Traffic over Barlow Trail forms Sandy

The Gresham Outlook, Sep 23, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Sandy Historical Society

The Revenue Schoolhouse

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During the summer and fall in the year of 1859 when Oregon became a state, there was nearly continuous traffic of emigrants and covered wagons traveling the Barlow Road through what would become the city of Sandy.

They came up out of the Sandy River Valley on what is now Ten Eyck Road, went west on what is now Pioneer Boulevard for three blocks, then veered off to the south on what is now Highway 211, the final leg of their very difficult 2,000-mile journey to Oregon City and the Willamette Valley.

They were viewed only by the Sandy area’s first settlers, the family of Francis and Lydia Revenue, who had arrived in the area on the Barlow Road in 1853. They obtained a Donation Land Claim of 320 acres about two miles north of the present city. We should add that Stephen Coalman, also an Oregon Trail pioneer, was known to have obtained in 1859 a 160-acre tract of land on the Sandy River about a mile from the Revenues. Coalman would become the father of Lige Coalman, the famous Mount Hood guide who climbed the mountain 586 times. There were several other families that had settled near the Revenues about that time.

Francis Revenue, though he hadn’t had much formal education, was an aggressive entrepreneur. He built a toll bridge where the Barlow Road crossed the Sandy River. On a level bench of his land above the river, he constructed his home and a separate trading post.

As his family of nine children grew, there was need for a school so Revenue, in 1870, built a log schoolhouse and hired a part-time teacher. As a few new settlers arrived in that general area, their children were also accepted in the school. This school existed for about 10 years until the Sandy District was formed in the 1880s.

The town of Sandy

The town of Sandy started when Richard Gerdes opened a small store in which the Sandy Post Office was established Feb. 13, 1873. It was located less than a block from Sandy’s present City Hall. Gerdes obviously named the post office “Sandy” because of its proximity to the Sandy River, which was hardly a mile to the north but at a much lower elevation. This gave the town and area a name. (An early post office named Sandy was located at the mouth of the Sandy River near what is now Troutdale, but it had ceased operation by the time Gerdes applied for the name.)

It is interesting to note that when Gerdes started his store, Francis Revenue saw that it was a better location for a town to develop as it was up and out of the deep valley and offered more level land for expansion. So Revenue abandoned his trading post and purchased property adjacent to Gerdes’ store where he constructed a larger store building and also a separate hotel.

As the little town grew, John Revenue, the eldest son of Francis, soon took over management of both the hotel and store for his father. These businesses flourished for about 30 years. John Revenue served as Sandy postmaster from 1887 to 1890.

John was also involved in other ventures. For a time he had a stage line (horse-drawn) to Portland; also a stage line between Sandy and the railroad depot in Boring, and he promoted the first plank road to Pleasant Home. He served as road supervisor for a time, always voted for schools and was a respected community leader.

John Revenue was instrumental in starting the Sandy Pioneer Association in 1926. (In about the 1970s the name was changed to Sandy Historical Society, Inc.)