Gresham ( GRESH-əm) is a city located in Multnomah County, Oregon, in the United States of America, immediately east of Portland, Oregon. It is considered a suburb within the Greater Portland Metropolitan area. Though it began as a agreement in the mid-1800s, it was not officially incorporated as a city until 1905; it was named after Walter Quintin Gresham, the American Civil War general and United States Secretary of State.

The city’s in the future economy was sustained largely by farming, and by the mid-20th century the city experienced a population boom, growing from 4,000 residents to more than 10,000 amongst 1960 and 1970. The population was 105,594 at the 2010 census, making Gresham the fourth largest city in Oregon.

The area now known as Gresham was first settled in 1851 by brothers Jackson and James Powell, who claimed land below the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850. They were soon united by other pioneer families, and the area came to be known as Powell’s Valley. In 1884, a local merchant petitioned the United States Post Office Department for a read out office in his store, and offered to publish it after Postmaster General Walter Q. Gresham if his demand was granted. At the thesame time, other members of the community secured a publish office called “Campground”, another declare for the area, referencing the religious camp meeting dome located there and the valley’s usefulness as a stop-off for travelers upon their quirk to Portland. Once the Post Office Department realized its mistake, it revoked the Campground pronounce office.

Gresham was incorporated in 1905, the year of the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition; its population at the get older was 365. Lewis Shattuck, son of a investor family, was the first mayor. The town’s economy was fueled largely by farming, including berries, grapes, and vegetables. At the time, trains ran amongst Gresham and Portland on an hourly basis. Gresham’s before settlers would go upon to form the outlying communities of Boring, Sandy, Fairview, and Estacada.