About Lake Oswego

Lake Oswego began as the town of Oswego, founded in 1847 by Albert Alonzo Durham, who named it after his hometown of Oswego, New York, and built the area's first sawmill on what is now Oswego Creek. In the late 19th century, the community became the center of Oregon's iron industry — the Oregon Iron Company built the region's first blast furnace in 1867, and at its peak the industry employed around 300 men. The city incorporated as Oswego in 1910, and after annexing the neighboring community of Lake Grove, it was renamed Lake Oswego in 1960. The city spans about 11.49 square miles across parts of Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties, roughly seven miles south of Portland. Its namesake, the 405-acre Oswego Lake — called "Waluga," or wild swan, by the Clackamas people before European settlement — remains the community's centerpiece. At the 2020 census, Lake Oswego had a population of 40,731, an 11.2% increase over the previous decade, making it the 11th most populous city in Oregon. The Lake Oswego School District serves about 7,000 students across two high schools, Lake Oswego High School and Lakeridge High School. Major employers include the school district itself, Mary's Woods at Marylhurst, and Eye Health Northwest. The city maintains roughly 600 acres of parks and open space, including George Rogers Park along the Willamette River and Millennium Plaza Park downtown, and opened a new Recreation and Aquatics Center in 2025 with fitness facilities and both competition and recreational pools. Lake Oswego operates under a council-manager government, with an elected mayor and six councilors serving four-year terms. Having largely completed its transition from a 19th-century industrial town to a residential Portland suburb, the city today is known for its lake-based amenities, parks, and highly rated public schools.