The Aurora Colony

The Aurora Colony - Aurora, Oregon: The town of Aurora, Oregon is located in the north central Willamette valley, about 24 miles south of Portland. It was established by a small group of scouts from Bethel, Missouri ("Bethelites"), who left that area in 1853 to find a site in the Pacific Northwest to establish their German-speaking, Christian commune. The group eventually settled on a tract of about 500 acres just south of the Willamette River in Marion County, Oregon. The land was purchased and named Aurora after the leader, William Keil's (1812-1877), daughter. The colony eventually grew to around 600 colonists until William Keil died in 1877. After his death, communal activity ended and properties went to individual farmers.

While Dr. Wilhelm Keil's house no longer remains, several homes of the original colonists have been preserved. Some historical photos of the colony, including one of Keil's home can be found on the Oregon Encyclopedia's web site, and information and photos on the colony members are provided by the Old Aurora Colony Historical Museum. Today, over 30 original colony buildings survive including the home of Emma Wagner Giesy (1833-1916), wife of the scout leader Christian Geisy, and sole female on the first trip from Missouri:

Emma Wagner Giesy House

The George Kraus family also lived in this same house from 1881 to 1867. Author, Jane Kirkpatrick, has written a novel about Emma's journey with this group of settlers in "A Clearing in the Wild." It is historical fiction based on the life of colony members and their migration to the west.

John Hans Stauffer was also a member of the original scouting party and settled three miles south of Aurora, and the family farm still exists today just north of Hubbard, Oregon.

Other colonists who arrived later included Christian Zimmerman (1838-1920), a carpenter. The Zimmerman House remains on the corner of Liberty and 3rd Streets in Aurora. A 150 year old walnut tree still stands in front of the house:

Christian Zimmerman House

Anton Will (1871-1962) built a house for his wife, Anna, directly across from the Zimmermans:

Anton Will House

Henry Kraus (1845-1918) was a carpenter and storekeeper who built a home on Liberty Street:

Henry Kraus House

Across the street from the Henry Kraus House is the Leonard Will (1823-1906) house, the colony butcher. Leonard and his wife, Josephine, had 7 children:

Leonard Will House

According to the Old Aurora Colony Museum, the original colony was non-denominational. Lutherans and Presbyterians who arrived in the area later built a Presbyterian Church in 1911:

Aurora Presbyterian Church

Charles Snyder (1844-1924) was a settler from Ohio. He built a house on the corner of Liberty and 3rd Streets where he lived with his wife Christina Schuelle Snyder and their seven children:

Charles Snyder House

One historical image provided by the Aurora Colony Museum (below) shows Main Street in 1908. Several of the original buildings still stand today.

For comparison, a photo of Main Street taken in 2014:

In both photos, the WM Keil and Company Store stands distinctively on the left.....

Wm Keil and Company Store

next to the William Fry House:

William Fry House

William Fry (1835-1906), from Pennsylvania, was a blacksmith who settled in Aurora with his wife Annie and their four children.

Across the street was the Will-Snyder Store, built in 1912:

Will-Snyder Store

Other buildings that no longer exist include the Aurora Colony Drugstore, which was torn down in 1962 and Aurora Colony Store, which was torn down in 1931 to make room for Highway 99 East that now runs through the middle of town. At one time an impressive hotel also stood near the railroad tracks called the Aurora Pioneer Hotel (1867-1934). A historical photo of the hotel can be seen on the Canby Historical Society web page. The only surviving building from the hotel complex is an octagon building located off 2nd Street. The historical use of the building is unknown.

Aurora Pioneer Hotel Octagon Building

The home of Jacob Miley (1838-1907) stands near the railroad tracks behind the Walter Fry house. Jacob was a settler from Ohio and built this home in 1867:

Jacob Miley House

The Walter Fry (1882-1974) House still stands on Main Street:

Walter Fry House

The Southern Pacific Railroad Depot is currently just adjacent to Walter Fry's home. It was formerly located near the old mill and relocated in 1990. Aurora was an agricultural town known mainly for hops, dairy and filberts. The food was also acclaimed as known from an article in the Portland newspaper, The Oregonian, which praised the fried potatoes, pig sausage, smoked ham, bread, cottage cheese, candies, jellies, and cakes... (Sreenivasan, J, 2008). Visitors were greeted by the community band which played on the roof of the Aurora Pioneer Hotel.

Aurora Depot

The Aurora State Bank building came from the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland and was relocated to Aurora in 1905. Lyn Topinka provides postcard images of the exposition. The bank's two original vaults remain, but are now used by a local winery which uses the building for its tasting room:

Aurora State Bank Building

The colony warehouse, or Ziegler's Warehouse, still remains and is currently used as an architectural salvage business. The remains of a grist mill are located in 1st Street adjacent to the warehouse (no photo). It was built by David Smith who was born in Ohio and came to Oregon in 1851. The grist mill was built in 1853 and destroyed by fire. Another was built the same year. Smith sold it in 1856 and moved to Yamhill County.  

Ziegler's Warehouse

Jacob Miller (1837-1916) was one of the original colonists. His house was built in 1889 and is located across the street from the Aurora Colony Museum:

Jacob Miller House

Finally, the current location of The Old Aurora Colony Museum is in an old ox barn on 2nd and Liberty Streets. The building was later converted to a store, and then to the museum.

Old Aurora Colony Museum

Museum Interior