The natives had a village called Chakeipi, meaning Place of the Beaver, and early settlers referred to it as “Beaverdam”. Early settlers includeOrin S. Allen from western New York, the Hall family from Kentucky, the Dennys who lived on their claim near present day Scholls Ferry Road and Hall Blvd. . Lawrence Hall purchased 640 acres (2.6 km²) in Beaverdam in 1847 and built a grist mill with his brother near present-day Walker Road. His was the first land claim in the region . He was soon followed by Thomas Denney in 1848 , who came to the area and built its first sawmill. In 1860, a toll plank road from Portland to Beaverton was completed over a trail called Canyon Road.
After the U.S. Civil War, numerous other settlers, including Joshua Welch, George Betts , Charles Angel, W.P. Watson , and John Henry, laid out what is now known as Beaverton hoping they could bring a railroad to an area once described as “mostly marshes and swamps connected by beaver dams to create what looked like a big lake.” Beaverton’s first post office opened in a gereral store operated by Betts, who also served as the first postmaster of the community in 1872 . Betts Street, where the current post office now stands, is named in honor of him. In 1893, Beaverton, which by that time had a population of 400, was officially incorporated. Alonzo Cady, a local businessman, served as the first mayor.
Many major thoroughfares in Beaverton are named for these early settlers.
20th century
Beaverton was an early home to automobile dealerships. In 1915 a Ford Motor Company dealership was established there ;in 1923 it was purchased by Guy Carr and over the years Carr expanded it into several locations throughout Beaverton.
In the early 1920s, Beaverton was home to Premium Picture Productions, a movie studio which produced about fifteen films. This site was later converted into an airfield known as Watts Airport and thereafter as Bernard’s Airport.
In 1925 the towns first library opened . Originally on the second floor of the Cady building, it has moved repeatedly;it was moved to it’s current location on Hall Blvd and 5th in 2000.
In the 1980s a light rail system was proposed to connect Beaverton to downtown Portland , as part of Metro’s plans for the region’s transportation. In 1992, voters approved funding for Westside MAX; the project began construction in 1994 and was completed in 1998, with stations located at Millikan Way MAX station Merlo Road and Southwest 158th Avenue, Beaverton Creek, Beaverton Central, and the Beaverton Transit Center.
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