Lake Oswego: A History

Lake Oswego SmelterThe Clackamas Indians originally inhabited the area now known as Lake Oswego. The Indians called the lake Waluga, meaning wild swan.

Lake Oswego is only about 15 miles North of Abernathy Green, the historic end of The Oregon Trail. Being so close to the destination of those traveling West, the earliest settlers brought a scattering of homesteads and farms.

The town of Oswego was founded in 1847 by Albert Durham who named it after his hometown of Oswego, New York. In the early days of the town the lake was known as Sucker Lake and the creek from the Tualatin River that fed into the lake was known as Sucker Creek. Albert Durham built a sawmill along Sucker Creek.

Waterways were the main means of transportation and commerce and Lake Oswego was very much a part of that. Goods could be transported down Sucker Creek, across the lake, and down to the Willamette River. This allowed river traffic to circumvent the falls along the Willamette River that are next to Oregon City. Today you can see evidence of this river traffic in the ferry crossings and ferry launches. One of the old ferry launches is still visible in downtown Lake Oswego at George Rogers Park, and there is still an active ferry crossing South of Lake Oswego between West Linn and Canby.

The first blast furnace on the West coast for the smelting of iron ore was built in Lake Oswego in 1865. At the time, the early industrialists hoped to turn Lake Oswego into “The Pittsburg of the West”. This may very well have happened if not for the advent of railway.

The coming of reliable trains had two huge impacts on Lake Oswego. First, better quality and less expensive iron ore could be manufactured elsewhere and quickly transported where needed, which pretty much doomed the iron ore industry in Lake Oswego. And second, the railroad made travel between Portland and Oswego easy and affordable. At the height of the rail service between Portland and Lake Oswego, in 1920, there were 64 trains daily. This same rail line is still in use today and known as the Willamette Shore Trolley. It remains a lovely way to see the river and enjoy a leisurely ride into Portland.

With transportation convenient between Lake Oswego and Portland, the town of Oswego blossomed. The lake drew people down for the weekend. To this day you will see a mix of small cottages that were built in the 1920’s and likely used as summer recreation homes for people who lived in Portland. Again, as transportation continued to improve with good roads and the ownership of cars, people were able to not just vacation in Lake Oswego, but also to live in Oswego and work in Portland.

The “City of Oswego” became the “City of Lake Oswego” in 1960 when the city annexed the town to the West, Lake Grove. The two names were combined to create Lake Oswego. And for clarity, the city is “Lake Oswego” and the lake is “Oswego Lake”.

The draw that has always made people want to live here is the same now as it was when the city was founded in 1847. It is next to the Willamette River and has a huge lake in the middle. The scenery is gorgeous and opportunities for recreation are plentiful. The close proximity to a major city with a major port allows people who live here to be near good jobs. And the town has always been a well-loved and well-cared for by the community. New residents are nearly always overheard mentioning how wonderful it is to live in a community where people really care, and where participation in everything from schools to local government is so full and vibrant.

Market Activity: February 25 – March 2, 2008

We’re pleased to introduce a weekly feature here at PropertyBlotter that will help you keep in touch with the real estate market in Lake Oswego.

Every Monday, you’ll find the real estate activity for the previous week: properties listed, homes with sales pending, and finally, sold properties (along with the final selling price) for all condos, attached, and single-family homes in Lake Oswego. The active listings will have convenient links for additional information about each property.

Without further ado, here are the Lake Oswego real estate market statistics for the week February 25 through March 2 (look to the bottom for definitions and research criteria):

New Listings

Address List Price Tot Beds Tot Baths Tot Sq Ft Prop Type List Date
121 OSWEGO SMT
$149,500
1
1
764
CONDO
2/28
16584 SW ROOSEVELT AVE
$229,000
2
1
1,188
DETACHD
2/25
215 CERVANTES
$229,900
2
2
1,100
CONDO
2/25
750 1ST ST
$254,900
2
2
1,350
CONDO
2/28
18966 SW LONGFELLOW AVE
$346,950
3
2
1,782
DETACHD
2/29
6301 ALYSSA TER
$349,900
3
2.1
1,546
ATTACHD
2/26
5275 OAKRIDGE RD
$349,900
3
2
1,267
DETACHD
2/28
4211 WOODSIDE CIR
$375,000
3
2
1,688
CONDO
2/25
3190 DUNCAN DR
$389,999
3
2.1
2,401
DETACHD
2/27
1101 HEMLOCK ST
$397,000
3
2.1
2,092
DETACHD
2/29
4648 REMBRANDT LN
$410,000
3
2.1
1,793
DETACHD
2/24
100 LEONARD ST
$438,900
2
2
1,364
ATTACHD
2/24
19210 SW MAREE CT
$450,000
3
2.1
1,634
DETACHD
2/24
6187 FROST LN
$475,000
3
2.1
2,107
DETACHD
2/27
1602 GREENTREE RD
$485,000
3
2
1,708
DETACHD
2/27
428 ASH ST
$497,900
5
5
4,380
DETACHD
2/29
4191 CHAPMAN WAY
$525,000
4
2.1
2,610
DETACHD
2/27
17 ABELARD ST
$539,000
3
2
2,070
DETACHD
2/24
2104 WEMBLEY PARK RD
$565,000
4
3
2,052
DETACHD
2/24
4231 SUNSET DR
$574,900
3
2
2,852
DETACHD
3/1
5562 ROYAL OAKS DR
$624,900
4
2.1
2,342
DETACHD
2/25
200 BURNHAM RD
$629,000
3
2
1,894
CONDO
2/27
3745 TEMPEST DR
$649,876
4
3
2,743
DETACHD
2/29
178 PINE VALLEY RD
$699,900
4
3.1
2,999
DETACHD
2/29
1 BRITTEN CT
$699,950
4
3
2,325
DETACHD
2/27
5853 SOUTHWOOD DR
$769,900
5
2.1
3,707
DETACHD
2/28
435 8TH ST
$799,000
4
3.1
2,505
DETACHD
2/29
1710 SW Glenmorrie Terrace
$799,000
4
3
3,110
DETACHD
2/26
3886 TAMARACK LN
$799,900
4
3.1
4,010
DETACHD
2/24
14101 REDWOOD CT
$824,900
3
3.1
2,629
DETACHD
2/26
18720 WESTVIEW DR
$878,888
4
3
3,244
DETACHD
3/1
18220 RIVER EDGE CT
$899,000
4
3
3,335
DETACHD
2/26
19320 SW Lorna LN
$949,000
4
4.1
3,660
DETACHD
2/25
5435 WASHINGTON CT
$1,049,900
4
3.1
3,323
DETACHD
2/26
4725 SW UPPER DR
$1,200,000
3
2.1
2,600
DETACHD
2/29
720 6TH ST
$1,300,000
3
3.1
4,217
DETACHD
2/27
18284 MEADOWLARK LN
$1,559,000
4
4.2
5,648
DETACHD
2/26
688 IRON MOUNTAIN BLVD
$1,689,000
4
4.1
4,143
DETACHD
2/24
18990 SW BARTON RD
$1,699,000
4
3.2
4,592
DETACHD
2/27
19007 EASTSIDE RD
$1,839,000
4
3.1
4,651
DETACHD
2/24
4502 Lamont WAY
$1,950,000
4
4
3,838
DETACHD
2/28
14001 GOODALL RD
$1,975,000
4
3.1
5,397
DETACHD
2/24
13083 SW KNAUS RD
$3,295,000
5
4.1
6,435
DETACHD
2/27

Pending Sales

Address List Price Tot Beds Tot Baths Tot Sq Ft Prop Type DOM
86 KINGSGATE RD
$174,000
2
2
849
CONDO
13
668 McVey AVE
$199,850
2
1.1
976
CONDO
668 McVey AVE
$299,850
3
1.1
985
CONDO
1402 PARRISH ST
$329,000
3
2.1
1,880
CONDO
215
4537 HERITAGE LN
$329,900
3
2.1
1,619
DETACHD
96
1647 DEVON LN
$389,900
4
2.1
2,494
DETACHD
304
1491 KOAWOOD DR
$424,900
3
3
2,510
DETACHD
60
16200 PACIFIC HWY
$439,850
2
2
1,200
CONDO
622
4333 ORCHARD WAY
$564,000
4
2.1
2,897
DETACHD
49
2311 PARK RD
$649,900
4
3
2,658
DETACHD
303
544 9TH ST
$699,000
3
3
2,088
DETACHD
2
1130 OAK TER
$859,900
4
3.1
3,729
DETACHD
123

Sold Properties

Address List Price Tot Beds Tot Baths Tot Sq Ft Prop Type DOM
56 Galen Street
$185,000
2
2
995
CONDO
14636 DORIS AVE
$360,000
3
2
1,861
DETACHD
68
1405 CHERRY CREST AVE
$529,000
4
3
2,590
DETACHD
30
5625 SOUTHWOOD DR
$630,000
4
2.1
3,301
DETACHD
136
26 GROUSE TER
$637,000
4
3
3,857
DETACHD
112
15915 Waluga DR
$750,000
3
2.1
2,939
DETACHD

Criteria: Homes in the 97034 and 97035 zip code, listed, pending or sold between February 25 – March 2, 2008 as reported by the Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS). DETACHD refers to Single Family Detached Residence, MFG refers to manufactured housing, and ATTACHD refers to single-family residences with some portion of the structure attached to another property, but not constituting CONDO ownership. DOM stands for days on market, or the number of days from when the listing became active and when it received an acceptable offer.

Welcome to PropertyBlotter!

Welcome to the premier edition of the Property Blotter!

This blog is intended to be a fun and useful forum pertaining to real estate issues in the City of Lake Oswego. It will bring you information that directly reflects current market conditions.

Art in Lakeview VillageIt will also provide you with history of the area and insights into Lake Oswego’s vibrant community. You will find plenty of statistics and details about houses currently for sale and recently sold. You will also find neighborhood profiles and featured homes. And, yes, you’ll get commentary on local events and neighborhood happenings.

What you will not find is endless self-promotion and unneeded advertising. This is going to be a place to learn about Lake Oswego real estate and not a place that will waste your time. We don’t care for that sort of thing any more than you do.

And just who are we and why do we have any right to be doing this? We are Realtors with Oregon First Real Estate. We have each lived in Lake Oswego for some time and have been directly a part of this community. Between us we have 30 years of experience selling real estate in this fine community. Between us we have lived in Lake Oswego for 20 years. Our children have attended school here. We participated in sports here. We volunteered with local non-profits here. We know this town.

Lake Oswego is an amazing place to live. It is also seriously misunderstood. Yes, there are million-dollar homes in Lake Oswego. But more than money, Lake Oswego is a town that has people who care. It has always had great schools and so attracts families looking for excellent public schools. There are modest homes as well as lakeside estates

If we are doing our job right, you’ll come away from this blog feeling like you know a bit more about what prices of homes are like, what is going on with local businesses, and what it is about LO that makes it a great place to live and to work. If you currently live here, you’ll know more about what your home may be worth. If you are thinking about moving here, you’ll know more about what to expect when you buy a home and what this community is like as a place to live.

So come along with us on this blog-mobile. It is going to be a great journey.