Building the CRH

These pages will focus on general highway construction topics.

For location specific topics, please visit that location's page.

Page Index

• Construction: Multnomah County

"James Allen, later to be highway commissioner in Washington State, said, 'You can't survey a road along the Columbia River, let alone build one.'"

Scott Cook, Curious Gorge

Sam Hill, the quirkiest of the Northwest's pioneer business magnates, was building was building the infrastructure for his proposed Maryhill town site in 1909. Hill believed that economic prosperity followed road improvement and he campaigned enthusiastically for "Good Roads" (most roads in the early 1900s were dirt and rock, boggy and uneven. Gravel and pavement were still rare). Hill strove to get the WA gov't to build a road on the Columbia's north bank to aid commerce between Gorge, Maryhill, and inland farmers. Initially, with WA Governor Hay's support, Hill convinced Klickitat County to house convicts in a walled tent camp east of Lyle in order to use their inexpensive labor to build the roadway over this difficult cliff-pinched impasse. The progressive use of convict labor garnered national attention and praise. Construction began with leveling the surface and building masonry retaining walls on this one-mile stretch ... until Gov. Hay inexplicably about-faced and pulled the plug on the convict-use idea. Regular wage workers were deemed too expensive to hire for this far-from-anywhere road, so the infant north-bank road was abandoned.

Hill fumed, to say the least. Gov. Hay had personally promised to back his project! Infuriated, Hill successfully schemed to unseat Gov. Hay in the 1912 election. Meanwhile, interest was growing in Oregon for a Columbia River road, and Hill, despite his previous WA ties, joined with OR Gov. Oswald West to campaign energetically for a road on the Oregon side of the Gorge.

In Feb 1913, at Hill's own expense, he brought the entire Oregon Legislature -- 88 men -- out to his Maryhill ranch for a gala event. At this gathering Hill showed-off the experimental roads that he had been building on his ranch with his personally contracted road engineer, Sam Lancaster.

Together they displayed state-of-the-art grading and paving techniques used to construct the "Maryhill Loops." Hill's tenacious boosterism succeeded. Soon thereafter the legislature approved funding for the Columbia River Highway and hired Sam Lancaster to design the project.

Lancaster, Samuel C., "The Columbia River Highway In Multnomah County"

Interest in the Columbia Highway increased rapidly, the daily press giving it their unanimous support. The Columbia Highway Association and its president, Mr. Julius Meier, worked unceasingly, giving it their unanimous support. As interest grew, it spread to other counties to continue the road which Multnomah County had started, as far east as Hood River and on the west to the sea.

In order to have all of these counties act in unison and the work done to one standard it was thought best to have Multnomah County take the lead and place the surveys and location of the entire highway under the supervision of the State Highway Commission, the writer having been retained by Multnomah County as consulting engineer and by the

State Highway Commission as assistant highway engineer.

...

With such an organization and having the hearty support of the best and most influential people in the community, the difficult task of locating and constructing this broad highway on steep mountain slopes, with large radius curves and easy grades, was a pleasure, for how often do we see the best of scenery cut and gashed most horribly because either those in authority did not know, or else had no sense of appreciation.

Clarence E. Mershon, East of the Sandy: The Columbia River Highway

Workers "included many East Multnomah County farmer."

"In 1915, laborers received $2.50 per 10-hour day and a man with a team, $5.00 per day."

"In keeping with the times, women served in a supporting role."

[Sisters and wives "prepared and took lunches" to their male family members, "prepared breakfasts for the road crew during the time they worked in the vicinity," "put[ting] up box lunches for them" to "earn some extra household money," and so forth. Charlie Bramhall, roadboss, and his wife Alma, "boarded highway workers, who dearly loved Alma's celebrated bread rolls." (Mershon, East of the Sandy III, 13-14)]

In March, 1914, Multnomah County built a camp near the 'summit' to accommodate 135 workers. Joe Dobbing cooked meals for the men during the time the camp was used. The men paid five cents per meal. A Mr. Speaker was in charge of the camp.

According to the Gresham Outlook ("Columbia Heights," May 26, 1914), Roy Anderson and William Ross had the "honor of moving the first scraper of dirt" for the 'Heights' section of the highway. According to pioneer records, Alex Barr worked on the highway, serving as a road supervisor and camp foreman (see "Francis P. Hickey," Pioneer History, p.99)

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