Tag Archives: Columbia River

WHAT DID WILLIAM CLARK SEE FROM PILLAR ROCK?

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Pillar Rock as it used to stand above the lower Columbia River.

When is an ocean not an ocean? When is a river, a bay? A bay the sea? William Clark on 7 November 1805 looked downstream from the camp of their expedition near Pillar Rock writing famously in his journal, “Ocian in view. Oh what joy!”

This is one of the most famous quotes from the annals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.  Clark wrote the note describing the party’s view from their camp on the north bank of the Columbia River opposite Pillar Rock.  Historically, the quote was not the first note Clark wrote down.  This note actually written some months later in a third edit by the explorer.  His first two journal entries were a little less emotional, though still maintaining the ocean they had sought finally found.

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PORTLAND RAIL BRIDGES – CONNECTING THE ROSE CITY TO THE WORLD

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Steel Bridge carries trains and pedestrians on the lower deck; light rail and auto traffic use the upper deck.

There are many articles – blog posts or otherwise – and even books about the bridges of Portland, Oregon.  Of the twelve bridges along the Willamette River – four more on the Columbia – little space usually covers the Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 5.1 or the rail portion of the Steel Bridge.  If you exclude the new Tilikum Crossing Bridge, which carries light rail tracks and buses, the other rail bridges lack the grace of the St Johns or Fremont Bridges and the traffic of all of the other bridges – maybe the Steel excluded.

A recent post about the rail ferry at Kalama, Washington, some forty-five minutes north of the city, got me thinking about railroads and history.  While at first glance, both are reasonably complicated, in the case of the main rail bridges in Portland, like the ferry at Kalama, it all comes down to James J. Hill.

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YIN-YANG OF THE NORTHERN PACIFIC REVEALED AT KALAMA

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Model of the rail-car ferry Tacoma of the Northern Pacific Railroad at the Port of Kalama Interpretive Center.
Model of the rail-car ferry Tacoma of the Northern Pacific Railroad at the Port of Kalama Interpretive Center.

For years, Kalama meant the Northern Pacific. Kalama was the beginning of the Northern Pacific push from the west to create a third transcontinental rail line. Northern Pacific also used Kalama as a port for a rail ferry to cross over the Columbia River from.

A recent celebration with friends took us to the large McMenamins Kalama Harbor Lodge. The hotel-brewpub-restaurant complex is a brand-new development made in the appearance of a large Maui plantation. Maybe a bit incongruous along the banks of the Columbia River, the complex always appears popular driving past along I-5 judging from the number of cars in the parking lot.

And while, like with most McMenamins establishments, the Lodge is full of history and art laid out in the McMenamins way, right next door is another large building housing the Port of Kalama. The Port building features a large Interpretive Center on its east side housing several interesting exhibits dealing with issues the Port of Kalama has and does deal with. One of the Kalama themes deals with railroad history – Northern Pacific – and the port.

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PILLAR ROCK – SALMON CANNERY RELIC ON THE LOWER COLUMBIA

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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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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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QUIET REPOSE ON THE EDGE OF THE FOREST – FORT STEVENS NATIONAL CEMETERY

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entry fort stevens cemetery
New entry into the Fort Stevens National Cemetery.

Fort Stevens National Cemetery is one of the smaller units under the jurisdiction of the Veterans Administration. One of the newest units, the cemetery transferred over from the Army in 2020. Although one of the smallest cemeteries within the National Cemetery system, there still are openings for new burials.

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RENEWAL OF FORTUNE ON CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT

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looking from Cape Disappointment Lighthouse over the mouth of the Columbia River
View from Cape Disappointment Lighthouse over the mouth of the Columbia River.

A short trail winds through the forest and down the hill from the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.  It connects to the road ascending from the Cape Disappointment Coast Guard Station on the Baker Bay (east) side of the headland on which the lighthouse sits.

Earlier posts included information about the lighthouse, the old artillery fort – Fort Canby – on which the Coast Guard station sits today, and a little about the evolution of the Coast Guard mission at the mouth of the Columbia River.

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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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