The Brownsville Express

Jeffrey Butts

I did it. I ticked two items off of my Oregon Highways checklist in one trip. It was one of those weekends when I spent one day helping Stephanie and she kicked me out of the house the next. Oh, throw me in the briar patch! Just after lunchtime, but without the lunch, I pointed the 914 south on Ike's Pike and made good time down to Exit 216, the Brownsville cutoff. The temperature was in the low 70's, a welcome change from the dog days of summer.

Brownsville is one of those early Willamette Valley towns that has managed to keep some of its' early charm. If you don't live here, go and rent the movie "Stand By Me." The town sequences were filmed in Brownsville. Like most of these older towns, Brownsville has a history that includes several name changes. The town is laid out on the Calapooia River. Three pioneer families settled here in 1846 after making the trek on the Oregon Trail. In 1847 one of the three, the Kirk's, set up a ferry on the river. It was a simple affair, just big enough for a team and a wagon, and it was hand drawn across the river during deep water season in order to keep the traffic on the east side Territorial Road moving. This road was one of the main supply lines from the Willamette Valley to the California gold country. In 1850 a post office was opened and the Platte was known officially as Calapooia. Local residents often called it Kirk's Ferry. Three years later the ferry was replaced with a covered bridge. Although neither remains today, you can still visit the ferry site. Coming into town from the south, you cross the Calapooia on an attractive arched bridge. Just west of the road on a bluff overlooking the bridge is the Brownsville Christian Church. A resident told me that you can walk west on a path from the current bridge and see where the ferry and original covered bridge once stood. I ate lunch in town at a nice little BBQ place on the east side of Main Street, just past Kirk Avenue.

The Masonic Hall at the corner of Main and Standard dominates the view along as you come into town over the bridge. The lower floor is, and according to local historical documents always has been, a hardware store. This was the first brick building constructed in town (1903) and was made from local materials. It would be a shame to overlook the buildings on the west side of Main Street though. They comprise a line of masonry storefronts that is anchored on the south side by a building that used to be the bank. The lady at the museum (more later) told me that the building still contains a walk in vault. Whatever was south of this bank building is long gone, probably burned in one of the many fires the town had. Sad, but not without a silver lining. The southern brick wall has a very faded advertisement for Coca-Cola painted into the bricks. It is a nice, nostalgic touch, requiring just a little imagination to complete. On the north end of this block is the old General Store. If you have the time, stop into the building on the SE corner of Park and Main. This corner building houses the Pioneer Picture Gallery. Inside there are photos, documents, and memorabilia from the county history. Gad, some of those women were ugly. Whew! Just down Park Street to the east is the Linn County Museum, more of a Brownsville museum than anything. Admission is free and the caretaker on duty this day was very nice. Once I signed the guest register, she walked around the museum with me. It is located in the old SP train depot, which was moved here from the north side of town in the late 1950's. A couple of old boxcars are anchored outside and provide additional "rooms" by virtue of a clever series of connecting passageways. The museum is made to look like the streets of the old town with diorama presentations of different storefronts. There is a bank, a beauty shop, a cobbler, and others. The scariest of the bunch is the dentist's office. One look at the tools is enough to send shivers down your spine. There is much more to see in town. I'll leave that to you to discover. Find out more, including the dates of their many town events on their website at www.brownsvilleoregon.org

With an eye on the clock, I headed north out of town on what eventually becomes Sand Ridge Road. This is an extremely well paved, wide, and fast road. There are spots where the road jinks around property lines, but generally the curves are gently banked and conservatively posted. As I was driving this strip the Passport sounded the low growl of a K-band warning and, moments later, an unmarked, white Crown Vic passed in the other direction. Thankfully, he had his radar switched on and left it that way and so I had plenty of time to slow before he came into view. Sand Ridge makes a forced right at the corner of Steckley. I would advise just staying as straight as possible until you reach the intersection at Hwy 34.

I headed west on Hwy 34 into Corvallis and then turned north on 99W just after crossing the bridge. Hwy 99W leaves town paralleling 9th Street. Once clear of the city limits, it is smooth sailing on, again, a wonderfully paved road. Just north of Corvallis and a half- mile east of the highway, off of Camp Adair Road sits the site of, you guessed it, Camp Adair. This site was a training facility for troops during WWII. According to the literature it also served as a rehab hospital to receive wounded and as a POW camp. I would have liked to explore the grounds but I had not even known that it existed until I saw the sign. It wasn't until I got home and did a little research that I found out about this history. The next town along 99W heading north is Monmouth. I wrote about Monmouth before and it is difficult to mention this town without also mentioning smaller Independence, two miles east of 99W on Hwy 51. Independence is one of my favorite Willamette Valley towns. Taylor's Soda Fountain at the main intersection in town is a great place to stop for a burger. They have a gift shop, naturally, and the main theme of the store is Coca-Cola products. The other buildings along Main Street are attractive in the style of the late 1800's.

Back to the west and then turning north again on 99W, it's just under five miles to the intersection of Hwy 22. If you have the time, head west there for a look at Dallas, Oregon. Brownsville, Monmouth, Independence, and Dallas are all within ten years age of one another although these west valley towns have a distinctly different architectural feel to them, almost more cosmopolitan.

The highway opens up again and, if there is no traffic and you do not fear the gendarmes, you can travel this stretch as quickly as the interstate. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I encountered traffic aplenty and found myself in no particular hurry to pass one car only to have to wait behind another. Even so we moved along at about 60-65 MPH most of the way. Next up on the map is Amity. Again, a valley town of about the same vintage as the others, but with a decidedly more agrarian flavor. The buildings in town are less substantial, and the population is a little lower. I happened to pick the weekend of the Amity Friendship Festival to be driving through town. There was a live band playing in the park on a flatbed trailer. Sounded pretty good.

Rain showers, threatening all day, caught me as I drove into and through McMinnville. The fast way out of town would be to take the Hwy 18 cutoff, but 99W from McMinnville to Newberg represents what is probably the truest stretch of the old highway. With lane slimming speed traps like Lafayette and Dundee, the highway bobs like a cork in the sea, ranging from being a divided four-lane, to stretches of two lane, newer pavement. McMinnville and Newberg have considerable sprawl, but the downtown section of Newberg is a generation beyond the other towns I've discussed. Out of Newberg, it was a quick run back to Sherwood and then an equally quick cut north back to Beaverton.

The trip represented about six hours driving time, including stops. I found great history, wonderful architecture, friendly people, and passable food. Best of all, I discovered even more places to explore. The 914 ran great, as usual. This was the perfect car for this trip. That said, I must confess to groaning a little as I pulled my sorry butt out of the driver's seat at the end of the day.