On this day, July 9, 1921, during the boom times of the 1920s, the Montgomery Ward building opened in NW Portland. It has since been converted to office space and is now known as Montgomery Park.

Also on this day, July 9, 1945, a THIRD big Tillamook fire occurred near the Salmonberry River, and was joined two days later by a second blaze on the Wilson River, started by a discarded cigarette. This fire burned 180,000 acres before it was put out. The cause of the blaze on the Salmonberry River was mysterious, and many believed it had been set by an incendiary balloon launched by the Japanese, and brought to Oregon by the jet stream.

Also on this day, July 9, 1811, a party of the Montreal-based North West Company employees led by David Thompson in 1807, the British began land-based operations and opened trading posts throughout the region. Thompson extensively explored the Columbia River watershed. While at the junction of Columbia and Snake Rivers, he erected a pole on with a notice stating "Know hereby that this country is claimed by Great Britain as part of its territories"