PILLAR ROCK – SALMON CANNERY RELIC ON THE LOWER COLUMBIA

Boat in permanent drydock in front of the Pillar Rock Cannery.
Boat in permanent drydock in front of the Pillar Rock Cannery.

A recent trip took us downriver to the one of the only remaining salmon canneries along the lower Columbia River.  Pillar Rock is literally at the end of the road.  To go further east, you have to get in your boat.  The cannery dates to 1877 when it was built over the previous spot where Hudson’s Bay employees used to have an operation which salted salmon.  The salmon were then transported to the Sandwich Islands – Hawaii – for sale there, with so-so success.  Lewis & Clark also camped here both coming and going along the river. Local Native Americans had long used the site as a place of encampment for years before.

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