by Dan Bosserman (Author)
Traveling the Barlow Road, 50,000 pioneers rolled their wagon wheels over the site of today's Sandy Historical Museum without stopping. Not until the arrival of Francis Revenue in 1853 did anyone consider the area suitable for homesteading. Building a store and a bridge across the Sandy River, Revenue established the first bit of civilization the pioneers encountered in Oregon. Among the heroes and legends to appear on the slopes of Mount Hood were Elijah "Lige" Coalman, who climbed the mountain 586 times; brawny loggers, lumbermen, and farmers who tamed the forest and settled the land; Blanche Shelley, the first female mayor in Oregon; and Nettie Connett, who stood on her head on a bar stool and walked on her hands across Main Street.