2011 by Val C. Ballestrem Used with permission
Comprised of several smaller neighborhoods, Hosford-Abernethy received its official name – the Hosford-Abernethy Neighborhood Development Association (HAND) – in the 1970s. Portlanders during this time sought a system of organized neighborhood associations in order to better communicate with local government, business leaders and each other. The history of what became HAND can be traced back to some of the area’s earliest settlers, even prior to when the neighborhood was part of the separate, incorporated city of East Portland.
Located in southeast Portland, the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood borders the Willamette River on the west, Southeast 29th Avenue on the east, Powell Boulevard on the south and Hawthorne Boulevard on the north. The neighborhood is a diverse combination of business, industry, and residential areas. The name Hosford-Abernethy is derived from two schools located at opposite ends of the neighborhood. Hosford Middle School, on Southeast 28th Place is named after Methodist minister Chauncey O. Hosford a onetime resident of Portland who owned land on Mt. Tabor. Abernethy Elementary School is located on Southeast Orange Avenue, near Division Street. George Abernethy was, like Hosford, a Methodist missionary and was also Oregon’s first provincial governor. Neither of these two men held a direct interest in the neighborhood which today bears their names, but both remain important in the history of both Oregon and Portland. When considering individuals who did impact the neighborhood directly, the names Tibbetts, Stephens, and Ladd deserve further exploration.
William Kerns, East Mount Tabor’s emigrant homesteader had serious skills with the broad axe. In the 1850s, Kerns cleared his 320-acre Donation Land Claim making mainly wood shingles and shakes for sale. According to a descendant, Kerns could “hew a sill or a beam with the greatest precision and with amazing speed.” In 1855, the East Portland-Mount Tabor School District elected Kerns as their school director. He led the movement to buy land for Washington High School, and later, the board named the school at NE 25th and Everett after Kerns
The Kerns Neighborhood gets its name from the school, and by association, with William Kerns. It’s easy to imagine Kerns, axe in hand, hungry for timber, as he made east Portland’s own Stumptown. We should be careful, though, to judge. After all, his was a practice common for the time, and he was not alone in thinking this was improving the land. What is more fascinating is the story of the neighborhood after.
Following William Kerns’ days with his axe, people replanted as they made the Kerns Neighborhood their home. According to the 2014 Kerns Neighborhood Street Tree Inventory, the neighborhood has 3,140 trees representing 91 different types. There’s actually a good number of large trees throughout the neighborhood (25%). However, it’s easy to see on the map where canopy is lacking. Look no further than Sandy Boulevard. This bustling commercial district bisects the neighborhood diagonally in a northeast-southwest direction. The history of this road is the key to understanding why it lacks mature trees.
