Orenco (, ) is a former company town in Washington County, Oregon, United States, located between Hillsboro and Aloha. The former community of Orenco now forms the Orenco neighborhood in Hillsboro, which is the site of the Orenco Station housing development.

The community was established in 1905 as a company town by the Oregon Nursery Company, within a 1200-acre (4.9&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) area owned by the company. The name Orenco is a composite of the company's initials. and Orenco post office operated from 1909 to 1963.

Geography

Orenco is located in the Tualatin Valley, with Rock Creek and other smaller streams running through the area. Major roads in the area include U.S. Route 26, Cornelius Pass Road, Cornell Road, NW 231st Avenue, and Baseline Road.

Orenco's approximate location is northeast Hillsboro, north of Baseline Road, south of Cornell Road, west of Cornelius Pass Road, and east of Shute Road. Unlike the town of Orenco, the present-day neighborhood of the same name extends north of Cornell Road, with the Orenco Station area.

History

European American pioneers first arrived in the Orenco area in the mid-1850s, after the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 encouraged settlers to travel to Oregon. The Orenco area was cleared by Chinese laborers employed by a number of local farmers.

At the turn of the century Archibald McGill and Malcolm McDonald formed the Oregon Nursery Company. In May 1906, the Oregon Nursery Company purchased in Washington County, Oregon where they would begin building a large nursery operation. In 1908, the town of Orenco was founded with the suggestion of the name coming from Anna Lisky McNew. The townsite was largely on the Donation Land Claim of William H. Bennett. Also in 1908, the Oregon Electric Railway began interurban service on its line between Forest Grove and Portland. with only freight trains continuing to use the rail line thereafter (until the line's abandonment in 1977). In 1938, residents voted to dissolve the municipal corporation. The golf course opened in 1953 and was owned and operated by the Hillsboro Elks Lodge until it was sold to developers and closed in 2006.

Points of interest

thumb|Orenco Station community

  • Orenco Station is a smart growth community in Hillsboro that takes its name from the former community of Orenco.
  • The Orenco MAX station on the MAX Blue Line is named after the community.
  • East–west-running streets in the former community are all named after trees, and are in alphabetical order starting with Alder and ending with Fir.
  • Imbrie Farm from the National Register of Historic Places is located just north of Orenco.
  • The neighborhood contains two elementary schools of the Hillsboro School District: Orenco Elementary, in the historical part of Orenco, and Quatama Elementary, in the newer Orenco Station area.
  • The Hillsboro Elks Lodge is located in Orenco.
  • In the vicinity are Intel's Ronler Acres and Hawthorn Farm facilities. Hillsboro Stadium is also near by.

References

  • Orenco history from Orenco Elementary School
  • <!--Orenco historyCached version of Orenco historyfrom TriMet-->
  • Orenco Station article from terrain.org