Editing Lake Oswego, Oregon (section)

==History==

===Early history===
The [[Clackamas people]] once occupied the land that later became Lake Oswego,<ref name=lopl>{{cite web|title=A Brief History of Our City|publisher=Lake Oswego Public Library|url=http://www.ci.oswego.or.us/library/brief-history-our-city|access-date=April 13, 2015}}</ref> but diseases transmitted by European explorers and traders killed most of the natives. Before the influx of non-native people via the [[Oregon Trail]], the area between the [[Willamette River]] and [[Tualatin River]] had a scattering of early pioneer homesteads and farms.

===19th century===
[[File:Oregon Iron Company Furnace restored.JPG|thumb|upright|left|Restored remains of the 1866 Oregon Iron Company furnace, in [[George Rogers Park]]]]
As settlers arrived, encouraged by the [[Donation Land Claim Act of 1850]] and the subsequent [[Homestead Act]], they found the land underoccupied.

[[Albert Alonzo Durham]] founded the town of Oswego in 1847, [[Oregon Geographic Names|naming it]] after [[Oswego, New York]].<ref name=ohc>{{cite web|url=http://www.oswegoheritage.org/history/mythsmuddles.html|title=Eight Myths Concerning Lake Oswego|publisher=Oswego Heritage Council|access-date=January 15, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706090123/http://www.oswegoheritage.org/history/mythsmuddles.html|archive-date=July 6, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> He built a sawmill on Sucker Creek (now Oswego Creek), the town's first industry.<ref name=lopl/>

In 1855, the federal government forcibly relocated the remaining Clackamas people to the [[Grand Ronde Indian Reservation]] in nearby [[Yamhill County, Oregon|Yamhill County]].<ref name=lopl/>

During this early period in Oregon history, most trade proceeded from Portland to [[Oregon City, Oregon|Oregon City]] via the Willamette River, and up the Tualatin River valley through [[Tualatin, Oregon|Tualatin]], [[Scholls, Oregon|Scholls]], and [[Hillsboro, Oregon|Hillsboro]]. The thick woods and rain-muddied roads were major obstacles to traveling by land. The vestiges of river landings, [[ferry]] stops, and [[covered bridge]]s of this period can still be seen along this area. A landing in the city's present-day [[George Rogers Park]] is thought to have been developed by Durham around 1850 for lumber transport; another landing was near the [[Tryon Creek]] outlet into the Willamette.

In 1865, prompted by the earlier discovery of [[iron ore]] in the [[Tualatin Valley]], the [[Oregon Iron Company]] was incorporated. Within two years, the first [[blast furnace]] on the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] was built, patterned after the arched furnaces common in northwestern [[Connecticut]], and the company set out to make Oswego into the "[[Pittsburgh]] of the West".<ref name=goodall>{{cite book|last=Goodall|first=Mary|title=Oregon's Iron Dream|publisher=Binsford & Mort|location=Portland, Oregon|year=1958|page=43}}</ref> In 1878, the company was sold off to out-of-state owners and renamed the [[Oswego Iron Company]], and in 1882, Portland financiers [[Simeon Gannett Reed]] and [[Henry Villard]] purchased the business and renamed it the [[Oregon Iron and Steel Company]].<ref name=kuo>{{cite web|url=http://www.oswegoheritage.org/history/pdf/history.pdf|title=A Brief History of the Oregon Iron Industry|last=Kuo|first=Susanna Campbell|publisher=Oswego Heritage Council|access-date=July 23, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119161430/http://www.oswegoheritage.org/history/pdf/history.pdf|archive-date=November 19, 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Portland Mormon Temple (Clackamas County, Oregon scenic images) (clacDA0239).jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Portland Oregon Temple]] of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] is located in Lake Oswego.]]
The railroad arrived in Oswego in 1886, in the form of the [[Portland and Willamette Valley Railway]]. A {{convert|7|mi|km|adj=mid|-long|0}} line provided Oswego with a direct link to Portland. Prior to this, access to the town was limited to primitive roads and riverboats. The railroad's arrival was a mixed blessing; locally, it promoted residential development along its path, which enabled Oswego to grow beyond its industrial roots, but nationally, the continued expansion of the freight railroad system gave easy local access to cheaper and higher quality iron from the [[Great Lakes]] region. This ultimately led to the local industry's demise.<ref name=lopl/><ref name=kuo/>

By 1890, the industry produced 12,305 tons of [[pig iron]],<ref name=lopl/> and at its peak provided employment to around 300 men. The success of this industry greatly stimulated the development of Oswego, which by this time had four general stores, a bank, two barber shops, two hotels, three churches, nine saloons, a drugstore, and even an opera house.<ref name=goodall/>

The iron industry was a vital part of a strategy designed by a few Portland financiers who strove to control all related [[entrepreneur]]ial ventures in the late 19th century. Control of shipping and railroads was held under the [[Oregon Steam Navigation Company]], later to become the [[Oregon Railway and Navigation Company]]. This local monopoly responded to the area's increasing demand for iron and steel, and grew to play a key role in economic history throughout the area.

===20th and 21st centuries===
[[File:Lake Oswego Railroad Bridge.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Lake Oswego Railroad Bridge]] across the [[Willamette River]], shown in April 2008]]

The Oregon Iron and Steel Company adapted to the new century by undertaking programs in land development, selling large tracts of the {{convert|24000|acre|km2}} of land it owned, and power, building a plant on Oswego Creek starting in 1905, and erecting power poles in subsequent years to supply power to Oswego citizens. With the water needs of the smelters tailing off, the recreational potential of the lake and town was freed to develop rapidly.<ref name=lopl/>

In 1910, the town of Oswego was [[Municipal corporation|incorporated]].<ref name=lopl/> The [[Southern Pacific Railroad]], which had acquired the P&WVR line at the end of the 19th century, widened it from narrow to standard gauge and in 1914 electrified it, providing rapid, clean, and quiet service between Oswego and Portland. The service was known as the [[Red Electric]].<ref name=lopl/>

Passenger traffic hit its peak in 1920 with 64 trains to and from Portland daily. Within nine years of the peak, passenger service ended, and the line was used for intermittent freight service to  Portland's south waterfront until its abandonment in 1984. The line was preserved, however, and the [[Willamette Shore Trolley]] provides tourist rides on the line today.

One of the land developers benefiting from sales by OI&S was Paul Murphy, whose Oswego Lake Country Club helped promote the new city as a place to "live where you play."<ref name=lopl/> Murphy was instrumental in developing the first water system to supply the western reaches of the city, and also played a key role in encouraging the design of fine homes in the 1930s and 1940s that ultimately established Oswego as an attractive place to live. In the 1940s and 1950s, continued development helped spread Oswego's residential areas.<ref name=lopl/>

[[Public transport|Mass transit]] service after the end of [[Interurban|electric interurban]] service was provided by Oregon Motor Stages, but that company suspended all operations following a drivers' [[Strike action|strike]] in 1954.<ref name="petition">"Petition of Intercity Buses, Inc., Wins Support of Oswego as PUC Hearing Ends". (December 22, 1954). ''The Oregonian'', p. 8.</ref> In 1955, a newly formed private company, [[Blue Bus lines|Intercity Buses, Inc.]], began operating bus service connecting Oswego with [[Downtown Portland, Oregon|downtown Portland]] and Oregon City.<ref name="oswego fete">"Oswego Fete Due Bus Line: Regular Service Set Next Monday".  (February 3, 1955). ''The Oregonian'', p. 8.</ref> This service was taken over by [[TriMet]] in 1970.

In 1960, Oswego was renamed "Lake Oswego" when it annexed part of neighboring [[Lake Grove, Oregon|Lake Grove]].<ref name=lopl/> The city has some nicknames including "Lake No-Negro",<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SLHxRYFWH1UC&pg=PA263|title=How to Talk American: A Guide to Our Native Tongues |author=Crotty, Jim |date=1997 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |isbn=0395780322 |location=Boston |page=263 |oclc=36977188 }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Fugitives & Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon |last=Palahniuk, Chuck |date=2003 |publisher=Crown Journeys |isbn=1400047838 |edition= 1st |location=New York |page=21 |oclc=51058952 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vvyLDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA21 |access-date=November 9, 2021}} [https://archive.org/details/howtotalkamerica00crot/page/263 Alt URL]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cook |first=Curtis |title=Portland Has the Highest Per-Capita Number of Nerds Who Say "Sportsball" for Any Athletic Activity |url=https://www.wweek.com/culture/2018/01/31/portland-has-the-highest-per-capita-number-of-nerds-who-say-sportsball-for-any-athletic-activity/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414134317/https://www.wweek.com/culture/2018/01/31/portland-has-the-highest-per-capita-number-of-nerds-who-say-sportsball-for-any-athletic-activity/ |archive-date=April 14, 2019 |access-date=April 14, 2019 |website=Willamette Week |language=en-US |quote=In a city affectionately nicknamed Lake No Negro}}</ref> "Lake Big Ego",<ref name=":0" /> "Fake Oswego"<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1"/> and "Fake Lost Ego".<ref name=":1" /> Additionally, it was spoken of as [[NIMBY|Nimby]]ville during a planning-related seminar on 2008 by Dennis Egner.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://sites.dartmouth.edu/planning/2008/03/19/confronting-nimbys/ |title=Confronting NIMBYs or Embracing a Difference of Opinion {{!}} Dartmouth College Planning |date=March 19, 2008 |website=sites.dartmouth.edu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414112147/https://sites.dartmouth.edu/planning/2008/03/19/confronting-nimbys/ |archive-date=April 14, 2019 |access-date=April 14, 2019 |quote=Egner spoke about Nimbyville and how his office is focused on maintaining Lake Oswego's high quality of life.}}</ref> A 2012 article in the ''[[Daily Journal of Commerce]]'' identified Egner as a long-range planning director for the city of Lake Oswego.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://djcoregon.com/news/2012/04/24/lake-oswego-wants-to-expand-farmland-for-agriculture-tennis-courts/ |title=Lake Oswego wants to develop farm for urban agriculture, tennis courts |last=Fehrenbacher |first=Lee |date=April 24, 2012 |website=Daily Journal of Commerce |language=en-US |access-date=April 14, 2019}}</ref> According to historian [[James W. Loewen]], locals often call it "Lake No Negro" in reference to its recognition status as an "elite white suburb".<ref name="Loewen">{{Cite web |last=Loewen |first=James W. |title=Sundown Towns in the United States |url=https://sundown.tougaloo.edu/sundowntownsshow.php?id=846 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623054841/https://sundown.tougaloo.edu/sundowntownsshow.php?id=846 |archive-date=June 23, 2018 |access-date=August 2, 2020 |website=sundown.tougaloo.edu}}</ref>

In August 2020, Lake Oswego received significant media attention when its resident received an anonymous letter from neighbors asking them to take down their "Black Lives Matter" sign from the window, complaining that it lowers property values,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Newton |first=Kamilah |date=August 25, 2020 |title=What are 'sundown towns'? Historically all-white towns in America see renewed scrutiny thanks to 'Lovecraft Country' |url=https://news.yahoo.com/what-are-sundown-towns-historically-allwhite-towns-in-america-see-renewed-scrutiny-230321396.html |access-date=September 4, 2020 |website=news.yahoo.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Neighbors ask Lake Oswego family to remove signage in support of Black Lives Matter |url=https://www.opb.org/article/2020/08/05/neighbors-ask-lake-oswego-family-to-remove-signage-in-support-of-black-lives-matter/ |access-date=September 4, 2020 |website=opb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Oregonian/OregonLive |first=Jayati Ramakrishnan {{!}} The |date=August 5, 2020 |title=Lake Oswego family receives racist letter over Black Lives Matter sign in window |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/08/lake-oswego-family-receives-racist-letter-over-black-lives-matter-sign-in-window.html |access-date=September 4, 2020 |website=oregonlive |language=en}}</ref> which prompted Mayor Studebaker to issue a response to this matter.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Howell |first=Clara |date=August 25, 2020 |title=Lake Oswego mayor addresses recent interview about racism in the community |url=https://pamplinmedia.com/lor/48-news/477924-386303-lake-oswego-mayor-addresses-recent-interview-about-racism-in-the-community |access-date=September 4, 2020 |website=LakeOswegoReview |language=en-gb}}</ref> A documentary titled ''Lake No Negro'' about Lake Oswego's racially exclusive past was produced by a Lakeridge High School student in 2020.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zeller |first=Asia |date=May 21, 2020 |title=Behind the documentary ''Lake No Negro'' |work=LakeOswegoReview |url=https://pamplinmedia.com/lor/108-education/467711-378701-behind-the-documentary-lake-no-negro |url-access=subscription |access-date=July 29, 2022}}</ref>