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.