If you’re wondering what Sherwood, Oregon, is known for, the answer starts with a surprising name change and ends with one of the most unique small-town identities in the Pacific Northwest. This historic downtown Sherwood, Oregon, community didn’t always carry the legendary name it does today, and the story of how it got there is worth telling.
A Town Born From Rails and Dreams
The history of Sherwood, Oregon, begins long before any European settlers arrived, when the Tualatin peoples called this area home. By 1853, farmers began showing up with ambitious plans and even larger axes, clearing dense forests to build log homes. Life was tough back then. Families made the three-day journey to Portland twice a year just to grab essentials like salt and sugar.
Everything changed in 1885 when James Christopher Smock made a deal that would put his property on the map. After a trip to Missouri sparked his interest in railroads, Smock granted the Portland and Willamette Valley Railway access through his land. By 1872, thousands of Chinese laborers built the railroad through the settlement, and Smockville was born.
When Clay Turned Into Gold
Here’s where things get interesting: the history of Sherwood, Oregon. In 1890, four sharp Portland businessmen noticed something special about the local dirt. The rich clay left by Ice Age floods was perfect for making bricks. They opened a factory that supplied much of the brick for early Portland’s buildings, turning ancient geology into modern infrastructure. The irony? So much brick got shipped elsewhere that very little stayed in Sherwood itself.
The brickyard became the town’s economic engine until it closed in 1895. But Sherwood didn’t miss a beat. The old brickyard site became home to a cannery by 1917, processing apples, pears, Italian plums, and berry jams. Later came beans and sauerkraut. Meanwhile, the onion flats of Cipole were producing more onions than anywhere else in the Northwest by the 1920s.
The Name That Changed Everything
In 1891, the citizens decided Smockville needed a rebrand. Robert Alexander, a local businessman, suggested Sherwood, supposedly because the area reminded him of Sherwood Forest in England. The U.S. post office opened that same year, and by 1893, Sherwood was officially incorporated.
Merry Men and Modern Times
Visiting Sherwood, Oregon, today means experiencing a town that is fully committed to its legendary namesake. Between 1945 and 1949, young men in the newly formed Kiwanis Club created a “Band of Merry Men” complete with all the Robin Hood characters. They showed up at parades and festivals across Oregon as ambassadors for their town. By 1952, residents launched the Robin Hood Festival, an annual summer celebration that’s still going strong today. Sherwood High School even changed its mascot to become the “Home of the Bowmen”.
The Sherwood Heritage Center now houses the historic Smock House, the first milled-lumber building in town, built in 1868. It sits as a reminder of where this community started.
A Small Town That Grew Up Right
From 350 people in 1911 to over 19,000 today, Sherwood has grown without losing what makes it special. The historic Old Town Sherwood area still features those original commercial buildings from the 1890s, now home to boutiques, restaurants, and community gathering spaces like Cannery Square Park.
Whether you’re exploring Old Town, checking out the Robin Hood Festival, or just driving through the rolling hills and farmland that surround this Portland suburb, you’re walking through a story that spans from Indigenous peoples to Chinese railroad workers to brick makers to modern families. That’s the real treasure of Sherwood: a town that honors every chapter of its past while writing new ones every day.
Sources: sherwoodoregon.gov, visitoregon.com
Header Image Source: oregonencyclopedia.org
