Oregon Map

North Willamette Valley

Washington, Yamhill, Polk, Multnomah, Clackamas, and north Marion counties

Turner

Marion County, 97392

The Good Neighbor Town

Turner was occupied by the Santiam Kalapuya Indians prior to settlement of the area in 1843. The Delaney family were the first settlers. Four Donation Land Claims occupied the current City Limits. Turner is a railroad town founded in 1871 when the Oregon & California Railroad passed through the area. A rail station was constructed at the site and named Turner in honor of Henry L. Turner a well-known Christian Convention Tabernacle pioneer and a flour mill owner in the area. Henry Turner recorded a town plat at the site of the station on March 9, 1871. By 1878 Turner had a population of 70 and a flour mill and two granaries were the dominant industrial features. An open Mill Race was built to power the mills and was located along the railroad adjacent to Third Street. It was one of the City's primary features until it was filled in the late 1900's by the Burkland Lumber Company, the City's primary industry until it closed in 1974 (copied straight from www.cityofturner.org).