The community is named after the nearby Zigzag River, a tributary of the Sandy River, which is in turn a tributary of the Columbia River.[2] The place was also known as Zig Zag.[1]
History
PioneerJoel Palmer crossed the deep ravine of Zigzag Canyon near the timberline on Mount Hood on October 11, 1845.[3] He described the crossing in his journal:
The manner of descending is to turn directly to the right, go zigzag for about one hundred yards, then turn short round, and go zigzag until you come under the place where you started from; then to the right, and so on, until you reach the base.
The Zigzag River is no more crooked than adjoining streams, therefore the stream was most likely identified to fellow travelers on what was to become the Barlow Road by the manner of crossing and not for an especially irregular alignment.[3]
Zigzag post office was established in 1917; it ran intermittently until 1974.[3] For a time the Zigzag post office was located in present-day Rhododendron.[3]