DeSoto Creek Traditional Cache

This cache is located in the DeSoto Creek drainage.  Before the area was developed for housing, it held several small farms.  There are still some remnants of these earlier times hidden in the woods.  This cache is in one of those spots; the concrete structures that are almost buried in the cedars have been present since at least 1969, when the first aerial photographs were taken.  We have not been able to determine their function.

This cache is located along one of our favorite dog walking paths, although our Italian Greyhound, Gus, did not like the blackberry vines that were always attacking him.  The walk reminds us of the history of our neighborhood.  The neighborhood contains a few century old larger houses, which we are told were the original farm houses in the area; they were apparently associated with several small farms.  Many of the small houses, particularly along 6^th, have been here since the first topographic map was published in 1937.  We think they were probably occupied by workers from the nearby Olympia Brewery, as this area is walking distance from the brewery and it was the only neighborhood area on the west side of the Deschutes River at that time.  A subsequent map from 1943 shows little change, but the 1958 map shows a big increase in both streets and houses.  This neighborhood clearly grew a lot after World War II; we imagine many GIs starting families here.  The power substation was constructed in the mid-1960s.  The next big growth spurt began in 1990 with the large apartment development up on the hill, while infilling on the flats continued throughout the decade.  This has been a working class neighborhood from its beginnings through present days.