Oregon Map

North Willamette Valley

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

Aurora

Marion County, 97038

Established in 1856 - National Historic District

Aurora is a town full of history and appropriately full of antique shops too. The Aurora Colony museum features many artifacts from the town's colorful past. Established in 1856 as a religious commune where everything was shared in common, Aurora continued as a skilled craftsman settlement long after the commune was abandoned in 1883. Being close to Portland the town is struggling with growth issues. A new sewer system arrived a few years back and that resulted in new subdivisions but the main area is unchanged. Those things though the traveler would hardly notice. What stands out is the wealth of well preserved historical buildings many of which are occupied by antique shops featuring some 200 dealers.