Living In and Around Sandy
About the City Of Sandy
The City of Sandy has a population of around 7,000, and is the commercial center of a rural area with a population of approximately 20,000.
It is east of Portland and west of Mount Hood on the Barlow Road segment of the Oregon Trail (now US Highway 26).
Sandy has a thriving business base, including many stores and services for visitors to the Mt. Hood Recreation Area.
On the foothills of the Cascade Range, Sandy’s elevation varies from 750 to over 1,000 feet. Mt. Hood shelters the city from the wind and ice storms experienced in the Columbia River gorge.
The climate is mild, but as with the rest of Oregon west of the Cascades, it rains a lot in the winter. The rain falls as snow on Mt. Hood, and Sandy residents enjoy the nearby opportunities for skiing, snow boarding, and snowshoeing.
Sandy History
In 1845, Samuel K. Barlow, a pioneer emigrant from Kentucky, blazed a road (known as the Barlow Road) from The Dalles, Oregon around the south side of Mt. Hood to Eagle Creek (a settlement east of Oregon City) thus completing the last leg of the famous Oregon Trail that began in Independence, Missouri.
Sandy’s first settlers, the Francis Revenue family, arrived in 1853 and soon opened a trading post here on the Barlow Road and served many of the thousands of pioneers who traveled through on their way to the Willamette Valley.
Sandy’s first Post Office was established in 1873 and the village became an incorporated city in 1913.
Sandy was named for the nearby Sandy River which was originally identified as the “Quicksand River” by Lewis and Clark; however, the name “Quicksand” gradually evolved into “Sandy”.
Lifestyle Advantages
- Rural lifestyle in mild climate, close to urban amenities
- Affordable median housing prices with large lots
- Quality public schools and easy access to local colleges and universities
- Nearby recreation includes Mt. Hood and the Mt. Hood National Forest, Sandy River, Cascade Mountain range and the Columbia River Gorge
