland Railway, Light and Power Company interurban railroad.[4] In 1940, Bull Run had a population of 35.[5] Current USGS topographic maps have Bull Run labeled as a "site", meaning there is no community there now, although the USGS still lists it as a populated place in its GNIS.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Bull Run". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. November 1, 1991. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  2. ^ Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer (7th ed.). Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. 2008. p. 29. ISBN 0-89933-347-8.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g McArthur, Lewis A.; McArthur, Lewis L. (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. pp. 123, 150. ISBN 978-0875952772.
  4. ^ a b Friedman, Ralph (1990). In Search of Western Oregon. Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers, Ltd. p. 271. ISBN 0-87004-332-3.
  5. ^ Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Oregon (1940). Oregon: End of the Trail. American Guide Series. Portland, Oregon: Binfords & Mort. p. 406. OCLC 4874569.

External links[]

Coordinates: 45°25′49″N 122°13′54″W / 45.43040°N 122.23175°W / 45.43040; -122.23175


Stub icon

This Clackamas County, Oregon state location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

  • v
  • t
Retrieved from ""