Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, 25 miles (40 km) west of Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a commuter town in the Portland metro area. Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in 1850, then incorporated in 1872, making it the first city in Washington County. The population was 21,083 at the 2010 census, an accrual of 19.1% over the 2000 figure (17,708).

Located in the Tualatin Valley, Oregon routes 8, and 47 pass through Forest Grove subsequent to 47 and 8 signed as the Tualatin Valley Highway south and east of the main allocation of the city, respectively, Oregon Route 8 signed as Gales Creek Road west of the city, and Oregon Route 47 signed as the Nehalem Highway north of the city. Pacific University has been the most distinctive aspect of the town throughout its history. Old College Hall upon campus is listed upon the National Register of Historic Places along with nine further structures in the city.

Prior to the 1840s gone Euro-Americans arranged the area, the Atfalati band of the Kalapuya Native American tribe lived on the Tualatin Plains in what is now Forest Grove. In 1841, Alvin T. and Abigail Smith were in the midst of the earliest to use the Oregon Trail and settled on what was first known as West Tualatin Plain. They overwintered considering Henry Harmon Spalding, arriving in what is now Forest Grove in the fall. Intending to be missionaries, they found Tiny potential as most of the natives had succumbed to European diseases. Smith served as the community’s first postmaster beginning on February 1, 1850, and his log cabin served as the proclaim office.

According to Oregon Geographic Names, the read out Forest Grove was selected on January 10, 1851, at a meeting of the trustees of Tualatin Academy (later known as Pacific University). Resident and bookish trustee J. Quinn Thornton suggested the name, which he as a consequence had used for the read out of his homestead. The make known referred to a grove of oak trees that still stand on what is now the campus of the university. Previous state offices in the Place were called Tuality Plains and Tualatin, with Forest Grove adopted upon December 31, 1858. The city was platted in 1850.