Editing Cornelius, Oregon (section)

==History==
In 1845, Benjamin Cornelius immigrated to Oregon with his family, traveling with [[Joseph Meek]].  The Cornelius family settled on the [[Tualatin Plains]], near what is now [[North Plains, Oregon|North Plains]].  The same year, [[Benjamin Q. Tucker]] and [[Solomon Emerick]] staked land claims and established farms on the land that would eventually become Cornelius.  At that time, the area was called Free Orchards; there was no actual community, but the name referred to the orchards on the {{convert|107|acre|km2}} of land.

In 1871, Benjamin Cornelius's son Colonel [[Thomas R. Cornelius]] learned that [[Ben Holladay]] planned to extend the [[Oregon and California Railroad]] right through Free Orchards.  Holladay had been told by [[Forest Grove, Oregon|Forest Grove]] and [[Hillsboro, Oregon|Hillsboro]] that they would not allow the railroad free right-of-way, so Holladay planned to bypass them, and build Free Orchards into a new city that would become the new county seat of [[Washington County, Oregon|Washington County]].
[[File:Cornelius Oregon Church.JPG|thumb|Church in the city on South Beech Street]]
The new railroad was approaching Free Orchards in 1871, and Cornelius saw an opportunity to benefit from the new railroad.  He left his farm and built a new house, a warehouse, and a store in Free Orchards.  The warehouse and store were located right next to the railroad, and so became natural places for local farmers to trade and store their goods.  Cornelius also built a creamery to process milk, and two sawmills to supply lumber for the growing community.  In addition, he helped to build the first frame schoolhouse and the Methodist Church.

In 1893, Free Orchards was incorporated and renamed "Cornelius", to honor the man who spent many years helping build the community.  Though Holladay's plan to make Free Orchards into the county seat never materialized, Cornelius survives today as an agricultural town and, increasingly, as a suburb of [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]]. The [[Cornelius Public Library]] was founded in 1912.<ref name="celebrate 100">{{cite news|last=Bloom|first=Deborah|title=Cornelius Library celebrates 100 years of service|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/forest-grove/index.ssf/2012/05/cornelius_library_celebrates_1.html|access-date=17 July 2013|newspaper=[[The Oregonian]]|date=May 28, 2012}}</ref>