By PDX People<\/span><\/p>\n

PORTLAND, Ore. \u2013 Just 30 minutes outside of Portland is the town of Boring, founded by William Boring<\/strong>, it certainly qualifies as a town with one of the most unique names in the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever driven past Boring OR on the way to Bend or other towns nearby, this article will provide you with more information about William Boring, founder of Boring Oregon and one of the original PDX People for this area.<\/span><\/p>\n

About William Boring<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

Born in 1841, William Boring started his life in Greenfield Illinois and later served honorably during the Civil War until injuries that he sustained during the fall of Vicksburg led to him being discharged from the military.<\/span><\/p>\n

After his military service ended, William Boring decided to take his family west to San Francisco to take advantage of the boom town atmosphere which still was alive and well following the 1849 Gold Rush.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the early 1870s, president\u00a0<\/em>Ulysses S. Grant<\/em><\/a>\u00a0began offering incentives to homesteaders in the Western United States, which attracted William Boring; he and his wife Sarah left Illinois for\u00a0<\/em>San Francisco, California<\/em><\/a>, and then traveled north to\u00a0<\/em>Portland, Oregon<\/em><\/a>. William’s elder half-brother, Joseph (b. 1829), who had traveled across the\u00a0<\/em>Oregon Trail<\/em><\/a>\u00a0in 1853, had already settled there and been living in the area for nearly two decades.<\/em>^{[10]<\/sup><\/em><\/a>\u00a0William and Sarah joined Joseph at his home in 1874, twelve miles east of Portland. There, William and Sarah settled on 160 acres (65\u00a0ha) of land.<\/em>[11]<\/sup><\/em><\/a>\u00a0They gave birth to two children: Elsie in October 1875, who only lived for nine days; and Orville, born in 1879.<\/em>[6]<\/sup><\/em><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n}

The settlement occupied by the Boring family came to be known as\u00a0<\/em>Boring, Oregon<\/em><\/a>^{[12]<\/sup><\/em><\/a>\u00a0after William donated land for a\u00a0<\/em>}schoolhouse<\/em><\/a>\u00a0to be built in 1883,<\/em>^{[13]<\/sup><\/em><\/a>\u00a0after which the community was granted the name “Boring.”<\/em>[8]<\/sup><\/em><\/a>[14]<\/sup><\/em><\/a>\u00a0By the turn of the twentieth century, the town had become a thriving\u00a0<\/em>}logging<\/em><\/a>\u00a0community, and the construction of an interurban railroad to the town by the\u00a0<\/em>Portland Railway, Light and Power Company<\/em><\/a>\u00a0brought further residents and business.<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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About Boring Oregon<\/span><\/h2>\n

Boring<\/strong>\u00a0is an\u00a0unincorporated community<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Clackamas County<\/a>,\u00a0Oregon<\/a>, United States. It is located along\u00a0Oregon Route 212<\/a>\u00a0in the foothills of the\u00a0Cascade mountain range<\/a>, approximately twelve miles (19\u00a0km) southeast of\u00a0Portland<\/a>.^{[1]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0The town, which is contemporarily a\u00a0}bedroom community<\/a>,^{[a]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0is named after\u00a0}William Harrison Boring<\/a>, a\u00a0Union soldier<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0pioneer<\/a>\u00a0whose family first settled the area in 1856 in the\u00a0Oregon Territory<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Boring was officially\u00a0platted<\/a>\u00a0in 1903 after the\u00a0Portland Railway, Light and Power Company<\/a>\u00a0constructed an electric rail line to the town. The former railway is now part of the\u00a0Springwater Corridor<\/a>, a\u00a0rail trail<\/a>\u00a0which begins in Boring and ends at the\u00a0Eastbank Esplanade<\/a>\u00a0along the\u00a0Willamette River<\/a>\u00a0in southeast Portland. The\u00a0Boring Lava Field<\/a>, an extinct\u00a0volcanic field<\/a>\u00a0zone that comprises terrain spanning between Boring and\u00a0downtown<\/a>\u00a0Portland, took its namesake from the town.<\/span><\/p>\n

Boring was a hub of the\u00a0timber industry<\/a>\u00a0in the Pacific Northwest prior to and during\u00a0World War I<\/a>\u00a0due to the abundance of surrounding\u00a0temperate coniferous<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0evergreen forests<\/a>, as well as its proximity to the\u00a0Port of Portland<\/a>. In addition to logging,\u00a0plant nurseries<\/a>and agriculture have also historically been major economic forces in the town.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2012, the town was paired with the village of\u00a0Dull<\/a>,\u00a0Perthshire<\/a>,\u00a0Scotland<\/a>, creating\u00a0A Pair for the Ages<\/em>. In 2013, the Boring Community Planning Organization and the Dull & Weem Community Council established\u00a0The League of Extraordinary Communities <\/em>and made\u00a0Bland<\/a>,\u00a0New South Wales<\/a>,\u00a0Australia<\/a>\u00a0its first new member. Boring has often been included in lists of places with\u00a0unusual names<\/a>. – Wikipedia<\/a><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Long Life<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

By the turn of the 20^{th<\/sup> Century William Boring was already a \u201clegend\u201d in the Portland area since he served with distinction during the civil war and had a town with his last name.<\/span><\/p>\n}

Thanks to early census records we know that Boring and his wife Sarah shared their home with their son Oroville and his family along with several lodgers who worked seasonably in the Portland area.<\/span><\/p>\n

William would live to be 91 years old and passed away in 1931. Thankfully his last name lives on in Boring Oregon along with his hard work that he put into establishing the Portland area as a major city and destination for future generations.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Learn More About People From Portland Oregon<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

To learn more about other People from Portland Oregon CLICK HERE<\/a><\/span><\/strong> or bookmark this website to read another great blog post from pdxpeople.com.<\/span><\/p>\n

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