By Living Room Realty, September 7, 2018
The Pacific Northwest is home to many ancient Native American sights but our favorite is in Gladstone Oregon. A huge, unassuming, big leaf maple by tradition called the Pow-Wow Tree, has been a meeting place for Clackamas native people for time immemorial. Members of the Clackamas tribe had a racetrack next to the tree. Peter Rinearson, whose donation land claim included the tree, used the track to train his racehorses.
The tree also marked the first Oregon State Fair in 1861 with the racetrack serving as the parade ring and the Pow Wow Tree standing at the fair’s entrance. In 1937, the tree was honored at the Gladstone Pow-Wow celebration and has since become Gladstone’s city emblem. The Pow-Wow tree is approximately 230 years old and around 70 feet high. Sadly, the tree has been plagued with health problems since 1953 and it’s now given annual care to help prolong its life. You can visit the Pow-Wow tree, located on West Clackamas Boulevard, between Bellevue and Beatrice, in Gladstone.
