The Oaks Tavern was a popular feature of the amusement resort upon its opening in 1905. Along with its fine dining, band music, and river views, five-cent bottles of Weinhard’s beer were a large part of the draw.

At the dawn of the park’s second year, however, Prohibitionists attempted to turn Sellwood into a “dry” Portland suburb. In June of 1906 Sellwood citizens participated in a county election to decide whether the sale of liquor should be legal in that area of town.

Many speculated that if the Prohibitionists won it would mean financial ruin for The Oaks. When election officials annouced that prohibition lost in Sellwood, The Oaks seemed to be in the clear. Shortly after the election, however, a grand jury investigation proved that the O.W.P., the owners of The Oaks, participated in a scheme that flooded Sellwood’s polls with fraudulent votes against prohibition. Article

The Superintendent of Construction at The Oaks was a key player in orchestrating the fraud. He organized a group of Oaks and O.W.P. employees who were not residents of Sellwood and paid for their overnight stay at a Sellwood hotel. The illegal voters used the hotel’s address on their ballots. Election officials accepted their votes because prominent landowners committed perjury by swearing that the men “resided” at the hotel.

Despite the fraud, the results of the election held, and beer continued to flow at The Oaks.

Two incidents in 1906 led Portlanders to question the appropriateness of alcohol at the park.

An intoxicated off-duty police officer, in the presence of several hundred women and children, created a scene when he pulled his revolver on an Oaks employee. Related Document Only a week later a drunken man, trying to impress the Oaks’ crowd, tried to jump onto an approaching trolley car. When the man slipped, the vehicle crushed his head.Article

At the pleading of various Portland clubs and organizations, Oaks management proudly announced a “dry” park in 1907. The news prompted a dissappointed Oregonian journalist to wisfully comment, "No more sitting on the broad veranda at the Tavern quaffing your favorite brew..."Advertisement

However, the voluntary ban on alcohol lasted only one year. City Council turned down applications for liquor licenses at The Oaks in 1908 and 1909, much the dismay of angry Oaks proprietors. Article

It was only in 1910 that the Oaks Tavern was able to secure another liquor license. This was the first full year that the railway leased the park to John Cordray, a well-known entertainment man. Cordray promoted the sale of liquor in 1910 and called the park “Portland’s adult playground.”

Cordray soon abandoned this publicity technique, concentrating on more family-oriented advertising. Sensing the growing movement toward prohibition, in 1914 the Oaks manager abandoned the sale of liquor in the park. At the end of that year the people of Oregon voted for an amendment to the state constitution in favor of Prohibition, and by 1916, Prohibition was a fact of life for Oregonians.

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