Tag Archives: Sam Hill

THE DOUBLE NINE – PACIFIC HIGHWAY – DIVERGENCE AND WEALTH SHARING IN THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY

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Double Nine – East Side Version.

As a child, road maps drew me in. The lines on the map fascinated me, linking places I had never been to or heard of together. Numbers linked with the lines created journeys for discovery. In 1926, the federal government came up with a plan to number highways to replace names – in this case, the Pacific Highway – in order to establish an integrated system of roads throughout the country. The so-called “Federal system” did not mean the federal government built or maintained the roads. That process remained the responsibility of local and state governments. Highways simply gained numbers and signs so auto drivers could determine their location.

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HARD TIMES, WALKABOUT ON THE LYLE CONVICT ROAD

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Ollie checks out the view over the river, the railroad and the current highway from the former roadbed built by Washington convicts in 1910-1911.
Ollie checks out the view over the river, the railroad and the current highway from the former roadbed built by Washington convicts in 1910-1911.

Oregon and Washington have used prison labor for various projects throughout their history.  Convicts have been working on a variety of projects from laundry to license plates to agriculture.  They also worked on convict road projects, though that only arose in the early 20th century.  Penitentiaries hoped to relieve overcrowding in the prisons while at the same time providing employment not conflicting with free labor.  They saw the employment also as a form of reward to their better behaving prisoners.  Prisoners had marks of degradation such as stripes, chains and shaven heads done away with.  Here, they gained a certain amount of freedom.  The work, done in the public good, was also seen as reformative.

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