Pioneer Highway - Revision history

Jonathan: Added pre-1927 information regarding Milton A. Miller

2025-08-08T09:20:58Z

Added pre-1927 information regarding Milton A. Miller

Jonathan: Added information about the history of Champoeg Park and the state parks department

2025-08-07T07:56:11Z

Added information about the history of Champoeg Park and the state parks department

Jonathan: Jonathan moved page Champoeg Memorial Highway to Pioneer Highway: Proposal was originally made as Pioneer Highway in 1927

2025-08-06T18:36:16Z

Jonathan moved page Champoeg Memorial Highway to Pioneer Highway: Proposal was originally made as Pioneer Highway in 1927

Jonathan: Include Pioneer Highway information in preparation for page move

2025-08-06T18:35:40Z

Include Pioneer Highway information in preparation for page move

Jonathan: Added history about the townsite of Champoeg

2025-07-02T06:54:16Z

Added history about the townsite of Champoeg

Jonathan: Added gallery of ROW file 5B-2-14 close-up

2025-06-28T23:59:24Z

Added gallery of ROW file 5B-2-14 close-up

Jonathan: Added route description

2025-06-27T08:18:38Z

Added route description

Jonathan: Initial page creation

2025-06-27T07:17:17Z

Initial page creation

New page

{{UnderConstruction}}
The '''Champoeg Memorial Highway''' was a 7.13-mile state highway that would have run between the Champoeg State Heritage Area and the [[Beaverton-Aurora Highway|Beaverton-Aurora Highway #141]] north of Aurora. Originally proposed in 1935, the plan was ultimately dropped in 1936 due to issue acquiring right-of-way and burdensome funding regulations. To this day, there is no state highway that passes by the Champoeg State Heritage Site.

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 === Pioneer Highway ===
-The park's non-standard jurisdiction appears to have led to some confusion.
+With the passage of the Market Road Tax Bill on June 3, 1919, the state was able to help fund county market roads to assist with maintenance costs<ref name="orblue_2015_292">Brown, Kate (comp.). ''2015-2016 Oregon Blue Book Almanac & Fact Book,'' Oregon Secretary of State, Archives Division, 2015, p. 292</ref>. Marion County benefitted greatly from the new market road system — by 1929, it would have 94 defined market roads within its borders, the most of any county<ref name="oshc_1929-09-26_2569-2570">Oregon State Highway Commission minutes, 26 September 1929, pp. 2569-70</ref>. Provincial Government Park was well-served under this system, with Market Road No. 12 (Yergen Corner-Newberg Road) passing by Champoeg and Market Road No. 62 (Champoeg-Monument Park Road) leading to Provincial Government Park itself<ref name="oshd_c1929_marion-co-market-roads">Oregon State Highway Department. [https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/ETA/Publications/Market-Roads.pdf "Marion County Market Roads,"] c. 1929, last accessed 7 August 2025</ref>.
 == References ==
 <references />

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 === East-West Alignment ===
-According to an OSHD Right of Way Map from February 1936<ref name="oshd_row_5B-2-14">Oregon State Highway Department. "Drawing No. 5B-2-14: Champoeg Memorial Highway, Located Line, Champoeg-Wilsonville Section", February 1936.</ref>, the western terminus of the Champoeg Memorial Highway would have been slightly to the south of the Pioneer Memorial Building in the Champoeg State Heritage Area. From there, it would have roughly paralleled the Willamette River easterly along its southern bank, cutting through the original platted streets of Champoeg in the process. At the historic town of Butteville, about 3 miles from the western terminus, the highway would have stopped following the river and curved to meet present-day Arndt Road east of town. From there, it would run due east along Arndt Road, crossing the Oregon Electric Railroad tracks at Butteville Station and eventually straddling the Marion-Clackamas County line. Finally, after a 6.89-mile journey, the Champoeg Memorial Highway would have split into a pair of 0.24-mile wyes to connect to both directions of a slightly-reconstructed Beaverton-Aurora Highway (marked "Tigard-Aurora Highway" on the ROW map) at its eastern terminus. Today, this location is about 2 miles north of Aurora at the corner of Arndt Road and Airport Road, at the northeast corner of the Aurora State Airport.
+According to an OSHD Right of Way Map from February 1936<ref name="oshd_row_5B-2-14">Oregon State Highway Department. "Drawing No. 5B-2-14: Champoeg Memorial Highway, Located Line, Champoeg-Wilsonville Section", February 1936</ref>, the western terminus of the Champoeg Memorial Highway would have been slightly to the south of the Pioneer Memorial Building in the Champoeg State Heritage Area. From there, it would have roughly paralleled the Willamette River easterly along its southern bank, cutting through the original platted streets of Champoeg in the process. At the historic town of Butteville, about 3 miles from the western terminus, the highway would have stopped following the river and curved to meet present-day Arndt Road east of town. From there, it would run due east along Arndt Road, crossing the Oregon Electric Railroad tracks at Butteville Station and eventually straddling the Marion-Clackamas County line. Finally, after a 6.89-mile journey, the Champoeg Memorial Highway would have split into a pair of 0.24-mile wyes to connect to both directions of a slightly-reconstructed Beaverton-Aurora Highway (marked "Tigard-Aurora Highway" on the ROW map) at its eastern terminus. Today, this location is about 2 miles north of Aurora at the corner of Arndt Road and Airport Road, at the northeast corner of the Aurora State Airport.
 In addition to Arndt Road, this highway would have run over portions of present-day Schuler Road near Butteville, as well as parts of the Townsite Trail and Champoeg-Butteville Bike Path in and around Champoeg State Heritage Site.
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 == History ==
-=== Champoeg ===
+=== Champoeg Townsite ===
 Situated on the southern bank of the Willamette River, the former townsite of Champoeg was best known for the Champoeg Meetings between European-American and French-Canadian settlers from 1841 to 1843. After the United States Congress failed to establish a government, these meetings led to a series of votes on May 2, 1843 on whether to form their own provisional government. At the time, control of the territory was disputed between the United States and the United Kingdom, and the British Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) had a sizeable influence in the region. The HBC initially convinced all the French-Canadians to vote against the provisional government twice. During the third vote, two French-Canadians switched their votes to side with the European-Americans, thus establishing a provisional government, 52 to 50. While it was originally hoped that Champoeg would become the capital of this new government, Oregon City ended up being selected instead when the Oregon Territory was formed in 1848.
-While the town continued to exist and grow after its failed bid to become the capital, disaster would soon strike. Due to exceedingly heavy rains in November 1861, the town was flooded and mostly washed away on December 2. It was never rebuilt. Starting in 1901, the state of Oregon acquired land to create Champoeg State Park, now known as the Champoeg State Heritage Area<ref name="or_parks_history_108">Oregon State Parks Department. ''History of the Oregon State Parks'', 1 July 1965, p. 108.</ref>.
+While the town continued to exist and grow after its failed bid to become the capital, disaster would soon strike. Due to exceedingly heavy rains in November 1861, the town was flooded and mostly washed away on December 2. It was never rebuilt.
 === Pioneer Highway ===
 == References ==
 <references />

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 {{UnderConstruction}}
-The '''Champoeg Memorial Highway''' was a 7.13-mile state highway that would have run between the Champoeg State Heritage Area and the [[Beaverton-Aurora Highway|Beaverton-Aurora Highway #141]] north of Aurora. Originally proposed in 1935, the plan was ultimately dropped in 1936 due to issue acquiring right-of-way and burdensome funding regulations. To this day, there is no state highway that passes by the Champoeg State Heritage Site.
+The '''Pioneer Highway''' — also known by a couple other names — refers to a plan first proposed in 1927 to route a north-south highway between Portland and Salem via the historic townsite of Champoeg. In the mid-1930s, this plan eventually evolved into an east-west highway between [[US Route 99W|US-99W]] in Newberg and [[US Route 99E|US-99E]] in Aurora via Champoeg, called the '''Champoeg Memorial Highway''' with its own alternative names. While a survey of a 7.13-mile section was completed in February 1936, any plans for a highway through the townsite were ultimately dropped due to issues acquiring right-of-way, burdensome funding regulations, and in-fighting between competing groups that wished to shape the future of what would become the Champoeg State Heritage Area. To this day, there is no state highway that passes by or through Champoeg.
 == Routing ==
 According to an OSHD Right of Way Map from February 1936<ref name="oshd_row_5B-2-14">Oregon State Highway Department. "Drawing No. 5B-2-14: Champoeg Memorial Highway, Located Line, Champoeg-Wilsonville Section", February 1936.</ref>, the western terminus of the Champoeg Memorial Highway would have been slightly to the south of the Pioneer Memorial Building in the Champoeg State Heritage Area. From there, it would have roughly paralleled the Willamette River easterly along its southern bank, cutting through the original platted streets of Champoeg in the process. At the historic town of Butteville, about 3 miles from the western terminus, the highway would have stopped following the river and curved to meet present-day Arndt Road east of town. From there, it would run due east along Arndt Road, crossing the Oregon Electric Railroad tracks at Butteville Station and eventually straddling the Marion-Clackamas County line. Finally, after a 6.89-mile journey, the Champoeg Memorial Highway would have split into a pair of 0.24-mile wyes to connect to both directions of a slightly-reconstructed Beaverton-Aurora Highway (marked "Tigard-Aurora Highway" on the ROW map) at its eastern terminus. Today, this location is about 2 miles north of Aurora at the corner of Arndt Road and Airport Road, at the northeast corner of the Aurora State Airport.
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 -02 oshd row 5B-2-14 4.jpg|Eastern terminus, Beaverton-Aurora Highway near Aurora
 </gallery>
 == History ==
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 While the town continued to exist and grow after its failed bid to become the capital, disaster would soon strike. Due to exceedingly heavy rains in November 1861, the town was flooded and mostly washed away on December 2. It was never rebuilt. Starting in 1901, the state of Oregon acquired land to create Champoeg State Park, now known as the Champoeg State Heritage Area<ref name="or_parks_history_108">Oregon State Parks Department. ''History of the Oregon State Parks'', 1 July 1965, p. 108.</ref>.
-=== Champoeg Memorial Highway ===
+=== Pioneer Highway ===
 == References ==
 <references />

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 -02 oshd row 5B-2-14 4.jpg|Eastern terminus, Beaverton-Aurora Highway near Aurora
 </gallery>
 == References ==
 <references />

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 In addition to Arndt Road, this highway would have run over portions of present-day Schuler Road near Butteville, as well as parts of the Townsite Trail and Champoeg-Butteville Bike Path in and around Champoeg State Heritage Site.
 == References ==
 <references />

← Older revision	Revision as of 18:36, 6 August 2025
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← Older revision		Revision as of 08:18, 27 June 2025
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	{{UnderConstruction}}		{{UnderConstruction}}
	The '''Champoeg Memorial Highway''' was a 7.13-mile state highway that would have run between the Champoeg State Heritage Area and the [[Beaverton-Aurora Highway\|Beaverton-Aurora Highway #141]] north of Aurora. Originally proposed in 1935, the plan was ultimately dropped in 1936 due to issue acquiring right-of-way and burdensome funding regulations. To this day, there is no state highway that passes by the Champoeg State Heritage Site.		The '''Champoeg Memorial Highway''' was a 7.13-mile state highway that would have run between the Champoeg State Heritage Area and the [[Beaverton-Aurora Highway\|Beaverton-Aurora Highway #141]] north of Aurora. Originally proposed in 1935, the plan was ultimately dropped in 1936 due to issue acquiring right-of-way and burdensome funding regulations. To this day, there is no state highway that passes by the Champoeg State Heritage Site.
		+
		+	== Routing ==
		+	According to an OSHD Right of Way Map from February 1936<ref name="oshd_row_5B-2-14">Oregon State Highway Department. "Drawing No. 5B-2-14: Champoeg Memorial Highway, Located Line, Champoeg-Wilsonville Section", February 1936.</ref>, the western terminus of the Champoeg Memorial Highway would have been slightly to the south of the Pioneer Memorial Building in the Champoeg State Heritage Area. From there, it would have roughly paralleled the Willamette River easterly along its southern bank, cutting through the original platted streets of Champoeg in the process. At the historic town of Butteville, about 3 miles from the western terminus, the highway would have stopped following the river and curved to meet present-day Arndt Road east of town. From there, it would run due east along Arndt Road, crossing the Oregon Electric Railroad tracks at Butteville Station and eventually straddling the Marion-Clackamas County line. Finally, after a 6.89-mile journey, the Champoeg Memorial Highway would have split into a pair of 0.24-mile wyes to connect to both directions of a slightly-reconstructed Beaverton-Aurora Highway (marked "Tigard-Aurora Highway" on the ROW map) at its eastern terminus. Today, this location is about 2 miles north of Aurora at the corner of Arndt Road and Airport Road, at the northeast corner of the Aurora State Airport.
		+
		+	In addition to Arndt Road, this highway would have run over portions of present-day Schuler Road near Butteville, as well as parts of the Townsite Trail and Champoeg-Butteville Bike Path in and around Champoeg State Heritage Site.
		+
		+	== References ==
		+	<references />