Skip to content

Column | 1925 in Banks: Steam shovel leaves Timber for Scoggins Valley roadwork

Before the diesel engines powering the excavators of today, rural roadwork was a steam-powered affair. This and more in the news of a century ago!

Column | 1925 in Banks: Steam shovel leaves Timber for Scoggins Valley roadwork
Published:

1925: Moonshiners roamed the hills outside Forest Grove. Oil in Buxton. Now-lost silent films played at the Star Theater. Step into Banks and Forest Grove history from the lens of newspaper archives of the day.

In this column, we take a look back one hundred years ago in Forest Grove. This week, the clips come from the Washington County News-Times, published September 17, 1925, and the Hillsboro Argus, published the same date. Tap on an image to bring it into focus.


These news clips are selected for news events in and around Forest Grove and Banks that I believe would have been of significance to readers of the time, or of interest to readers of today. They are presented as-is, and without comment. At the time, the newspapers of the day often expressed viewpoints that today would be considered racist, xenophobic, and sexist, frequently using slurs to describe ethnic groups and often stepping outside the norms of what we consider to be ethical journalism today.

Want more local history? Visit the Friends of Historic Forest Grove, online at www.fhfg.org or the Banks Historical Society at www.bankshistory.org.

Do you have access to historic photos, diaries, or other historic tidbits from the Forest Grove area? Email me at chas@newsinthegrove.com; we'd love to share the past with the present!


More in Banks

See all
Banks August 2025 Police Log

Banks August 2025 Police Log

/

More from Chas Hundley

See all
Banks August 2025 Police Log

Banks August 2025 Police Log

/