YAMHILL LOCKS – ALWAYS A LITTLE LATE TO THE GAME

The walls of the Yamhill Locks remain; the dam is gone while the river still flows.
The walls of the Yamhill Locks remain; the dam is gone while the river still flows.

Three federally funded lock systems developed in Oregon with only the one at Willamette Falls remaining in some sort of functional capacity today. Cascade Canal and Lock -1878-1896 – submerged by Bonneville Dam; Dalles-Celilo Canal – 1905-1915 – lies under water from The Dalles Lock and Dam since 1956. Yamhill Locks closed in 1954. Gates and dam removed leaving the lock walls in place. The move to build the lock took over forty years. By the time of completion, time moved on, and the lock served little purpose for most of its fifty some year lifespan. 

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