Oregon Route 224
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| Oregon Route 224 | |||
| Clackamas Highway #127 Sunrise Expressway Highway #75 East Portland Freeway #64 (1965-2016) |
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| Route Information | |||
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| Maintained by Oregon Department of Transportation | |||
| Length | 48.21 mi. | ||
| Existed | c1961 to present | ||
| Junctions | |||
| West End | SE 17th Avenue in Milwaukie | ||
| East End |  NF-46 near Ripplebrook |
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| Navigation | |||
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Oregon Route 224 is a state route that runs from SE 17th Avenue (just west of Template:Oregon Route 99E) in Milwaukie and NF-46 at the Rainbow Campground near Ripplebrook. It was created sometime in 1961 when its underlying state highway, the Clackamas Highway #171, was extended from Faraday to its present eastern terminus. It has had several realignments along much of its length throughout the years, including the 2016 opening of Phase 1 of the Sunrise Expressway.
Contents
History
Prior to State Highway Designation
Milwaukie to Clackamas
By 1914, a road can be seen running between Milwaukie and about a mile north of Clackamas along the future 1947 Clackamas Highway #171 alignment on the Oregon City USGS topographic map. This road, called Lake Road, is not known to have been part of the Clackamas County Market Road system.
The portion of Clackamas Highway #171 that was eventually cosigned with Cascade Highway #160 was marked on the 1914 Oregon City topographic map as "Meridian Road". It would become part of Clackamas County Market Road #38 (82nd Street Road) by 1930.
Clackamas to Rock Creek Junction
By 1914, a road can be seen running between Clackamas and Rock Creek Junction along the future 1947 Clackamas Highway #171 alignment on the Oregon City USGS topographic map. Between modern-day SE Evelyn Street and Rock Creek Junction, the road would also become part of Clackamas County Market Road #16 (Rock Creek Bridge-Mt. Hood Loop) by 1930.
Rock Creek Junction to Estacada
In 1846, the Barlow Road was completed to Oregon City after branching from the Oregon Trail east of The Dalles. While the original Clackamas River crossing was at Feldheimer's Ford (also called "Feldenheimer's Ford", located southwest of Eagle Creek and northwest of Estacada), settlers could soon cross at one of three ferries located along the OR-224 corridor between Carver and Estacada[1][2]:
- The rope-operated LaTourette Ferry crossed the Clackamas near Barton between 1847 and 1849. Only one wagon could cross at a time. A bridge opened at that location in 1912.
- Two other ferries, the Chase Ferry (c. 1874) and McMurry Ferry (c. 1912), were also established at that same spot.
- Baker's Ferry, also rope-operated, crossed the Clackamas near Carver between 1847 and 1883, when it was replaced by a bridge. It was located at the present-day Carver boat ramp.
- The Feldheimer Ferry crossed the Clackamas at the aforementioned Feldheimer's Ford between about 1850 and 1880. The ferry only transported people — livestock and wagons forded the river. Unlike the other two crossings, this one wasn't replaced by a bridge, but it lives on as the Feldheimer boat ramp today.
- This ferry appeared on USGS topographic maps of the area between 1911 and 1938, but it's not known if it was operating at that time.
Today, the Oregon Trail National Historic Trail's Barlow Road Route is officially signed along OR-224 between Barton (joining from Baker's Ferry Road) and Eagle Creek (leaving on OR-211).
Estacada to Ripplebrook
On May 5, 1911 Clackamas County filed an order with the county court to establish County Road No. 736 from Estacada to "the Northeast corner of the SE¼SE¼ of Section 27, Township 3 South, Range 4 East, W.M."[3]; this road no longer exists, but was essentially a westward extension of today's SE Kemp Road. Later that year on December 6, the county filed another order with the court to establish County Road No. 765 (Drill Road), which extended from a point along County Road No. 736 to a point 1 mile southeast of Faraday<ref name="1963_oshd_memo_kuhn">.
By 1930, these future sections of OR-224 were a part of the Clackamas County Market Road system (* indicates former alignment):
| Segment | Market Road | Portion |
|---|---|---|
| OR-213 concurrency* | Market Road #38 (82nd Street Road) | Entire length |
| Clackamas to Rock Creek Junction | Market Road #16 (Rock Creek Bridge-Mt. Hood Loop) | SE Evelyn St.* to Rock Creek Junction |
| Rock Creek Junction to Carver | Market Road #39 (Rock Creek Bridge to Redland Store) | Entire length |
| Carver to Barton | Market Road #7 (Barton-Carver) | Entire length |
| Barton to Estacada | Market Road #19 (Barton-Eagle Creek-Estacada) | Entire length |
References
- ↑ Topinka, Lyn. "TheBarlowRoad.com - 'Crossing the Clackamas River'", https://web.archive.org/web/20160403184715/http://thebarlowroad.com/barlow_road_crossing_clackamas_river.html (archive of http://thebarlowroad.com/barlow_road_crossing_clackamas_river.html), 2015, last accessed 15 May 2025.
- ↑ Query, Charles Floyd. A History of Oregon Ferries Since 1826, Maverick Books (Bend, Ore.), 2008, p. 4
- ↑ Kuhn, James R. memo to R.L. Porter, "Clackamas Highway," 20 March 1963.
