ABOUT

Beaverton is a city in Washington County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. The city center is 7 miles (11 km) west of downtown Portland in the Tualatin River Valley. 

History

According to Oregon Geographic Names, Beaverton got its name because of the settlement's proximity to a large body of water resulting from beaver dams. The area of Tualatin Valley which became Beaverton was originally the home of a Native American tribe known as the Atfalati, which settlers mispronounced as Tualatin. The Atfalati population dwindled in the latter part of the 18th century, and the prosperous tribe was no longer dominant in the area by the 19th century when settlers arrived.