The Dalles to Dufur

Page Index

• Lower Eightmile Road (Route 4)

• Upper Eightmile Road Fragment (Route 4)

• Milepost 11 Fragments (Route 4)

• Ward Road Fragment (Route 4)

• Boyd Loop Junction / Starveout Creek (Route 4)

• Camp Calvin Fragments

• Dufur Ramp Grade (Route 4)

• Dufur, Oregon

Oregon State Archives: A 1940 Journey Across Oregon

At 97.8 m. [West of Hwy. 730 Junction] is a junction with State 23.

Left on State 23 [Modern US 197] along gorge-enclosed watercourses to the plateau ran the Barlow road, first road over the Cascades from The Dalles region to the Willamette Valley. The route crosses Wasco County, once an empire in itself. With boundaries that reached from the Columbia River to the California Nevada Line, and from the Cascades to the Rockies, it was the parent of 17 Oregon counties, the greater part of Idaho, and portions of Wyoming and Montana. The name, meaning a cup, or small bowl of horn, was derived from a local Indian tribe, known for its art of carving small bowls from the horns of wild sheep.

Oregon State Archives: A 1940 Journey Across Oregon

In 1905 a very large apple orchard was planted on the plateau but it is now an expanse of wheat fields with but an occasional scraggy apple tree. The promoters proposed to sell individual investors separate lots on the basis of perpetual care, the owners to reap continuous dividends after the mature trees began producing. The soil was ideal for grain, but the moisture, though sufficient to produce large crops of wheat by dry farming methods, was inadequate for fruit. After the owners had lost the opportunity of making large profits, during the World War, when high wheat prices were enriching their neighbors, they belatedly grubbed up thousands of trees to return the land to grain.

On the edge of DUFUR 17 m. (1,319 alt., 382 pop.), is the BARLOW DISTRICT RANGER STATION of the Mount Hood National Forest. (Camp fire permits for restricted areas and information.) One of the earliest settlements in this region, Dufur overlooks undulating wheat fields and diversified farmlands, with the rugged contours of Mount Hood on the western horizon (R).

Right from Dufur on a gravel road that runs southwest to meet various forest roads entering recreational areas in the eastern sections of MOUNT HOOD NATIONAL FOREST.

http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/pages/exhibits/across/biggs.html

Past and Present Views Along the Columbia River Highway

Kirk J. Pool, April 7, 2020:

Wikipedia has erroneous information on US 197 (The Dalles - California Highway). They make no mention of it being OR 23 from 1926 to 1952. Highway OR 50 joined the road via Portland at Maupin and continued to Shaniko Jct. as OR 50. Very important!

Wikipedia: U.S. Route 197

U.S. Route 197 (US 197) is a north–south United States Highway, of which all but 2.76 miles of its 69.93 miles (4.44 of 112.54 km) are within the state of Oregon. The highway starts in rural Wasco County in Central Oregon at an intersection with US 97. US 197 travels north as a continuation of The Dalles-California Highway No. 4 through the cities of Maupin, Tygh Valley, and Dufur to The Dalles. Within The Dalles, the highway becomes concurrent with US 30 and intersects Interstate 84 (I-84) before it crosses over the Columbia River on The Dalles Bridge into Washington. The highway continues through the neighboring city of Dallesport in Klickitat County and terminates at a junction with State Route 14 (SR 14).

US 197 was established in 1952 using the existing The Dalles-California Highway, itself created as a part of the initial named Oregon highways in 1917.

The Oregon State Highway Department created a numbered state highway system to complement the U.S. route system on May 18, 1937, and The Dalles-California Highway from Shaniko Junction to The Dalles was numbered as OR 50.^[1] OR 50 was renumbered to OR 23 on May 26, 1950, and became the Oregon section of US 197 when it was established in 1952.^[1]

US 197 travels east of Dufur and down into the Columbia River Gorge, entering the city of The Dalles.^[19][20][21] The highway begins a 0.24-mile-long (0.39 km) concurrency with US 30, traveling north over an east–west BNSF rail line to a diamond interchange with I-84.^[9] US 197 leaves the interchange and the state of Oregon on The Dalles Bridge, crossing over the Columbia River into Washington.^[22][23][24]

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