By the 1890s, Portlanders had fouled their own water supply with sewage. Typhoid followed. Their audacious solution was to reach into the forests below Mount Hood, capture the cold, clear water of Bull Run, and carry it 24 miles into town. Bull Run water helped drive out typhoid and made Portland's explosive growth possible. Yet pipes and public health are only half the story. Bull Run became Portland's forbidden forest: closed, fiercely protected, and wrapped in mystery and civic pride. This is the story of a city that built a water system-and of the remote watershed that, in turn, built the city.
Joshua Ward Jeffery is a historian of American culture and religion. He has taught history, Native American studies, and law enforcement at Navajo Technical University in Chinle, Arizona, where he also managed the Navajo Police Training Academy. In a former life, Josh spent ten years working in the Bull Run Watershed, six of them leading Portland's Watershed Ranger Unit and protecting the watershed from trespass, fire, and environmental degradation.
This event will be held at Edgefield's Blackberry Hall on Monday, November 9. Doors open at 6pm for a 7pm program start. Admission is $5.
Sign up for the poster session here!
The 2026 Pauling Medal will be presented to Professor Wooley at the 2026 Pauling Medal Symposium on November 7, 2026, at Portland State University in Portland, OR, in recognition of her pioneering studies.
Information about the symposium is posted at the Pauling Medal web page. The symposium includes lectures by eminent scientists and the awardee, a student poster session, a reception, and an evening banquet with presentation of the Pauling Medal to Professor Wooley.
The symposium is free and open to the public. The Awards Dinner is open to the public but requires advance purchase of a banquet ticket. Please visit the Pauling Medal web page for event details and banquet tickets.
Schedule:
1:00 - 5:30pm: Symposium in Hoffman Hall
Symposium speakers