About Heart of the Plains
The Tualatin Plains are a prairie area in central Washington County, Oregon. The plains were first inhabited by the Atfalati band of the Kalapuya, who, like many of the tribes in the Willamette Valley, would burn the flat lands of the valley to promote the growth of grasslands. This annual activity promoted easier hunting and seed gathering among other benefits, and it kept much of the valley floor unforested. Euro-American settlement began in the 1840s when former mountain men of the fur trade settled on the north section of the plains. The Tualatin Plains are drained by the Tualatin River, bounded on the north and east by the foothills of the Tualatin Mountains, to the south by the foothills of the Chehalem Mountains, and to the west by the foothills of the Northern Oregon Coast Range.
In 1840, the area around the settlement of Hillsboro was referred to as the East Plains. The area around the settlement of Forest Grove was known as the West Plains. And the area at the center of the Tualatin Valley Plains was Centerville, and later Cornelius, the heart of the plains in every sense of the word. Heart of the Plains is dedicated to uncovering and sharing the stories of Cornelius, Oregon and the surrounding communities of the Tualatin Plains, Blooming, Centerville, Fern Hill, Schefflin, Hillsboro to the east and Forest Grove to the west.
My name is J. LeRiche. I am a historian, photo restoration artist, and lifelong lover of the stories hiding in plain sight across the Tualatin Plains. I am also active with the Cornelius Historical Society, and I believe that history told well is history that lasts. Pull up a chair, there’s always another story to dig up.