History of Gladstone - page 3
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Gladstone's Chautauqua grew to be the third largest "permanent" Chautauqua assembly in the United States. During the 10 - 14 day summer event, crowds as large as 50,000 came through the main gate. Bigger and better accommodations were needed. In 1917, a second auditorium was built. It seated over 6000. Chautauqua lasted thirty-four years in Gladstone. By 1927, interest in an outdoor summer cultural activity was waning. Cars, better roads motor hotels, and radio had all been invented. People were on the move. They could travel farther and faster than ever before. Due to the dwindling attendance at Gladstone Park, the Willamette Valley Chautauqua Association bankrupted. Shortly thereafter, Gladstone Park, including its buildings and lake, were sold to the western Oregon Conference of Seventh-day Adventist for their new camp meeting site. August 7, 1927, Judge Cross died. Thus ended together the cultural "Era of Personal Enrichment" and the life of a great man whose influence and achievements reached beyond the limits of Gladstone. |
1941 Photo from the Portland Oregonian.
Gladstone City Hall under construction. |
After Judge Cross' passing, Gladstone grew steadily into a well-kept community of a few local stores and families whose wage earners worked in the mills in Oregon City and West Linn. In 1920, Gladstone had reached a population of 1,069 and had opened a library. In 1929, Gladstone started a Volunteer Fire Department. In 1941, a new City Hall was erected. In 1950, Gladstone's citizens had more than doubled since its beginning. By the year 2000, over 10,000 residents populated Gladstone. And in 2011, Gladstone celebrated its 100th. birthday!
Read about Gladstone
To learn more about the History of Gladstone Oregon, the Gladstone Historical Society offers for sale 3 volumes on the history of Gladstone by local historian and author, the late Herbert K. Beals.
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Book 1 – "Gladstone, Oregon A History Part One; Earliest Times to the Civil War's Eve". Book 2 – "Gladstone, Oregon A History Part two: Civil War to the Eve of the Great Depression". Book 3 – "Gladstone, Oregon A History Part Three: The Great Depression and World War II". For more information on how to obtain copies of these books, click on our GIFT SHOP link or fill out the contact form on the "Contact Us" page. .
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The History of Gladstone present on these three pages is lovingly dedicated to the memory Herbert K. Beals, Historian and author of 3 volumes on the History of Gladstone ,OR.
Text adapted for the web by Kim Argraves Huey
Text adapted for the web by Kim Argraves Huey
