Category Archives: General Pacific Northwest History

SHEPPERD’S DELL – MAGIC, AWE, WONDER BUT, NO SHEEP

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Falls and bridge at Shepperd’s Dell.

Magic is a word overused in the Columbia Gorge. Magic, awe, wonder all terms liberally employed by visitors and writers when trying to describe the majesty of the Gorge. One of those sites spectacularly earning such accolades is Shepperd’s Dell.

Shepperd’s Dell is one of those places I never seem to have time to stop for. There is very little parking – always full on the weekends – and only a small waterfall to be fleetingly glanced at as you cross over a bridge. The Dell lies along one of the most scenic stretches of the Historic Columbia River Highway – HCRH – a true highlight between Multnomah Falls and Crown Point.

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FINALLY, THE RIVER! LAST MILES ON THE OREGON TRAIL

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Watering at McDonald's Crossing
Watering down on the John Day River at McDonald’s Crossing.

Just a few miles before the potentially difficult crossing of the Deschutes River, Pioneers – also known as Overlanders – got their first glance of the mighty Columbia River. A little over 1900 miles lay between Independence and Oregon City, the beginning and terminus of the Oregon Trail. Until 1846, the end of contiguous overland journey was not at Oregon City. The end of the wagon journey ended at Wascopam Mission. The mission would later give rise to the town of The Dalles, milepost 1819.

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AURORA, NEW DAWN FOR WILHELM KEIL IN OREGON

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Keil Family Cemetery just outside of today’s town,

From a European birth, Wilhelm Keil made his way in fits and starts, all the way from one coast to the other, finishing his days in the communal town he founded, Aurora, Oregon. The story of his life was unusual to say the least.

Keil started out in what would soon be the Prussian province of Saxony. Born 6 March 1811 in the town of Bleicherode, just a year before the Royal Saxon army was marching off as part of Napoleon’s Grand Armee on its date in Russia.

NOTE: This is the first post of four moving backwards in time from the German-American communal town in Oregon of Aurora to other like settlements from which the Aurorans sprung out from.

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LIFE-SAVING SERVICE TRANSFORMS TO THE COAST GUARD – OREGON COAST

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US COAST GUARD COMES TO OREGON

The Life-Saving Service had a long impact on the new Coast Guard in terms of drills and rescue organization for many years.  With even better equipment, helicopters, better boats, better training, the Coast Guard has continued to build on the service of their forebears in the Life-Saving Service serving the mariners of Oregon.

47-foot motor lifeboat going out over the Pacific surf.

Now, life saving, falling into the category of search and rescue today, is an important function of the Coast Guard, especially along the coast of Oregon. But it is only one of many jobs tackled by the Coasties – smuggling interdiction, law enforcement, navigation aids are all some of the other many jobs the Coast Guard is entrusted with.

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OREGON LIFE-SAVING STATIONS – PAVING THE WAY FOR A NEW COAST GUARD

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Postcard showing a Life-Saving crew heading out through the surf to a vessel in distress.

Lighthouses were one thing to keep mariners safe as they traveled along the Pacific Coast, in and out of harbors and river bars. When they were not enough, a newer organization in Oregon appeared, the Life-Saving Service.

The official US Life-Saving Service got its start in 1878, though an ad-hoc arrangement went back further to 1848 when a series of unmanned stations, run by volunteers – similar to volunteer fire departments – existed along the coasts of New Jersey and Massachusetts. Without full-time employees, no organization or standardization of equipment or men, the results were middling at best.

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ILLUMINATING THE OREGON – LIGHTHOUSES OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER

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Postcard view of the old Willamette Lighthouse on the Willamette-Columbia confluence.

The lighthouses found along the Oregon Coastline – north and south – draw thousands of visitors each year. Most still function, sending out light into the gloom and night. Much less is known about a trio of lighthouses guiding ships down the mighty Columbia River – a river referred to in 1766 as the “Oregon” to the port of Portland.

Getting across the notorious Columbia River bar was only the first leg. Ships on their way to Portland then had a long river voyage up the Columbia – 101 miles – followed by a right turn up the Willamette – another 11 miles. To help guide them required a bar pilot and once into the river proper, a river pilot would help the rest of the way.

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SWITCHING ON THE LIGHTS – LIGHTHOUSES NORTH OREGON

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Tillamook Head Lighthouse between the middle 1940-1950’s on very calm day. Today the island is covered with sea lions.

In case you did not read my last post about southern Oregon lighthouses, I will repeat some of the basic history leading to the lighthouses of north Oregon.

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LIGHT IN THE DARK NIGHT – LIGHTHOUSES OF SOUTHERN OREGON

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Lighthouses always seem to be high on the list of tourist attractions, and the lighthouses of the southern Oregon Coast are no exception. Most of them stand on outstanding natural locations furthering their value for the casual tourist. All of them steep with historic and functional value. Nine lighthouses survive until today with a couple lost to time along the way. Two private lighthouses have also developed in recent years but are not open to the public. Here, we start with lighthouses in southern Oregon.

Coquille Point lighthouse on the right and its successor, a light beacon on the left at the mouth of the Coquille River.
Coquille Point lighthouse on the right and its successor, a light beacon on the left at the mouth of the Coquille River.
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BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND – WIND FARMS OF SHERMAN COUNTY

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Wheat fields are Sherman County, but then again, so are the wind farms.
Switch off the mind and let the heart decide
      Who you were meant to be
Windpower!

Flick to remote and let the body glide
     There is no enemy
Windpower!

Etch out a future of your own design
      Well tailored to your needs, Yeah
Windpower!

Thomas Dolby - from his song Windpower 1982.

Such is the beginning of Thomas Dolby’s song in a dystopian Britain following years of authoritarian rule following an alternate Axis victory in WWII. Just like the countries of the North Sea, Oregon has seen the development of wind farms over the last quarter century as nations develop new energy sources. In this post, I am talking about the wind farms in Sherman County and Gilliam County. Further to the east, Morrow County, also is the site of wind farms, but everything gets more complicated here.

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COLUMBIA RIVER FROM A MID-19TH CENTURY PERSPECTIVE AND TODAY

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Europeans – albeit in American-form – have only been present in the Pacific Northwest for a little over 200 years. The main push of emigrants did not start until the mid-1840’s. Here our focus is on the mid-19th century Columbia River area views. A lot has changed since then. Some things remain timeless, however. The natural beauty of the landscape a prime example.  Even here dramatic change does not go unnoticed.

A restored version of James Madison Alden's tryptich view over Fort Dalles. Fort Dalles Museum.
A restored version of James Madison Alden’s tryptich view over Fort Dalles. Fort Dalles Museum.
View over The Dalles today to compare - 160 years later.
View over The Dalles today to compare – 160 years later.
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