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Kinton is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Oregon, United States.
It is located near the northern shore of the Tualatin River, near the intersection of
Oregon Route 210 and River Road, a major county arterial that runs northwest towards
Hillsboro. Kinton is located approximately eight miles north of Newberg, six miles
southwest of Beaverton, and seven miles southeast of Hillsboro. The community was
once the site of a ferry (the Scholls Ferry) crossing the Tualatin River between
Kinton and nearby Scholls. While the ferry has long since been replaced with a
bridge, OR 210 is still known locally as Scholls Ferry Road. Kinton is in Oregon's
wine country, with several notable wineries in the area.
Kinton was named for Peter Kindt, a pioneer who took up a donation land claim nearby.
Kinton had its own post office from 1894-1903. Today Kinton has a Beaverton mailing
address.
Twenty million years ago, lava flows from eastern Oregon snaked down the Columbia
River and deposited a bed of basalt lava in the area known today as Washington
County. During the last ice age, the region was engulfed repeatedly by the raging
Missoula Floods, which deposited rich silt and topsoil.
A few thousand years later, the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, enacted by congress
to encourage settlement in Oregon Territory, prompted a surge of immigration to the
new Territory via the Oregon Trail. (This law is the precursor to the Homestead Act.)
Before the Act expired in 1855, a total of 7,437 patents were issued, one of them to
a Peter Kindt. Mr. Kindt's Donation Land claim lay near the banks of the Tualatin
River, and the town of Kinton was named after this early pioneer.
Kinton was fortunate to be situated near the Ferry that Peter Scholl built around
1848 across the Tualatin River. Mr. Scholl operated the ferry for many years, later
establishing a toll bridge. (That covered bridge existed at least until the 1920's,
but is now gone.) The road that runs through Kinton, down to the community of
Scholls, is still called Scholls Ferry Road.
Kinton had a post office from 1894 to 1903. Aside from an old a schoolhouse, the
administrative buildings and stores seem to be gone. However, it may be that such
buildings reside hidden on private property, out of sight from the road. Today
Scholls Ferry Road (HW 210) and SW River Road are important highways, very scenic
and pleasant to drive. Historic houses and barns may be seen from the road. Be sure
to visit Scholls, a semi-ghost town just a few miles SW. Follow Highway 210.
COMMENTS: No town anymore except for a grange and old schoolhouse. That old
building must be one of the oldest in the county, wooden, still standing and very
picturesque. From Tualatin Valley Highway in Hillsboro, take SW River Road until
it becomes Scholls Ferry Rd. Stop and see the old wooden schoolhouse at the
intersection of Tile Flat Rd, next to the Grange.
REMAINS: An old schoolhouse complete with a rusted out Studebaker. Fenced off on
private property, but clearly visible and very close to the road. Park at the
grange parking lot next door for views and photographs, to avoid standing on the
busy highway.
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