OREGON CITY COURIER-HERALD NEW YEAR NUMBER.
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MAIN STREET, OREGON CITY
progress, from any point of view, during the
recent years of business depression, than in
any previous period of its history. This is
not true of Oregon City, because its prog
ress had before been slow, for it had pre
viously had years of very notable prosperity
in business activity and material growth, mit
the widespread depression seemed to make
people look to places having the most in
disputable merits, where destruction of val
ues was least liable to take place, and Ore
gon City stood the test. So there was a
substantial increase of population, building
operations were unprecendentedly active and
general business was good in the midst of
conditions that frightened capital every
where else, and to a great extent prostrated
the commercial activities of the world.
During the year 1894 the main business
street of Oregon City was paved with brick
at a cost somewhat exceeding $40,000. This
was the first vitrified brick pavement in the
Northwest, and gives entire satisfaction.
Other streets have been extensively im
proved, making them handsome and modern
thoroughfares.
There are nearly 6000 people resident at
Oregon City. Not all of these are within
the official limits of the town, but they are
within a radius of a little more than a mile
from the Oregon City postoffice, and are in
cluded in the suburban communities Cane
mah, Ely, Gladstone, Clackamas Heights,
Park Place, West Lynn, Windsor, West Side
and Willamette Falls. The latter town is
connected with the city by the Willamette
Falls electric line, over which 100 cords of
wood is carried daily to the pulp and paper
mills for heating purposes. The prosperity
of these is linked to that of Oregon City,
and the progress of the whole depends in
a large measure upon the development of
the water power at the falls.
A comparison of some of the great water
powers of the country with that of the falls
of the Willamette may be of interest.
Horse-power.
Oregon City, Or 56,000
Minneapolis, Minn 0,000
Holyoke, Mass 19,000
Manchester, N. H 11,000
Lawrence. Mass ; 12,000
Lowell, Mass 11.845
There has been comparatively little de
velopment of the Oregon Cily water power.
About 8000 horse-power is now used in man
ufacturing here. The most important im
provement in the matter of turning the
power of the falls to commercial uses has
been made by the Portland General Electric
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DR. McLOUGLHIN, Founder of Oregon City,
Company. This company was incorporated
in 1892 with a capital stock of $4,250,000. It
has constructed a station whose capacity is
12,000 horse-power, and furnishes electricity
for lighting Oregon City and transmits the
current to Portland, a distance' of 12 miles,
and lights that entire city. It also furnishes
electric power to operate a line of street
cars between Oregon City and Portland,
and street-car lines in the City of Portland.
It supplies currents in any quantity for
lights, power and heating, and furnishes mo
tive power for running everything, from the
largest factory to ventilating fans and sew
ing machines. At the present time the man
ufactories, the elevators and the various
kinds of machinery .in Portland use about
20,000 electric horse-power, which is gener
ated at Oregon City.
Traffic passing through the locks pays
tribute that finds circulation in this city. A
toll is exacted for passage through the canal
locks that belong to the Portland General
Electric Company. In time the Government
will probably buy this "public utility" and
traffic will be free of toll. The Government
offers $456,000 for the locks and dam. The
owners ask $1,200,000. The charges collect
ed by the General Electric Company for all
lockage amounts annually to $40,000.
Public school facilities include seven
schoolhouses and 25 teachers, all the schools
being graded. The Catholics have a paro
chial school also. There are Baptist. Cath
olic, Congregational, Episcopal, German
Evangelical, Methodist, Presbyterian, two
Lutheran and United Brethren churches and
the talent in the pulpits is quite rare in
towns of this size. Of the social, fraternal
and benevolent orders there are lodges of
Freemasons, Odd Fellows, Knights of
Pythias. United Workmen, Foresters, Red
men, Woodmen, Grand Army and cognate
organizations, a military company and sev
eral smaller social clubs.
Oregon City has two banks, employing
a capital of $200,000. The United States
Land Office for the district, embracing 11
counties in Northwestern Oregon, is located
here, and there are but three in the United
States that do a larger business. The town
has two weekly newspapers, a first-class the
ater, four hotels, three livery stables, three
public and four lodge halls and a large num
ber of mercantile houses.
Being the seat of justice of so large a
county, Oregon City has many advantages
in the way of trade and influence that it
would not otherwise have.
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uUGGON CUV LOOKING DOWN WILLAMETTE