Rood Bridge Park

History

In 1992, the city bought 35 acre from the Dreiling family to begin assembly property for a park in southeast Hillsboro. The family had lived on the land in excess of 40 years before selling.

Flooding in February 1996 fell around 100 trees on the property and added other debris. Later that year volunteers from SOLV planted trees and other plants at the park site. In February 1998, the city worked with the Rotary Club to plan and pay for a building at the park to be used as meeting space. The $275,000 building was built beginning in the Spring of that year.

During construction of the park there were problems with the contractor CEMS Inc., with lawsuits filed by both sides. The city was ordered to pay in excess of $200,000 to resolve the dispute. When the park's initial construction was completed in 1999, the day-use park opened. A that time the park had the boat launch, tennis courts, trails (two miles worth, one mile (1.6 km) paved), two pedestrian bridges, a pond, picnic areas, parking, and the River House designed for accommodating meetings. Funds for the work came from Metro, private donations, the Tualatin Valley Water Quality Fund, and city funds. Total costs for construction of the initial phases of the park were about $1.3 million.

In 2001 to 2002, the park went through over $600,000 in upgrades partially paid for by a grant from the Oregon Lottery that added play equipment, trails, landscaping, viewpoints, and picnic areas among others. In 2001, construction began on the Lloyd Baron Rhododendron Garden at the park to build a 1.5 acre facility for the city's official flower.

In late 2007, the city drained the Woodland Pond to construct a pavilion on its shore along with repairs to the pond itself using city funds and private donations. Other work was done to the pedestrian bridges and the walkways around the pond, and two waterfalls were added. On May 17, 2008, the Woodland Pond viewing pavilion was dedicated and the pond area re-opened along with a new water feature. Construction of the new items and renovations totaled approximately $225,000 in costs. Plans call for connecting the park via a nature park and trail along Rock Creek to northeast Hillsboro and other parks in the city, eventually crossing north of the Sunset Highway. The park closed for a day in July 2014 due to reports of a cougar.

Amenities

Officially 60.1 acre, the city also utilizes an additional 15 acre through an agreement with Clean Water Services that operates a wastewater treatment plant adjacent to the community park. An area of 43 acre of the park is covered by a forest and floodplain. The park is accessed by Rood Bridge Road where Rood Bridge crosses the Tualatin. Wildlife at the park includes woodpeckers and owls among others.

Rood Bridge Park has wooded areas as well as grass covered sections, both crossed by biking and hiking trails. Paved trails total 12089 ft in length while other trails total 6172 ft in length. including hosting the Bill Chapman Invitational race.

The park includes the Lloyd Baron Rhododendron Garden that contains in excess of 550 species of the plant and includes a pond. The rhododendron is the official flower of the city. The garden covers 1.5 acre and has both natural and hybrid species. There are also two waterfalls on the pond, with the waterfalls and pavilion designed by Sadafumi Uchiyama, Bob Schatz, and Ross NW Warergardens.

Also at Rood Bridge Park is the nearly 3000 sqft River House. The lodge type structure is used for educational classes as well as private functions such as weddings. The activity room is also used as a classroom and totals 672 sqft. The River House is 2845 sqft and the annex is an additional 640 sqft and can hold 75 people.

References

References

1. {{cite gnis
2. Fentress, Aaron. “The pieces of Rood Bridge Park slowly fall into place”, ''The Oregonian'', November 2, 1998, West Zoner, p. C2.
3. An additional {{convert. 25. acre
4. Bodine, Harry. “Volunteers put in hard work in order to be clean, green”, ''The Oregonian'', September 21, 1997, p. B11.
5. Pulaski, Alex. “Hillsboro park to get meeting facilities”, ''The Oregonian'', February 11, 1998, West Zoner, p. D2.
6. “Community Snapshot: Hillsboro expects to start workon Rood Bridge Park building”, ''The Oregonian'', March 27, 1998, West Zoner, p. D2.
7. Anderson, David R. “Hillsboro agrees to pay for park work”, ''The Oregonian'', May 18, 2000, West Zoner, p. C2.
8. “Community Snapshot: Hillsboro News”, ''The Oregonian'', July 24, 2001, West Zoner, p. B2.
9. Leeper, Kate. “Making a Difference: Hillsboro gardener receives award for beautifying the city”, ''The Oregonian'', March 31, 2005, West Zoner, p. 8.
10. Edwards, Lisa. “Neighborhood Roundup – Metro West Hillsboro”, ''The Oregonian'', October 4, 2007, Metro West Neighbors, p. 8.
11. Smith, Jill Rehkopf. [http://www.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/index.ssf/2009/01/years_of_patience_and_planning.html “Years of patience and planning bring new roads, sidewalks and schools in Washington County”], ''The Oregonian'', January 01, 2009. Retrieved on January 3, 2009.
12. [http://www.ci.hillsboro.or.us/ParksRec/RentalInformation/Construction.aspx#WoodlandPond Construction Projects.] {{webarchive. link. (2008-12-23 Parks & Recreation, City of Hillsboro. Retrieved on January 3, 2009.)
13. Edwards, Lisa. “Neighborhood Roundup – Metro West Hillsboro”, ''The Oregonian'', May 8, 2008, Metro West Neighbors, p. 16.
14. Suh, Elizabeth. “When the stones speak, he listens”, ''The Oregonian'', January 4, 2008, p. B1.
15. Anderson, David R. “Nature park stretches alongside Rock Creek”, ''The Oregonian'', June 6, 2002, West Zoner, p. 11.
16. (Jul 23, 2014). "Hillsboro park reopens after no sign of cougars". KATU.
17. [http://www.ci.hillsboro.or.us/ParksRec/MasterPlanPDFS/AppendixD.pdf Appendix D: Park Descriptions, p. 28.] {{webarchive. link. (2007-04-04 Parks Master Plan. City of Hillsboro. Retrieved on January 4, 2009.)
18. One of twenty-three parks in Hillsboro, Rood Bridge is located along the [[Tualatin River]] and Rock Creek where the two water bodies meet.Fitzgibbon, Joe. “Whatever your game, city has it – Recreation”, ''The Oregonian'', October 26, 2008.
19. Gault, Roy. “Cleaning Oregon's watersheds”, ''Statesman Journal'', October 25, 2002, p. 4D.
20. Basalyga, Stephanie. “Washington County sets date for Rood Bridge closure”, ''Daily Journal of Commerce'', May 16, 2003.
21. “Prep Highlights: Prairie sweeps titles at Heritage Invite”, ''The Columbian'', September 10, 2006, p. B6.
22. Fitzgibbon, Joe. (March 27, 2008). "Devoted nature lover shares her favorite parks". [[The Oregonian]].
23. [http://www.ci.hillsboro.or.us/ParksRec/ParksFacilities/documents/Lloyd_Baron.pdf Lloyd Baron Rhododendron Garden], Hillsboro Park and Recreation, May 2003. Accessed January 5, 2008.
24. A concrete and stone pavilion sits on the shore of Woodland Pond and is used for events such as wedding ceremonies.Suh, Elizabeth. “Hillsboro Tuality program gives over $245,000 in aid”, ''The Oregonian'', August 30, 2007, Metro West Neighbors, p. 6.
25. The garden came after decades of lobbying for a garden at a city park for the species.Anderson, David R. “Slow to bloom”, ''The Oregonian'', December 18, 2001, West Zoner, p. D2.