Carus, Oregon

Carus is an unincorporated community in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States.[1] It is located about seven miles south of Oregon City, on Oregon Route 213.[2]

Carus post office ran from 1887 to 1907.[3] The name may have come from a misreading of the name "Carns" on the application to the Post Office Department.[3] It is unknown whether it was to be named for a place in another state or for a local family.[3] The Fred Vonder Ahe House, now located in Molalla, served as the post office when it first opened. David Hunter was the first postmaster.[3]

In 1915 the community had two sawmills, a daily stagecoach to Oregon City and a twice-daily stagecoach to Canby.[4] As of 1990 there was a school and a church.[4] Carus Elementary School is part of the Canby School District.[5] A cemetery near the community is owned by the Followers of Christ.[6]

Name origin

George Hunter was born on the Hunter farm on Molalla road south of Oregon City April 3, 1881 followed by Albert in 1883 and Audrey in 1886. The following excerpt from George's memoir refers to 1888 when the Hunter family returned to the farm:

"As three of the younger ones were born on the farm, the folks deemed it quite necessary to find a suitable name for the place. The subject was taken up with the government who sent a list of names for a post office to be installed on our front porch. All had a chance to suggest a name from the list of names but Hattie and Dora [older sisters born in Iowa in 1868 and 1870 respectively] found the proper name for the place. It was to be named CARUS. The post office has been discontinued for many years but the school is known as the Carus school."

References

  1. ↑ "Carus". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
  2. ↑ Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer (7th ed.). Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. 2008. p. 29. ISBN 0-89933-347-8.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 McArthur, Lewis A.; McArthur, Lewis L. (2003) [First published 1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. pp. 171–172. ISBN 9780875952772. OCLC 53075956.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Friedman, Ralph (1990). In Search of Western Oregon (2nd ed.). Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers, Ltd. p. 367. ISBN 0-87004-332-3.
  5. ↑ "Carus Elementary School". Canby School District. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
  6. ↑ Bruder, Jessica; Dana Tims (April 5, 2008). "Parents Plead Not Guilty in Death". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2011-01-04.

External links

Coordinates: 45°16′16″N 122°34′14″W / 45.271233°N 122.570645°W