The Sentinel Tree grew between two roadways, surviving logging and real estate development across two centuries.
Likely Charles W. Kruse driving wagon full of cauliflower – photo courtesy of Lake Oswego Public Library
The Sentinel Tree sprouted approximately in 1898 about 30’ south of the old Oswego cut-off roadway. The current Wembley Park Road was developed in the 1920s and the tree was located about 20’ north of the new route. When the park property was logged during the mid-20th century, the Sentinel Tree was only 50 years old and was too small and not valuable enough to cut.
Mrs. Marks’ Carriage in 1893 – photo courtesy of the Lake Oswego Public Library
Local History of the 19th and 20th centuries
The West End of “Sucker Lake”
In the mid-19th century, Tualatin Plains farmers bringing crops to Portland markets braved the 3-day journey along the “Plains to Linn City Market Road” to the boats and barges on the Willamette River. Some shortened the trip by taking the Oswego cut-off road and avoiding the cost of ferrying produce across Sucker Lake (today’s Lake Oswego). The Oswego cut-off road turned east along today’s Carman Drive, crossed Boones Ferry Road at Twin Fir Road which was the easiest place to ford Springbrook Creek. The route to Oswego wound uphill near today’s Fir Ridge Road, Wembley Park Road, and Crest Drive. The downhill portion went through the middle of Oswego Lake Country Club golf course and on to George Rogers Park and waiting riverboats.
Following the 1862 Homestead Act and the end of the Civil war, The West saw more emigrants seeking free land and opportunity. Oswego township settlers were drawn by trade, shipping, and industry. Lake Grove area settlers were focused on farming and logging. One of the biggest industries in the area was charcoal making. By 1867, there were 45 burning pits in the Oswego area, supplying charcoal for steamboats, railroad engines and the new iron smelter located at today’s George Rogers park. Many residents of this area were involved in this “home industry” logging trees from their land and transporting them along the Oswego cut-off road to the burning pits in Oswego township. The property that became Springbrook Park was likely logged in the 1880s for home heating, mine supports, railroad ties and the charcoal industry.
Donation Land Claim Property Owners – graphic courtesy of the Lake Oswego Preservation Society. Want to learn more? CLICK HERE
The Oregon Iron Co. was established in 1865 to build a furnace for smelting iron ore sourced from the south side of Sucker Lake. In the 1870s, a rich seam of iron ore was discovered in the bluffs above Sucker Lake. The Prosser mine located below today’s Glen Eagles Road and Prestwick Road opened in 1879. Mining led to the bluffs being called “Iron Mountain.” The Oswego cut-off road became the primary route for supplies and workers to access the mining tunnels until the Oswego Iron Co. built a narrow-gauge railroad line in the 1880s to transport ore to the smelting furnace. Eventually, the railroad line replaced most of the traffic along the eastern portion of the cut-off road.
Springbrook School students – photo courtesy of the Lake Oswego Public Library
The Springbrook School that opened in April, 1883 was located at the ford of Springbrook Creek on the Oswego cut-off road. Waters Carman, an early farmer in the area, bequeathed the land for the school which became a community gathering place along the road. The 1st school was located near today’s Twin Fir Rd. and Boones Ferry Rd.
By 1925, the Oswego iron industry had ended and the company’s many acres were being marketed as vacation and residential parcels. The Country Club District was established around a new golf course, lake-front villas and exclusive country estates. The developers platted multiple lots and new roadways in the “Iron Mountain” bluffs area. The old Oswego cut-off road was rerouted and now includes parts of Twin Fir Rd., Fir Ridge Rd., Wembley Park Rd., and Crest Rd.
Logging of 2nd growth trees on the Springbrook Park property continued between 1930-1955. Fortunately, the Sentinel Tree grew outside the logging area of the property and away from the new Wembley Park Road.
The yellow arrow shows the location of the Sentinel Tree in this 1956 Aerial Photo of Lake Oswego, Oregon. Area bounded by Boones Ferry Rd., Country Club Rd, and Wembley Park Rd. “Clear-cut logging of property with Lake Oswego Junior High School under construction”