The Architectural Heritage Center is a project of the Bosco-Milligan Foundation, the mission of which is “Educating People to Preserve Our Building Heritage.” The Center, located at 701 SE Grand Avenue in Portland, presents historic preservation education programs and revolving exhibits of vintage building artifacts throughout the year.

Philip Foster was one of Oregon's earliest settlers, arriving with his family by ship via Cape Horn and the Sandwich Islands in 1843. He played an important part in Oregon's early history, serving as the first treasurer of the Provisional Government in 1844 and 1845. Foster was also an entrepreneur, partnering with Sam Barlow in constructing the Barlow Road in 1846, operating a store in Oregon City, and founding a flourmill and cattle company with Dr. John McLoughlin, known as the Father of Oregon.

Foster bought a 640-acre land-claim in Eagle Creek in 1847, which he developed for the arrival of emigrants traveling the Barlow Road. He cleared land, planted crops and orchards, built a log house and a store, as well as constructing a lumber mill and gristmill. The Foster place became a welcome sight for pioneers struggling off Mount Hood after their 2000-mile journey from Missouri. Every overlander who kept a diary on the trek over the Barlow Road to Oregon City wrote of Fosters farm. Some recorded in their diaries the pleasure of tasting fresh fruit for the first time in months. Others wrote of their gratitude for being able to get sick relatives under a real roof.

Today, you can still see the Foster homestead much as it was a century ago. The frame house Fosters son, Egbert, built in 1883 has been preserved, and a lilac that Philip Fosters wife, Mary Charlotte, brought from Maine graces the front yard. The lilac is now over 150 years old and still growing where Mary Foster planted it in the 1840s. Registered starts of the lilac are available at the Pioneer Store.

The original 1860s barn still exists. There is a replica Pioneer Store, an apple orchard featuring heirloom apple varieties, and lovely heirloom flower and vegetable gardens. Among the exciting events at the Foster Farm is the annual Cider Squeeze and Harvest Festival, which is held on the last Saturday in September.

The Foster Farm is open weekly on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from mid-June through the end of August. From September 1 until the last Saturday in September (when the farm closes for the season) it is open to the public only on Saturdays and Sundays. Hours of operation throughout the season are from 11 AM - 4 PM. Admission is free, but donations to help maintain the farm and its activities are appreciated. For visitor information, including group tour inquiries, call (503) 630-5051 or (503) 637-6324.

Ron Wyden constantly reaches across the aisle to build coalitions on important issues. He works closely with Oregon's junior Senator, Gordon Smith, on many issues and at the beginning of each Congress the two produce a bipartisan agenda for their state.

In the areas of health care, technology, natural resources and other areas, Ron Wyden has produced important results.

Since his days as co-director of the Oregon Gray Panthers, Ron Wyden has been a respected voice on health care. He authored the first law to protect seniors from unscrupulous Medicare insurance scams and exposed the tobacco companies for hiding the addictiveness of nicotine. His bipartisan legislation reformed the community health center law to make vital health services available to thousands of poor families at no additional cost to taxpayers, and increased Medicare reimbursement to states like Oregon, which the federal government has shortchanged for keeping their health costs down. To help women fighting cancer, Wyden exposed and eliminated waste in the case of the Pacific yew, a so-called "trash tree" that became the original source of the breakthrough pharmaceutical Taxol.

Widely recognized as an expert on technology policy, the Senator passed bipartisan laws prohibiting discriminatory taxes on Internet commerce and promoting the use of digital signatures. The Senator was selected for the American Electronics Association Legislator Hall of Fame and was named 2000 Legislator of the Year by the Information Technology Council.

In the natural resources field, Ron Wyden wrote with Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho) what has become known as the County Payments Bill, legislation that the Forest Service considers "the most influential law to come along in three decades." The statute provides stable funding for rural schools and roads historically dependent on funds derived from the harvest of timber on federal lands.

After being sworn in to the United States Senate on January 7, 1997, Gordon Smith has quickly earned a reputation as a statesman with an independent streak. Senate leaders have recognized Senator Smith's abilities and have continually asked him to serve in key leadership and committee positions. He has also become known for his ability to cross party lines in the interests of his constituents.


Smith serves on five major Senate committees: Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Energy and Natural Resources, Rules, Indian Affairs, and the powerful Finance Committee. He also serves on the Special Committee on Aging. In addition, he is a member of the Senate Western Water and Rural Health Caucuses as well as the High Tech Task Force. Smith is also co-chairman of the Senate Task Force on Medicare and Prescription Drugs and has been selected by leadership three times to be a Deputy Whip, a position that he currently holds.


Since coming to the Senate, Smith has focused on issues crucial to the future health and prosperity of Oregonians. Smith believes that every child deserves a quality education and has been a consistent supporter of programs that increase funds for students. He has also made solving Oregon's dropout problem one of his primary goals and has introduced legislation to create a pilot program that will hire guidance counselors to work with students at risk of dropping out. Senator Smith is also committed to improving access to healthcare. To accomplish this Smith has sponsored a number of initiatives that will increase flexibility for state programs like the Oregon Health Plan. He has also introduced a bill that will alleviate the nursing shortage by authorizing $40 million in grants for health care facilities to develop innovative nursing programs. Smith continues to push for federal funds that will help to meet the basic health care needs of the uninsured.

Congressman David Wu (D-OR) was sworn in to a third term as a Member of the 108th Congress on January 7, 2003. Congressman Wu represents Oregon's First Congressional District, which stretches from Portland to the Oregon Coast, encompassing all of Washington, Yamhill, Columbia, and Clatsop counties, and part of Multnomah County.

Congressman Wu's priorities include: improving our nation's public education system and making college more affordable; growing Oregon's economy by encouraging new business investment and supporting high tech research; improving our nation's healthcare system by fighting for patients' rights and a Medicare prescription drug benefit; and meeting our obligation to future generations by preserving Social Security and protecting our natural environment.

In the House of Representatives, Congressman Wu serves on the Education and the Workforce Committee, which has sole jurisdiction over education policy. Congressman Wu also serves on the Science Committee, which has jurisdiction over research and technology policy and NASA.

Congressman David Wu has lived the American dream. He was born in Taiwan on April 8, 1955. In October of 1961, he moved with his family to the United States from Taiwan after President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order updating unfair immigration quotas. He was educated in public schools, earned a Bachelor of Science from Stanford University in 1977, attended Harvard Medical School, and received a law degree from Yale University in 1982.

Congressman Wu's distinguished legal career included a clerkship with a Federal judge in Portland. In 1988, he co-founded the law firm of Cohen & Wu. For a decade, the firm successfully served the high technology industry and numerous small businesses across Northwest Oregon.

Congressman Wu counts among his proudest accomplishments his work to help build scores of new businesses that have thrived and provided well-paying jobs for Oregonians. His fifteen years of experience in the Portland business and high technology communities make him uniquely qualified to represent the "Silicon Forest" district in Congress.

Congressman Wu is the first and only Chinese-American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. He serves as Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. Congressman Wu is also a member of the New Democrat Coalition (NDC), a group of moderate Democrats in the House.

Congressman Wu and his wife Michelle have two children: a six-year-old son named Matthew and a four-year-old daughter named Sarah.

With eight years of service in the Oregon House and Senate under his belt, along with a strong business background as the owner and operator of a family radio business in Hood River and The Dalles, Greg Walden was elected as the U.S. Representative for the Second Congressional District of Oregon on November 3, 1998. He was re-elected to his third term in November of 2002 with 72% of the vote – one of the highest margins in the history of the Second District and more than any other Oregon House member during the 2002 election. Congressman Walden is the only Oregon Republican serving today in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Greg’s district includes the 20 counties of southern, central and eastern Oregon. At more than 70,000 square miles, it is geographically larger than 33 states. The Second District features breathtaking mountains, winding rivers, rich farmland and hundreds of thousands of acres of open range. From Klamath Falls and Ontario to Hood River and John Day, Greg’s district is home to many hard-working Oregonians who make their living off the land and proudly continue the tradition of the Western way of life.

The son of former State Representative Paul Walden, Greg grew up on a cherry orchard in The Dalles before moving to Hood River, where he graduated from high school in 1974. A former student body president and Eagle Scout, Greg received a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from the University of Oregon in 1981.

Greg entered Congress with a solid record of private and public sector experience. He and his wife, Mylene, have owned and managed Columbia Gorge Broadcasters, which operates radio stations in Hood River and The Dalles, since 1986. They employ 17 people and operate five radio stations. Greg and Mylene live in Hood River, where their son, Anthony, attends public school. Greg returns home to Oregon virtually every weekend when Congress is in session. By the start of the 108th Congress, he had completed over 130 round trips to and from the nation’s capital.

Before his election to Congress, Greg served for eight years in the Oregon Legislature, where he was twice chosen as the House Majority Leader. During his two years in the Oregon State Senate he served as Assistant Majority Leader. Prior to his time in the legislature, Greg worked in Washington, D.C. for nearly six years as Press Secretary and Chief of Staff for former Oregon Congressman Denny Smith.

Born: Williston, N.D.
Education: Oregon State University, B.S.
Occupation: Teacher
Family: Son, Chad; Daughter, Erin

Career: West Linn City Council, 1977-1980; Oregon State House of Representatives, 1981-1987; Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, 1987-1996; Member, U.S. Congress, 1997-present

Darlene Hooley was born on a family farm in Williston, North Dakota. She moved to Salem, Oregon when she was eight and has lived, worked and raised a family in Oregon's Fifth Congressional District ever since. A former reading, music, and physical education teacher, Hooley began advocating for safer playgrounds in the mid-1970's. After serving on the Park District Board, she was elected to the West Linn City Council where she served for four years. She went on to serve in the Oregon State Legislature and as a Clackamas County Commissioner.

During her four terms in the Legislature and more than two terms as a Clackamas County Commissioner, Hooley earned a reputation as a serious, consensus-building lawmaker more interested in formulating policy than engaging in the usual political and ideological bickering. The Congresswoman helped to reform the state's welfare system, authored the state's first recycling laws, rewrote Oregon's land-use laws, and wrote and passed equal pay laws.

In November of 1996, Hooley was elected to Congress as the representative of Oregon's 5th Congressional District. She was elected a President of her Freshman class in 1997. During her second term in Congress, she was selected as Whip at Large and served in that role until 2003, when she was named Senior Whip. In 2003, she was elevated to the Executive Council of the The New Democrat Coalition, the largest and one of the most influential caucuses in the House. From education reform to a balanced budget, and from China PNTR to ID theft prevention, New Democrats have frequently provided the key votes needed to pass legislation to promote economic growth.

Although only in her fourth term in the United States House, Congresswoman Hooley has already developed a reputation as a member of Congress who gets things done. Since her election to Congress, she has been an outspoken advocate for fiscal responsibility and for providing much needed tax relief to working families, farmers and small business owners. From her vantage point on the Financial Services Committee, she has been the leader in advocating for protections in the areas of medical and financial privacy, and identity theft. As a Budget Committee member, Congresswoman Hooley has fought for increased federal funding for homeland security efforts, school modernization and education improvements, measures to level the playing field for farmers, fair Medicare reimbursement for Oregonians, fair pricing and coverage of prescription drugs for seniors, quality healthcare for our nation=s veterans, and funding for our salmon restoration and natural disaster mitigation. At the commencement of the 108th Congress, Congresswoman Hooley was appointed to serve on the U.S. House Committee on Veterans Affairs. As a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee she has worked to improve VA health care and adequately fund VA Medical Centers. Congresswoman Hooley serves as ranking Member of the VA Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee.

Hooley lives in her home in West Linn, commuting to Washington, DC weekly for votes.

Congressman Peter DeFazio was first elected to the U.S. Congress in 1986. He is a member of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, with jurisdiction over the newly created Department of Homeland Security.

DeFazio is also a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee [ majority site | minority site], and serves as ranking member of the Aviation Subcommittee, where he is a vocal advocate for consumers and aviation security. He also serves as a member of he Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, and the Railroad Subcommittee.

DeFazio and his wife, Myrnie Daut, live in Springfield, OR with a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, a black Lab, 2 cats and a Dodge Dart.

He has logged over two million miles traveling between Oregon and Washington, DC about three times each month to serve the people of Oregon's Fourth Congressional District in the United States Congress.

One of DeFazio's proudest accomplishments is the $216,000 in after-tax salary he has contributed to scholarships and to the fund to reduce the national debt. Those contributions have funded 127 scholarships for displaced Oregon workers at the five Southwestern Oregon community colleges, and at the University of Oregon. DeFazio funds the scholarships out of congressional pay raises.

Learn more about Rep. DeFazio's accomplishments

Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-3) has devoted his entire career to public service. He first served in the Oregon House of Representatives in 1972. From there Mr. Blumenauer went on to be a Multnomah County Commissioner and spent ten years on the Portland City Council as Commissioner of Public Works. Mr. Blumenauer's reforms and innovative accomplishments have helped his hometown of Portland, Oregon gain an international reputation as a livable community.

He has represented Oregon's Third Congressional District since 1996, continuing to promote livable communities at the federal level. Mr. Blumenauer serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and as a member of the International Relations Committee. He is a strong and creative voice both at home and abroad for the environment, sustainable development, and economic opportunity.

Mr. Blumenauer was named a German Marshall Fellow in 1995 and has won numerous awards from environmental, education, community, and civic organizations, including 1999 Legislator of the Year from the American Planning Association, the National Building Museum's Apgar Award in 2000, and the 2001 National Bicycle Advocacy Award from the League of American Bicyclists. His academic training includes undergraduate and law degrees from Lewis and Clark College in Portland

Historic Preservation League of Oregon