The Great Winter Snowstorm of 1937, One for the record books
Dressed for cold weather, employees and customers of Columbia Market in Beaverton were photographed during the worst storm to hit Oregon in several years. The winter of early 1937 was one for the record books.
From 31 – February 4, heavy snow and ice blustered through the state, as strong winds piled snow into waist-high drifts throughout the Pacific Northwest, closing rural roads and city streets. Cars slid into ditches and school children waited on buses until they could find shelter. The worst weather to hit Oregon in years took an awful toll: five deaths were reported, private and public transportation came to a standstill, telephone and telegraph communications were disrupted, and flights into and out of Portland were cancelled.
The severe snowfall that created so much havoc, dumping 17”-39” and dropping temperatures to below freezing, began as a blizzard Sunday, 31, powered by strong, cold east winds. Fourteen inches in Beaverton, the heaviest accumulation since 1895, stopped all traffic. The last westbound bus–then known as an auto stage–from Portland couldn’t make it to Beaverton that day, although irregular trips resumed between Portland and Reedville by Tuesday. Buses were unable to travel their routes on country roads.
Beaverton High School and Beaverton Grade School closed all week. Mail carrier Lester Davis, forced to abandon his vehicle, used a horse to complete his route. Meetings were cancelled, church services called off, and businesses shut down, even though drugstores, including Dean’s and Brown’s, struggled to make emergency deliveries. Drs. C.E. Mason, R.S. Welsh, and Dan Stefanoff navigated deep snow piles to reach home-bound patients requiring urgent care, although there were reports of doctors making house calls staying in patients’ homes. Warmer air later brought rain showers that reduced snow to slush but created additional problems: landslides and flooding.
How locals learned about these catastrophes is in sharp contrast to today’s 24/7 TV broadcasts and Internet. In the 1930s radio was the primary electronic medium that provided the latest information. Television, a new phenomenon with limited availability, didn’t gain popularity until the mid-1950s. Daily newspapers in Portland and Salem, together with weeklies in Beaverton and Hillsboro, supplied wide-ranging coverage, but carriers halted distribution until conditions improved.
By the end of that disastrous week mail was once again coming in, streetcars were operating, workers reached their stores, and daily routines resumed.
Columbia Market faced east at the intersection of SW Watson Avenue and SW 1st Street. Houses in the background face 1st Street. It was later razed. The current structure is now home to June and Super Champ.
By Ann Koppy, local historian. Visit www.historyofbeaverton.org, or email info@historyofbeaverton.org.
