The original inhabitants of the Beaverton area were the Tualatin Indians. A peaceful group, the members of this tribe tended to stay out of the way of the settlers, dealing with the encroachment of civilization by moving away from it, rather than fighting it. They were a poor tribe who did not practice farming, as did some other tribes, but lived primarily on berries, seeds, and roots. They also made salmon a large part of their diet, making regular trips to the falls of the Willamette River when the salmon were migrating.

Though the mountain men, fur trappers by trade, visited the area earlier, the first settlers began arriving in the fertile lands of the Tualatin Valley in the 1840s. Passage of the Donation Land Claim Act in 1850 entitled each settler to 320 acres of land.

In spite of the act, settlement was sparse in the Tualatin Valley - the nation was vast and the population small with the waves of European immigrants still in the future. In addition, many of the settlers coming from the East found places to their liking long before they reached the Tualatin Valley.

Railroads were yet to come and travel in the valley was limited to horseback or team and wagon. The only link with Portland and the ships to the rest of the world was Canyon Road.

Archbishop Francis N. Blanchet was the first bishop in the Oregon Territories. He resigned in 1881 and died two years later.

Life for the settlers was hard and there were few creature comforts. But these men and women were staunch in their faith and wanted a priest and a church of their own so they could practice that faith.

The first missionaries to the Oregon Territory were Fr. Francis N. Blanchet and Fr. Modeste Demers, who arrived at Fort Vancouver in 1838. In 1846, the Archdiocese of Oregon City was established by Pope Pius IX, with Francis Norbert Blanchet appointed as the first Archbishop. In 1875, Archbishop Blanchet sent Father William A. Verboort to be the Pastor of the Catholic Colony of Forest Grove.

Soon after, Father Verboort began to say Mass in various homes of the Cedar Mill area. Later, for a time, an old, empty blockhouse owned by John O'Brien was used as a meeting place.

An article in the Oregon Journal in November, 1875, tells of an attempt by the Catholics to be allowed the use of the public schoolhouse on Barnes County Road for services on Nov. 21.

After receiving permission to use the building, a number of worshipers came to the school but found the building locked. Surprised at this turn of events, there was nothing much they could do but return home. It was later learned that a non-Catholic man, who objected to this permissiveness, secured keys to the building and locked it against the intrusion of the Catholics.

	The Rev. William A. Verboort, Wisconsin native appointed first priest in the area. He died July 14, 1876 at the age of 40.

As it turned out, Father Verboort was unable to get to the schoolhouse because of bad weather. A date was set for the following week and there were no further complications.

For all of Father Verboort's accomplishments, he was never of robust health. He had developed infection in a knee and was unable to recover. His mother died on June 23, 1876, and Father had the sad duty to administer the last rites and preside at her funeral mass. Twelve days later, Father was so ill that local men had to transport him by wheelbarrow to administer the last rites to his dying father. Ten days later Father Verboort died of leg infection and pneumonia. Archbishop Blanchet traveled from Portland to offer the Solemn Requiem Mass. At this time, the name of the community was changed to "Verboort."

On Oct. 15, 1876, the Rev. Joseph Edward Hermann, a German-born priest, was appointed as the second pastor of Verboort by Archbishop Blanchet. But his duties were not limited to the parish at Verboort - in his charge were all of the Catholics in Washington County. Father Hermann traveled to various homes to say Mass as often as possible and in this he was aided by visiting priests from Portland.

Articles in 1876 and 1877 editions of the Catholic Sentinel tell of Masses being said at the Walsh home near the Forrestel's, and at the O'Brien home every third Sunday. With each visit, the priest also heard confessions and baptized the newborns.

The first baptism on record in the Cedar Mission was that of James Shelvin on Nov. 26, 1876, with the Rev. Dominic Faber from Portland officiating. James Shelvin was the father of Mrs. Frank Ray of Beaverton. She says her father was the first white baby baptized - the first infant baptized was an Indian, but there is no record of the child's name or parents.

The first marriage recorded was that of Peter Mayer and Susan Duttenthaller, Feb. 13, 1877, with Father Hermann officiating.

First Catholic Churches in Beaverton