Sandy is a small community of 5,385 on Highway 26 with stunning views of Mt. Hood and the Sandy River. The surrounding area is home to some of the largest nursery growers in the state. The city's industrial base is expanding at the west end of town. Major employers include Oregon Trail School District , US Metal Works Inc., Safeway Stores, Surburban Ford and Regency at Scenic Point. The town is located only 10 miles from Gresham and a few minutes more to the large urban population of east Multnomah County. Sandy is also within one half hour of year-round downhill skiing at Timberline Ski Resort and other recreational activities in the Mt. Hood National Forest.

History: In 1845, Samuel K. Barlow, a pioneer emigrant from Kentucky, blazed a road (known as the Barlow Road) from The Dalles, Oregon around the south side of Mt. Hood to Eagle Creek (a settlement east of Oregon City) thus completing the last leg of the famous Oregon Trail that began in Independence, Missouri.

Sandy's first settlers, the Francis Revenue family, arrived in 1853 and soon opened a trading post here on the Barlow Road and served many of the thousands of pioneers who traveled through on their way to the Willamette Valley.

Sandy's first Post Office was established in 1873 and the village became an incorporated city in 1913.

Sandy was named for the nearby Sandy River which was originally identified as the "Quicksand River" by Lewis and Clark; however, the name "Quicksand" gradually evolved into "Sandy."

Population:
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