Until 1940, there really was no fast and easy way to reach the Pacific Coast from the main population center of Oregon – Portland. At first, there were river steamers coming downstream from Portland to Astoria. Then, the train to Astoria with a branch line going further south to Gearhart and Seaside. The first road connection finally came in 1915 with the building of the Lower Columbia Highway, today’s US Highway 30.
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After posts on Samuel Hill, Samuel Lancaster, and Henry Bowlby it was time for me to revisit some of the projects they inspired and oversaw. The Columbia River Highway remains the magic the three men. That magic best shared along the Upper Columbia River Highway, known today as the Historic Columbia River Highway. A couple fine books have been written on this road. And while in the future, I may hit upon some of the highlights (Shepperd’s Dell is one such case), today it is the Lower Columbia River Highway.
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The two Samuel’s – Hill and Lancaster – get all of the attention for the building of the Columbia River highway in the Gorge where the mighty river bores through the Cascades Range. The highway project proposed by Sam Hill included a highway from Portland downriver to the ocean at Astoria. Enter Henry Lee Bowlby.
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To say Samuel Hill lived a fascinating life is almost an understatement. A frenetic Quaker, Sam’s life is magnificently on display online where you can find his excellent biography Sam Hill, The Prince of Castle Nowhere written by John Tuhy. Among his many interests was his participation in the Good Roads movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Hill was instrumental in the development of both the Pacific Highway, a route linking the three Coastal States to each other from Canada to Mexico. He pushed for the development of a true coastal highway paralleling the Pacific Highway – today’s US 101 – as well. But Hill is best known for his role in the development of the Columbia River Gorge Highway, now over a hundred years old.
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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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