The many gas stations of Forest Grove

This story originally ran in the May 2025 edition of The Friendly Gazette, the quarterly member publication of the Friends of Historic Forest Grove. Used with permission. Learn more about the Friends here.

By Aaron Meeuwsen

Many past city directories of Forest Grove included a section called “service stations,” listing out a number of different “service stations” across the city, sometimes totaling in the 20s. A few of these stations had familiar names such as “Shell” and “Chevron,” but others didn’t have these kinds of gas company titles and just included the names of those who owned the station. What gives?

Without any former research, one may claim that all of these service stations were gas stations. However, in the 1949 city directory (a picture of which was posted by Skip Buhler on Facebook) an advertisement for “Busch’s Super Service” didn’t include gas, just tires and batteries.

Many other stations listed in these city directories had names of gas companies in them. In fact, in the 1959 city directory, there were three stations with “Shell” in them. Others included two Richfield stations, a Chevron station, a Flying “A” station, a Mobil station, and a Standard station. It’s possible that some of these stations didn’t sell gas, but if they did, that’s nine total gas stations in Forest Grove at the same time. Right now, there are three.

A lot of change has happened since 1959. In a little under a decade, in 1968, a lot of the service stations that existed the previous decade either closed or changed ownership. Only 13 of the 19 service stations in 1959 were still service stations and located at the same addresses, with three of them being run under the same name. The stations with notable gas company titles also changed; there were four Chevron stations, three Richfield stations, two Phillips “66” stations, an Enco station, a Shell station, and a Texaco station. Keeping in mind that these stations may not have pumped gas, that’s three more than what existed in 1959, or four times the number the city has now.

The decline of gas stations in Forest Grove is correlated to the decline of gas stations in the nation. According to a dataset from the Department of Energy, the total US gas station count declined from 190,246 in 1996 to 156,065 in 2012. There can be many reasons for this. For Forest Grove, one may be that, with the number of gas stations in the city with the same brand, some may have been closed by the brand for financial reasons. Owners like Harold Johnson and his business partner, Dale Hoffman, who owned two service stations across from each other in the city for 14 years, had simply left the business in 1968.

This service station was on the southwest corner of Pacific Avenue and A Street, across from where Wells Fargo Bank is today.

Some of the owners of these service stations were important members of the community. An article by the Forest Grove News-Times about Johnson said that he not only owned a service station but had also worked at a telephone company in Cornelius. Described as a very humble man, he had also been secretary of the Holbrook Lodge for 26 years and active with the Elks Lodge and the American Legion, the latter of which he was at for 70-plus years. He was also recognized by people at the Jennings McCall Continuing Retirement Community, where he said that some of them used to be customers of his.

Another service station owner was Louis P. Busch, who owned the previously mentioned Busch’s Super Service. Born of immigrant parents from Germany, he earned many titles in Forest Grove, according to a biography of his published by the Rotary Club of Forest Grove. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of Pacific University, a Commander of the local post of American Legion, the President of the Forest Grove National Bank, a City Councilman, the President of the Rotary Club, and the President of Forest Hills Country Club.

So if some of these gas or service stations have closed down, what are they now? Well, some stations had addresses that don’t exist anymore, so it’s hard to tell with them. Busch’s Super Service, which had existed since 1929, changed to Thompson Auto Service by 1968 and then eventually became the Forest Grove City Auditorium in 1990. Another service station was Chet & Don’s Rocket Service, which was listed in the 1959 city directory and was at the address that McDonald’s is at now. The first gas station in Forest Grove, built around 1910, was right across the Theatre in the Grove, where a parking lot for Pacific University now exists.

This service station was on the northwest corner of College Way and Pacific Avenue, across from the Grove Theater — not sure of date but probably around 1935. Note, Pacific library in background and curbs on street.This gas station was located on the northeast corner of College Way and Pacific Avenue, across from the Grove Theater. This was the first station on this corner. Now a Pacific University parking lot.

There are many other service stations in the city directories that you can find the addresses to and see how the city has changed over time. Copies of these directories can be found in the Old Train Station. The City of Forest Grove has some digitally on its website and can be contacted to ask about a specific address or business.

Aaron Meeuwsen is a fourth-year undergraduate Multimedia student at Pacific University. He specializes in journalism and video production and is interested in culture, politics, and history writing.