LAKE OSWEGO – The City of Lake Oswego is pleased to announce the opening of the Oswego Iron Heritage Trail. This trail is a tour route that guides walkers along existing streets and pathways to sites associated with Oregon's pioneer iron industry. The first iron furnace on the Pacific Coast was built in Oswego in 1866. Today, it is the only surviving historic furnace west of the Rocky Mountains.

Heritage trails focus on a specific aspect of a region's history and combine outdoor activity (hiking, biking, boating, waymarking) with a tour of related historical sites. Heritage trails are one of the most popular forms of cultural tourism. They foster pride in local history and bring economic benefits to local businesses by attracting visitors.

The Oswego Iron Heritage Trail was funded by the City of Lake Oswego and created under the auspices of the City's Historic Resources Advisory Board. Colorful interpretive signs at each site give a glimpse of mining and iron making in nineteenth century Oswego. The signs were researched, written and designed by Lake Oswego residents Susanna Campbell Kuo and Corinna Campbell-Sack. A map at each stop shows the route and featured sites.

Three of the seven destinations are located along the Willamette River: the 1866 blast furnace in George Rogers Park, the site of the 1888 furnace in Roehr Park, and the site of the pipe foundry in Foothills Park. The Prosser iron mines are located in Iron Mountain Park, although the mines are no longer accessible. The Iron Mountain Trail follows the rail bed of the narrow gauge railroad that transported ore from the mines to the furnace. In Tryon Creek State Park the trail passes an old charcoal pit where fuel was produced for the furnace. At one time, charcoal pits dotted the landscape between Dunthorpe and West Linn and filled the air with smoke. Two sites focus on the lives of the workers: the Worker's Cottage on Wilbur Street and the Oswego Pioneer Cemetery where some 90 workers are buried. The interpretive display in the cemetery was supported by an Opportunity Grant from Clackamas County Tourism & Cultural Affairs. The sign in Tryon Creek State Park was created and funded by the Friends of Tryon Creek in partnership with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

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For more information about the trail, visit www.ci.oswego.or.us/parksrec/OIHT.htm or contact Kim Gilmer, City of Lake Oswego Parks & Recreation Director, at 503-675-2545 or kgilmer@ci.oswego.or.us.