Eventually, these same pathways would become stagecoach routes and roads. These well-traveled routes were also used by early explorers, trappers, traders, and settlers. For thousands of years, natives sustained themselves by traversing seasonal routes, using dugout canoes to navigate streams and rivers, trading and exporting goods, and living off the natural resources available in the region. Prior to the arrival of European settlers, it’s estimated that roughly 15,000 Kalapuya natives traveled throughout the Tualatin and Willamette valleys. In 1849, the county was renamed from Twality to Washington County to commemorate the nation’s first president.
The county’s original boundaries encompassed the entire northwest corner of Oregon, but eventually portions of the land were transferred to the newly formed Columbia and Multnomah counties. Washington County was created in 1843 as one of Oregon’s original four districts. The Tualatin River is the main waterway in Washington County and Henry Hagg Lake is the county’s largest lake.
The tallest peaks in Washington County, Larch Mountain and South Saddle Mountain, lie in the northern Oregon Coast Range. The Tualatin Valley and Washington County are separated from Portland by the Tualatin Mountains (or West Hills) and are bordered by the Chehalem Mountains and Northern Oregon Coast Range. Most of the county lies in the Tualatin Valley, a farming and suburban region that was formed by the Tualatin River, a tributary of the Willamette River.
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