Independence Day Celebration

At 7:30 on the morning of July 4, the Canby Historical Society begins serving pancakes, sausage, eggs, coffee, and orange juice in the cafeteria of William Knight Elementary School. In 2026 a plate cost $12 for anyone eleven and older and $8 for children six to ten. Children five and under ate free. The city’s schedule closes the breakfast at 10 a.m., and the celebration’s Facebook announcement gives 11. The money helps maintain and operate the Canby Depot Museum.

By 9:30 the street fair has opened around Wait Park, at 350 N Grant Street in downtown Canby. Food and drink booths line N Grant and NW 4th Avenue. Local and regional craftspeople set out their handiwork, and local nonprofits staff tables. The City of Canby runs the day through its Economic Development Department, with Public Works, the Parks Department, the Canby Fire District, and the Canby Police Department working before, during, and after it. Dogs are welcome on leash. The city’s FAQ says the event has no theme, because “The planning committee decided that Independence Day is all the inspiration needed! Wear your red, white, and blue!”

The parade down NW First Avenue

The parade starts at 10 a.m. It heads south on Elm Street, turns east on 2nd Avenue, south on Grant, east on 1st Avenue, north on Holly, west on Knights Bridge, and south on Cedar. The head of the procession reaches the midway point around 10:30, and the parade finishes around 11. The 10 o’clock start is a recent change. The city also added a left turn onto NW 1st Avenue “to showcase the beautiful landscaping, dahlia plantings, and art sculptures.”

The procession includes floats, tractors, horses, dignitaries, vintage cars, fire trucks, police vehicles, and bicycles. Music groups, dance troupes, Boy Scouts, and sports teams enter year after year, along with local businesses and political figures. Nonprofits and community groups enter free. Many entrants hand out candy, except along Holly Street between 3rd and 4th, which is a no-candy zone. Families claim curbside spots early with blankets and chairs.

Noon around the gazebo

The official kick-off comes at 11 in Wait Park. The American Legion leads the flag salute. The Women’s Auxiliary then performs the nationwide bell ringing ceremony and reads the Constitution, and the grand marshal is announced. For the 2026 celebration, which the organizers tied to America’s 250th year, the city announced an F-15 flyover by the Oregon Air National Guard at 11:30.

From 11:30 to 4 the gazebo hosts live music and dance numbers. In 2026 the 21 Turns Band played in Wait Park from 11 to 3. Infamous Soul, billed for “high-energy funk, soul, and dance hits,” played the same hours in the beer garden. The beer garden sits on NW 2nd Avenue between Grant and Holly, pours local wines and brews, and admits families. The city’s schedule gives it 11 to 3, and the Herald Pioneer’s June 24, 2026 preview, by John Baker, gives 11 to 4.

The car show runs from 10 to 1 along N Grant Street and NW 5th Avenue, which the city calls a return to its traditional location. The city says hundreds of classic and vintage vehicles line the streets, and their owners may also drive in the parade. Parade awards are given in the gazebo in five categories: Mayor’s Choice, Royalty’s Choice, Best Adult Entry, Best Kid Entry, and Most Unique. The city’s schedule sets the parade awards at 12:30, and the Herald Pioneer gives noon. Car show winners follow at 1.

Children have most of a block to themselves. On N Grant between NW 2nd and 3rd, the Canby Fire District’s obstacle course lets them spray fire hoses from 11 to 2. On NW 3rd Avenue, local businesses run free crafts and games from noon to 3, beside a bounce house. An arcade truck, a newer addition aimed at teens and tweens, parks on N Holly between NW 3rd and 4th.

Fireworks from the volunteers

At dusk the crowd moves out of downtown for the fireworks. The Canby Volunteer Firefighter Association has managed the display since 2015 and pays for it with gifts from local businesses and individuals. The 2026 schedule and the celebration’s own posts placed the show at Trost Elementary. The city’s FAQ gives a different site, Baker Prairie Middle School at 1859 S Township Road.

A general’s name and an oxen turn

According to its Facebook page, the celebration was formerly called General Canby Day. Before there was any town to name, this high plateau between the Willamette and Molalla rivers was a seasonal meeting place for local tribes. It was known for its annual crop of wild strawberries. The settlers called it Baker Prairie, an open expanse in a fir forest that stretched for miles.

The name came from James Baker, who arrived with a cattle drive from California. The Canby Historical Society dates his arrival to 1838, while the city’s history page gives 1832 and adds that he took an Indigenous wife. Philander and Anna Lee came in 1848. They bought squatter’s rights beside a spring-fed creek on what is now SE First Avenue, grew apples on 80 acres, and shipped the fruit to gold miners in California. In 1850 the Donation Land Claim Act gave them title to 647 acres. Joseph Knight and four sons arrived in 1868. They opened one of the first general stores and served as postmaster, sheriff, druggist, and blacksmith.

In 1870, promoters pushing the Oregon and California Railroad south from east Portland asked Lee for land. He sold 111 acres for $2,960 to make a 24-block town of 12 lots per block, and the Knights and others sold the rest of 300 acres. Lee set one condition: the streets had to be wide enough for two span of oxen and a wagon to turn. His son Albert hitched up a team and turned it. The turn measured 80 feet across, and that became the width of Canby’s original streets.

The plat was filed in Oregon City on August 9, 1870. A week earlier, Major General Edward R. S. Canby had arrived in Oregon to command the U.S. Army’s Department of the Columbia. The Historical Society says his good friend Ben Holladay, chief of the railroad, gave the town his name. The city’s overview adds that Canby was later killed in the Modoc War by Captain Jack and his warriors. The depot went up in 1873 near what is now NW First and Grant.

Canby incorporated on February 15, 1893, the second oldest city in Clackamas County. Philander’s second son served as first mayor; the city records him as Heman A. Lee and the Historical Society as Herman. City council first met in the 1890 Knight Building on NW First Avenue, which still stands. Before the Pacific Highway arrived south of the tracks in 1920, that street was the main road through town, running northeast to Oregon City and west to Barlow. It was called the “Road of 1000 Wonders.”