The historic Old Scotch Church, organized in 1873 by twelve Scottish settlers from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, is one of the oldest continuously used churches in Oregon.
It’s officially called The Tualatin Plains Presbyterian Church, but gained it’s more commonly known nickname from the settlers' Scottish origin.
It was built on two acres of land from Jacob Hoover. He sold one acre for $25 and generously donated the other. The cost to build the church was estimated to be $2120. (That’s a bit of a difference from today’s real estate and building prices.) It was built with lumber from nearby forests which was processed by nearby mills, with much of the labor donated by church members and men and women of the community. Some of the original sanctuary furnishings were donated by members and friends of the congregation and are still in use today, including the pulpit, large pulpit Bible, sterling communion service, and the communion table.
Take a moment to enjoy a quiet walk through the cemetery. Many of Oregon's pioneers, including mountain man Joe Meek, have been buried here.
You can look for a Woodmen of the World gravestone with the unique shape of a tree stump. It honors a member of a fraternal organization founded by Joseph Cullen Root in 1883 which has nothing to do with logging or forestry. The name came from a Sunday sermon where he heard a parable about the good that came from woodmen clearing away the forest to build homes, communities, and security for their families. Because this seemed the perfect symbol for Root’s goal of clearing away financial burdens for families, he adopted the term Woodmen.
The eight sided steeple is architecturally unique, and the church is one of the most photographed in Oregon. It is a popular site for many weddings. In 1974, the church was honored by being listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
This information is courtesy of www.el.com/to/hillsboro/, www.oldscotchchurch.org/history.html, and www.modern-woodmen.org/Public/AboutUs/History/.
Park in the large gravel parking lot across the road from the church. That way you won‘t have to cross the road to get to the cache. It is near a country road, so please keep a close eye on young children.
Church services are Sundays at 10:00 a.m., so there may be a lot of people there then. Please be respectful of the site.