Gales Creek, Oregon

Gales Creek
Gales Creek Store and Post Office (BOTH CLOSED)
Gales Creek Store and Post Office (BOTH CLOSED)
Gales Creek is located in Oregon
Gales Creek
Gales Creek
Location within the state of Oregon
Gales Creek is located in the United States
Gales Creek
Gales Creek
Gales Creek (the United States)
Coordinates: 45°35′12″N 123°12′49″W / 45.58667°N 123.21361°W / 45.58667; -123.21361
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyWashington
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code
97117[1]
Area code(s)503 and 971

Gales Creek is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Oregon, United States on Oregon Route 8 northwest of Forest Grove in the foothills of the Oregon Coast Range.

Gales Creek shares its name with a stream, a tributary of the Tualatin River, that was named for pioneer Joseph Gale, who settled in the area[2] The locale was sometimes called Gales City.[2] Gales Creek post office was established in 1874.[2] In the 19th century the town was the last stagecoach stop on the way to Tillamook.[3] Gales Creek Elementary School was established in 1859 and is served by the Forest Grove School District. The school closed in 2011, and currently acts as a special education treatment facility.[4] The community is part of the Forest Grove Fire and Rescue district and has a fire station.[5]

  1. ^ "Gales Creek ZIP Code". zipdatamaps.com. 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c McArthur, Lewis A.; McArthur, Lewis L. (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. ISBN 978-0875952772.
  3. ^ "Pioneer History: Churches of Christ & Christian Churches in the Pacific Northwest: Washington County, Oregon". Northwest College of the Bible. Archived from the original on January 27, 2009. Retrieved December 31, 2007.
  4. ^ "Gales Creek Elementary School closure rankles Forest Grove parents". July 2011.
  5. ^ "County Bridges & Fire District Boundaries" (PDF). Washington County. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 9, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2014.