Walker-Naylor is the residential historic district north of downtown Forest Grove and west of Pacific University. A leak, a stopped drain or a dead water heater can be reported by phone at (503) 974-3329. The dispatcher confirms your address and sends a plumber.
This page keeps three things apart: what public records say about the district, general plumbing information that applies to any house, and what nobody can know about your pipes without looking.
What the public record says about Walker-Naylor
The National Park Service lists the Walker Naylor Historic District, also called Walker's and Naylor's Additions, as a residential area of 145 resources, 85 of them contributing. It joined the National Register of Historic Places on March 3, 2011. The City of Forest Grove describes it as a roughly rectangular area north of downtown and west of Pacific University, with some of the oldest houses in the city.
The nomination gives A Street on the east, C Street on the west, 23rd Avenue on the north and 21st Avenue on the south, with Gales Way at the northwest corner. Walker's Addition was recorded in 1872 and Naylor's Addition in 1873. The oldest surviving house dates to 1858 or 1859.
Building came in waves. A first boom ran from 1900 to 1919, and many Pacific University professors lived on 23rd Avenue. A second boom in the 1940s and 1950s was mostly infill on lots that had been divided again. Only seven houses went up in the 1960s. Bungalows are the most common style at 48, followed by 21 Ranch houses and 18 Minimal Traditional houses.
What that means for a plumbing call
A historic listing describes architecture and history. It does not say what pipes a house has, how old they are or what has been replaced. Houses in one district get remodeled one at a time, so neighbors can have different materials. The only way to know is to look, and a sewer camera inspection shows the drain line without digging.
Remodels are worth planning early. Oregon requires a plumbing permit to replace a water heater, change piping inside walls, ceilings or floors, or work on a building sewer. The City of Forest Grove Community Development office issues them at 503-992-3229. Plumbing work follows the Oregon Plumbing Specialty Code, which is based on the Uniform Plumbing Code. This page cannot say whether a project at a historic address needs any other review, so ask that office before work starts.
If you are moving a fixture for a bathroom or kitchen change, plumbing installation and remodel rough-in is the service to read first. If the water heater is the project, see water heater installation for the gas, vent and space questions.
Planning a remodel or chasing a leak in Walker-Naylor? Call and describe it.
Call (503) 974-3329Lines under the yard and who owns them
The private sewer lateral that connects a house to the public main is the property owner's responsibility under City Ordinance 52.03. The City maintains collection lines smaller than 24 inches and the manholes. A leak in the buried water line between the meter and the house is also on the owner's side, and water service line repair covers that pipe.
If water is running and will not stop, close the main valve inside the house. Do not turn anything at the city meter. Call 811 before any digging so public utility lines are marked.
What we do not know
- The pipe materials, ages and past repairs at any specific address in the district.
- Whether a given sewer lateral has been replaced, lined or left as built.
- How many homes have had plumbing remodels, since the nomination counts buildings and styles, not pipes.
- Whether plumbing complaints are more common here than elsewhere in Forest Grove. No source we found says so.
Anyone who tells you what is behind your walls from the year the house was built is guessing. A leak detection visit or a camera run replaces the guess with a recording.
Nearby and beyond
The same phone line covers the towns around Forest Grove, including Banks to the north on Oregon Route 47. See the service area page for every town, or return to the Forest Grove plumbing home page. The historic Painter's Woods district is on the south side of downtown.