Linnton

Linnton is one of the oldest platted communities in Oregon, laid out in 1843 by Peter Burnett (later California's first governor) and Morton M. McCarver and named for U.S. Senator Lewis F. Linn of Missouri, a champion of settling the Oregon Country. Tucked between the Willamette River and the steep slopes of Forest Park along U.S. Route 30 (NW St. Helens Rd.), Linnton was incorporated in 1910 as a company town serving the Clark-Wilson and West Oregon lumber mills and the Columbia Engineering Works shipyard. By 1913 the Portland Gas & Coke Company and major oil refiners had arrived, cementing Linnton's industrial identity. Portland annexed the community in 1915.

The mid-20th century reshaped Linnton dramatically. Both major mills burned between 1945 and 1950 and were never rebuilt, and the St. Helens Road widening in the early 1960s erased most of the original downtown. What remains is a tightly knit strip community of roughly 1,500 residents strung along Highway 30, bounded on the east by the forested cliffs of Forest Park and on the west by the working waterfront and Willamette River. TriMet bus #16 provides the primary transit link to downtown Portland.

Today Linnton retains a working-class, close-knit character. The Linnton Community Center serves as the neighborhood's civic heart, hosting meetings and events for the Linnton Neighborhood Association. Local merchants include Linnton Feed and Seed, El Sazón (a neighborhood Mexican restaurant), La Cannaisseur, and Ranchero Provisions. The Lighthouse Inn, a community gathering spot since 1913, anchors the strip with classic comfort food and a welcoming atmosphere. Lovett Deconstruction and Pacific Coast Movers represent the neighborhood's continuing industrial-service DNA.