Historic Districts

Walker-Naylor District

The Walker-Naylor National Register Historic District is north of the downtown and west of Pacific University. It is a roughly rectangular area with irregular borders of 23rd and 21st Avenues on the north and south, and C and A Streets on the west and east. The district is residential containing some of the oldest houses in Forest Grove.

Historic Downtown

Centered at the intersection of Pacific Avenue and Main Street Forest Grove's Historic Downtown was listed on the National Register in 2020. The historic core runs north and south along Main Street and east and west along Pacific Avenue. The names of the buildings repeat in the names of the grander houses in Forest Grove. The downtown core fortunately avoided the fire of 1919 and survives today very much intact.

Clark District

The Clark National Historic District was created south of downtown in 2002. It is a roughly rectangular area with irregular borders of 19th and 16th Avenues on the north and south, and A and Elm Streets on the west and east. The Clark District contains 178 historic sites. 

Much of the land where the Clark Historic District stands was donated to the Academy by Reverend Harvey Clark as an endowment. The land was originally platted into one-acre lots. The land was purchased and houses were built for local residents in a wide variety of occupations. This variety translated into a spectrum of architectural styles from Second Empire to Bungalow.

Painter's Woods

The Painter’s Woods National Register Historic District, created in 2009, is south of downtown. The residential neighborhood is bounded roughly on the north by 15th Avenue, south by 12th Avenue, east by Elm Street, and west by Birch Street. The Painter’s Woods District includes portions of the first subdivision in Forest Grove. The district is a well-preserved example of residential development in Forest Grove between 1880 and 1948. 

Pacific University

Tualatin Academy, predecessor to Pacific University, was established in 1849, just a few short years after Euro-American settlement began in the Forest Grove area. Eight Pacific University buildings are listed on the Forest Grove Register, and one – Old College Hall – is also on the National Register. Read More.