Brownell Holly Farms
Nowhere in North America, does holly grow like it does in Oregon. The Beaver State could also be known as the Holly State. Especially English holly, the type used at Christmas for traditional decoration. Holly has been the symbol of good cheer at Christmas time for centuries. Oregon produces 90% of the nation's holly. The Brownell holly farm has been a giant in the industry for almost 100 years. They have an interesting story.
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Patricia (Brownell) Lee circa 1950 |
Early settlers received their first holly trees for planting in the Pacific NW after they were brought in by sailing vessels from England in the 1850's. It wasn't long before the pioneers realized that holly thrived here in the States as well as it did in England.
In addition to politics, George Brownell was also one of the early pioneers of holly. In 1910, he planted 5 acres of Old English Holly on the corner of SE Concord Road and Hwy 99 in Milwaukie, OR, which was the genesis of the Brownell holly farm. In 1921, George Brownell passed away at the age of
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Ambrose Brownell circa 1968 |
George Brownell's son, Ambrose graduated from Reed College in 1917. After a tour of duty in WWI, he returned home and with his wife's help, they took over the family's holly business. They began experimenting with different strains and varieties of holly. As their knowledge grew, so did their business. A big part of the business was a mail order and shipping operation which was started out of the family house in 1934 and involved shipping holly throughout the United States and internationally. They ended up with 30,000 mail order customers and 175 different specimens of holly. The holly farm at Concord became the showcase for the world's finest commercial English holly. It included a large nursery with a collection of new and old world hollies by the groves: oriental varieties, evergreen and deciduous holly, green leaved, golden, silver, two-toned and tri-colored hollies with berries scarlet, golden, orange and black, all in arboretum for pleasure and study. At one time, the Brownell land holdings on Concord Rd and McLoughlin reached 45 acres, stretching from SE Risley Ave to Vineyard Rd, but as the land value appreciated over time, parcels were sold off. An old poultry farm owned by the Brownell's was sold off to build a discount department store (today, it is the Walmart store) then another chunk of land was sold and developed into a 120 unit apartment complex, Holly Acres. The original 5 acre plot from 1910 is located where the Chevron gas station is. Ambrose also ran the Brownell Chicken farm at the same location on Concord and McLoughlin Blvd.
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The Brownell family home was located at 3601 SE Concord Road in Milwaukie, OR |
In 1925, Ambrose Brownell bought 75 acre tract of land along the Clackamas River in Carver Oregon. Over time, this would become the commercial growing farm for the business.
Holly Harvest: Two workers cut the branches off a 20-foot English holly tree at the Brownell holly farm on Concord Rd in Milwaukie, Oregon (1954). The farm produced about 50,000 pounds of holly per year. The bushels of holly are brought in for processing where they are trimmed, treated with a preservative, then boxed and shipped to florists, businesses and individuals throughout the United States and the Pacific Rim (Asia).
Holly Farm Sold, Shopping Center Built
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Oregon Journal, August 24th 1972 |
Holly Farm Shopping Center
Address: 16000 SE McLoughlin Blvd, Milwaukie OR
Developer: Bedford Associates
Year constructed: 1976
Year opened: 1977
When it first opened, the Holly Farm contained the following businesses:
Print Right Copy Center, NW Shoes, Tallman's Pianos, Christian Supply Center, Taylor's Hobbies, Perfect Look Hair Salon, Albertson's, Rod's Pharmacy, Volume Shoes, Beard's Frame Shop, Discount Fabrics, Pic-A-Dilly Women's Apparel, Kopper Kitchen, Herfy's, Betty & Flo's Furniture, Jean Machine, Phone Center, Conway-Bruno Studio, Crown Jewelers, The Book Gallery and others.
Shopping malls have a repertoire of gimmicks to lure customers inside. Traditional malls used clothing and food, but in 1984, the Holly Farm mall tried some new ones: a waterslide and video games.
Holly Farm Hydrotubes
Saturday May 26, 1984: The grand opening of the Hydrotube waterslide at the Holly Farm Mall. Some may remember the day. The ride featured 2 separate 48-inch diameter tubes. Thrill-seekers began their adventure atop a 48-foot tower. The slide down was at a 16% grade with a computer controlled starting system that spaced riders 10 seconds apart. The tubes were 350 feet long and the riders twisted and turned in 4 inches of water until they hit the pool at the bottom which is full of warm water. The Holly Farm Hydrotube was said to be the 'Grandaddy' of all hydrotubes because it featured the highest and fastest ride with more dips and turns. In addition to being fun, a new competitive wrinkle was also added: timed rides. A computer would spit out the elapsed ride time for each person as they hit the splash pool at the bottom. The fastest ride down the tube wins.
Electric Castle's Wunderland
While not physically connected to the Holly Farm Mall, Jafco occupied the adjacent building to the south of the mall. Their parking lots inter-connected.
On the north end of Holly Farm mall was G.I. Joe's
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Grand Opening of the Oak Grove store on McLoughlin Blvd in 1972. The US Bank still exists across the street. |
Holly Farm Time Line
1910 George Brownell establishes holly farm on SE Concord and McLoughlin Blvd
1917 Ambrose Brownell graduates from Reed College
1919 Brownell Farms ships first batch of holly
1921 George Brownell dies
1921 Ambrose Brownell takes over family holly farm
1925 Ambrose Brownell purchases 75 acres in Carver for 2nd farm
1934 Mail order business is started in house at Brownell Farms
1963 Zoning changes approved for development of Brownell Farms on Concord Rd
1968 Ambrose Brownell suffers stroke
1972 Oak Grove G.I. Joe's opens
1972 McLoughlin holly farm sold to developer
1972 Leasing for proposed Holly Farm Shopping Center begins
1973 Handyman hardware store opens on corner of Risley Ave
1973 Holly Acres 120 unit apartment complex built behind Brownell nursery
1976 Holly Farm Jafco opens
1977 Holly Farm Shopping Center opens
1981 Ambrose Brownell dies
1984 "Hydrotube" waterslide opens at Holly Farm mall
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