Uncover Canby History's Hidden Gems

From the early indigenous tribes that roamed the land to the arrival of European settlers, the history of Canby History is full of fascinating stories and events. Our page is committed to researching and documenting this rich history, and sharing it with our community and all those that have a passion for history. Explore our archives, photos, stories and events to learn more about the people, places, and events that have shaped Canby History.

Canby, incorporated on February 15, 1893, remains the second oldest city in Clackamas County. Its township, however, was recorded on August 9, 1870. One year later, its post office was authorized and situated along Highway 99E, two miles northeast of Barlow. Canby was named after Edward Richard Sprigg Canby in 1870, the time its township plat was filed. The 1839 West Point graduate was the only general officer of the United States to die at the hands of Native Americans. He had come west to assume command of the Army’s Department of the Columbia after a distinguished career in the Seminole Indian and Civil Wars. Assigned to remove members of the Modocs tribe from northern California lava beds and settle them on a reservation, General Canby met his demise there on April 11, 1873, at the age of 54. He was killed by the Modoc during a peace party. 

One of Canby’s earliest settlers, James Baker, arrived in 1838 with a cattle drive from California. He had a wife, Polly, and three children. They farmed on the land that is now North Canby. He’s known to have married up to 20 women of Native American descent and was called Honest Jim. Although the Bakers did not remain long, their legacy was honored in the Baker Prairie name. 

Philander Lee and his wife, Anna, arrived in 1848 with their seven children, taking ownership of their land through the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850. Philander knew the railroad was coming and thus mapped into lots and blocks a portion of the Baker Prairie apple orchard. Projected across Baker Prairie, the railroad was the south boundary of the 24-block townsite Philander recorded on Aug. 9, 1870, at the Clackamas County Courthouse. He named the new town for General Canby. On the westerly part of Lee’s claim, and parts of the claims of Lucius A. Seely and Wesley Joslyn, George W. Weidler surveyed the townsite in July 1870, mapping it with 80-foot streets “except First Street, which is 50 feet wide, and A and G (N. Ivy and N. Cedar) streets, which are 40 feet wide.” Philander’s son, Herman, Canby’s first mayor, was asked to make sure the streets were wide enough for two spans of oxen and a wagon to turn. The map also allowed for 20-foot alleys in 20 blocks. Blocks 1, 2, 3 and 4 had no alleys, and the lots were 100 feet deep. In other blocks, lots were 115 feet deep — twelve to the block. All had 50 - foot frontage and were offered at $10 each. 

Weidler’s warranty deed showing purchase of the 111-acre townsite for $2,960 (from Philander and Anna Lee) is filed in Book H of the Clackamas County Deed Records and dated May 20, 1870. The O&C (Oregon and California) Railroad changed its plans to put the depot grounds on the north, town-side of the tracks after Weidler’s map was recorded. Philander’s naming of Canby came as a suggestion from Ben Holladay, a friend of General Canby. Holladay moved to Oregon in 1868. He sold a prospering Pony Express business to a company known as Wells Fargo, but he is best known for the building of the railroad, which reached Canby in 1873. Holladay’s route was known as “The Road of a Thousand Wonders.” He was O&C’s president from 1870 to 1881. In 1887, the depot was built. The original location was on N.W. First Avenue. Holladay erected a house on his railroad land, presumably to live there. It became a legacy property, housing Albert Lee’s family and many others to follow. According to an 1876 deed, the Ben Holladay House — on Canby Builders Supply land — was a simple frame structure located in the 100 block of N.E. First Avenue, just east of N. Ivy Street. The house stood in sharp contrast with Ophir Hall, Holladay’s fabulous manor built in 1867 on his 1,000-acre estate in Westchester County, New York — Ophir Hall is now the Manhattanville College

administration building. 

Joseph Knight, another founder, moved with his four sons to Oregon in 1863 and to Baker Prairie in 1868. From the east, they brought their tradesmanship. The family lived briefly in Butteville prior to making Canby

their home. Joseph Knight, Sr., tired of Aurora Colony life, purchased a Joslyn, Seely and Cross donation

land claim (about 800 acres) and sold more than 200 acres to the railroad company in 1869. The family grew

to five sons and two daughters and were instrumental in Canby’s earliest development. Son William Knight

(1839–1922) holds the distinguished record of serving 43 years as the school clerk. He was Canby’s first city recorder, beginning in 1893. He and his brother, George, built Canby’s first mercantile business beside Doc’s drugstore. The family is credited for building some of town’s first buildings, such as the first hotel and post office. William went on to become the second postmaster, the railroad depot agent and served two

terms as sheriff of Clackamas County. He was, for many years, a Justice of the Peace. In 1875, he built a school on Baker Prairie (N. Holly Street). This is a brief summary of our town’s beginnings.