Polk County

My first trip consisted of two short afternoons driving across Polk County. The first day was driving across the northern part of the county from West Salem to Grand Ronde, then back to West Salem via highway 22. The second day was going from Salem to Dallas, then down to the Benton County border, then east to the Willamette and back up north through Monmouth and Independence.

The northern part of the county didn't have many large towns. In fact, the largest settlement that I passed through before Grand Ronde was Ballston, which is considered a ghost town. I particularly enjoyed the picturesque rolling hills of grassland farms and the very small communities at the crossroads of the various routes that cover the county.

Lincoln

Location

My first stop was about 10 minutes north outside of West Salem. This community appears to consist of homes, farms, a firehouse, and a basic store. It has a residential road that goes right up next to the Willamette which I would assume makes for a nice bedroom community for those working in Salem or one of the other nearby larger cities.

Bethel

Location | Wiki

10 minutes west of Lincoln once stood a town by the name of Bethel. Now, it is a ghost town with the only notable thing still standing being a church.

McCoy

Location | Wiki

The only indication of the name of this community is the road sign for McCoy Road. This community sits at a railroad crossing. Most of the buildings in the area appear to be for some sort of industrial or farming equipment. Immediately to the west of the community is one of my favorite area's for that day's trip; rolling hills of grassland farms. Unfortunately, a picture could not do it justice.

Perrydale

Location | Wiki

About 2 minutes west of McCoy is another small community, albeit larger than the other ones I had seen so far that day. It sat at the intersection of two of the main roads that traverse the farming part of the county.

Ballston

Location | Wiki

Another small farming community. It is about 10 minutes northwest of Perrydale and a little bit bigger. While this is in Polk County, residence of Ballston probably go to nearby Sheridan in Yamhill County for their services. This town has a small park right in the center of it that would very likely be the only public gathering place in the area.

Grand Ronde

Location | Wiki

Grand Ronde is right on the border of Yamhill and Polk Counties and more than 10 miles to the west of Ballston. Anyone going directly from Salem to the coast would passthrough the town. Tribal buildings line the main north-south road in the town. There are several areas of the town; Grand Ronde which is in the south part along highway 18, Grand Ronde Agency which is to the north along highway 22 which is the primary part of the reservation, Valley Junction which has Spirit Mountain Casino and a few businesses, and the Fort Yamhill Heritage Site which has additional reservation grounds.

Buell

Location

Buell is to the east of Grand Ronde along highway 22 by about 15 minutes. It seemed like a nice area with a surprising amount of non-residential buildings for only having no more than half a dozen houses. There is a water district annex, fire station and grange hall. The park also looked like it had access to the nearby creek.

Salt Creek

Location | Wiki

This community appeared to mainly be on a side road that ran parallel to highway 22. There was another fire station, many houses, farms, and a church.

Rickreall

Location | Wiki

I bypassed Dallas on my to Rickreall, as I would get to that area on my next travel day. Rickreall is a CDP, but has a very small footprint; just less than one square mile and less than 100 people. I would describe it as an extention to Dallas. It contains the County fairgrounds, County museum and direct access to highways 99W and 22. There is also a grange and event hall.

Derry

Location | Wiki

This was my final notable stop before returning to Salem. It is not even a mile outside of Rickreall. This community is along a railroad; the same one that McCoy is on just to the north by about 10 miles. The immediate area consists of large farming buildings and farm supply store. Homes that I would associate to this community are along the east-west road that runs parallel to highway 22.