By Sarah Taylor
From time immemorial the banks of the lower Willamette were places of abundant food, fiber, and medicine. Sparkling clean creeks made their way down the hillsides to the many lakes, wetlands, and river. Fish and fowl were plentiful in a system of economic sustainability.
Willbridge, like all of the Linnton hills, occupies the lands that were familiar to and well used by the many Oregon tribes and by the Chinook, who had villages close by. Driving down Highway 30 to Portland, it’s easy to miss the small village of Willbridge. Slow down and you’ll notice the few remaining houses and businesses that once made up this town, before Linnton neighborhoods were annexed in 1915.
Willlbridge sat on the banks of the Willamette with two good sized-lakes, known later as Doane and Kittridge, that were filled with fish and provided great duck hunting. It encompassed the wide forests of the Tualatin Mountains and clear steams, now forced into tunnels or bulldozed out of existence.
During the land grab of the Homestead Act created by Senator Linn, 700 acres of land were given to Peter Saltzman who established his homestead in 1893. Only white men and their wives could take advantage of these land claims in Oregon. Saltzman Road extended from the river to what is now Skyline Blvd. and beyond.
Today, Willbridge is home to the popular Saltzman Trail that follows parts of Saltzman Creek into Forest Park. Turn onto Saltzman Road to reach it and park along the crest of the trail to see acres of fields which are Portland’s brownfields–the name given to contaminated land that has been deserted or is waiting for restoration.
To know Willbridge is to know the history of its First Peoples and the homesteaders, but also the many who sought to alter it and make their fortunes. It is the story of immigrants who came to work in the timber industry and later in the shipyards. Residents recalled going to fish and finding that, one day, the water was bright green and the fish were dead; putting frogs in the water, they watched them quickly die. Scores of businesses dumped toxic waste in the lakes and surrounding lands.
Willbridge comes from “Will” (Willamette) and “bridge” (the railroad bridge) built in 1908 to shorten the railroads’ venture from the Columbia to the Willamette. The same railroad led to the “Cut” in North Portland which displaced many people and was the burial ground for the Chinese workers who built it.
Residents wrote about grocery stores and other small businesses. A former tugboat company ship captain was a long-term resident. Early students went to Chapman School and later Guilds Lake School. One said that his father got firewood from old docks. Others wrote of wonderful days spent playing in the forest and creeks. Like on all our riverside hills, there were boarding houses, small hotels, and places where workers and travelers could get a meal.
In time, the timber and agricultural industries were usurped by out-of-state fossil fuel companies. The original homesteaders sold off lots for railroads or oil tanks. Residents feared living near the tanks in World War II and that German submarines would come up the river and blow them up. The tanks were built with shoots so that they could empty their contents into the river should there be an enemy attack but children used those shoots for bike ramps.
Like in other river communities, more was demolished by the Olympic Pipeline and the widening of Highway 30 for oil trucks. It is the author’s opinion that the small towns did not need to be torn down for any other reason. Later, the area would be designated as heavy industrial, further destroying the small community.
More recent fame resulted from the father-daughter story made famous by the book, “My Abandonment” by Peter Rock and the film, “Leave No Trace.” It’s likely other people camped in the forest. It was also the site of infamous murders. Tim Kristin recalls seeing many Indigenous families who lived here from his school bus. Stories include a large sweat lodge and ceremonial place.
After visiting this neighborhood of old timber houses and gentle dirt roads, head back to Hwy. 30 and turn on Kittridge Road. Drive past the Metro waste facility along Front Avenue and see the empty fields. Though severely contaminated, they give us a sense of the former landscape, the flood plains and lakes. If you turn around at Siltronics, you can see Willamette Cove on the other side of the river.
It was all part of a perfect ecosystem–from the ridge of the mountains to the river. If you know more or have pictures, please share your information at our next meeting; we will add it to this collection.