About West Linn

West Linn traces its history to 1843, when Major Robert Moore, who had arrived in the area in 1839, purchased about 1,000 acres overlooking Willamette Falls and platted a town he called "Robin's Nest." The Oregon Territorial Legislature renamed it Linn City in 1845, honoring U.S. Senator Lewis F. Linn. A major fire and the Great Flood of 1862 later scattered many of the original residents, but the settlement was revived in 1868 with the opening of the Willamette Falls Locks, which allowed shipping traffic to bypass the falls and remained in continuous operation until they closed in 2011. The modern city of West Linn was incorporated in 1913 and merged with the neighboring town of Willamette in 1916. Located in Clackamas County between the Willamette and Tualatin rivers, West Linn covers about 8.11 square miles. At the 2020 census, its population was 27,373, up from 1,628 in 1920 and 7,091 in 1970. The T. W. Sullivan Hydroelectric Plant, which opened in 1889 to harness power from Willamette Falls, and the Willamette Falls Pulp and Paper Company, founded the same year, formed the industrial base of the early city. Public schools, including West Linn High School, are part of the West Linn-Wilsonville School District. For recreation, residents have access to the 26-acre Camassia Natural Area, managed by The Nature Conservancy, and Mary S. Young State Recreation Area along the Willamette River. The city's official motto, "City of Hills, Trees and Rivers," reflects its wooded, riverside setting. West Linn operates under a mayor-council government; in 2022, Rory Bialostosky became the city's youngest mayor at age 23. The Willamette Meteorite, the largest meteorite ever found in the United States, was discovered in the area and deposited by the ancient Missoula Floods.