Chronology
March 19, 2020
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1851 - Built - First wagon road portage established in the Columbia Gorge (also called the ‘military road’).
1882 - 1883 - Built - Oregon Railway and Navigation Company constructed a water-level railroad track from Portland to The Dalles. It was the only viable alternative to steamships for getting through the gorge.
1894 - Altered - High water washed out the wagon road and railroad tracks below Cascade Locks.
1908 - Designed - Samuel Lancaster and Samuel Hill attended the first International Road Congress in Paris and toured Europe by auto. The design of medieval roads, particularly the Axenstrasse in Switzerland (built 1865), inspired design of the Columbia River Highway.
1912 - Built - Simon Benson contributed $10,000 for the construction of a new road across Shellrock Mountain. The road was built by Honor prisoners from the State Penitentiary.
1913 Established Legislature approved the Columbia River Highway for
construction.
1913 Established Samuel C. Lancaster was appointed as consulting engineer in
Multnomah County and assistant state highway engineer.
1913 - 1914 Built The Columbia River Highway route was graded from
Chanticleer Point to Eagle Creek.
1913 - 1914 Designed John A. Elliott, locating engineer for the Oregon State Highway
Commission (OSHC), surveyed from the Multnomah/Hood
River county line to the City of Hood River; including the
location of Mitchell Point Tunnel.
1913 Designed Lancaster surveyed from Chanticleer Point (now Portland
Women’s Forum State Scenic Viewpoint) to Multnomah Falls
and later to Eagle Creek.
1913 Established Oregon State Highway Commission established.
1914 Established Hood River County passed $75,000 bond issue to connect the
Columbia River Highway from the Multnomah County line to
the City of Hood River.
1914 Established Newport Land and Construction Company contracted to
complete the Columbia River Highway sections west of Hood
River.
1914 Built Grading of three segments in Hood River County totaling
5.3 miles. (Multnomah/Hood River County line to ½ mile
west of Cascade locks—1.5 miles: east of Wyeth to Shellrock
Mountain—1.7 miles; and Shellrock Mountain to Viento
Hill—2.1 miles.)
1914 - 1915 Built 22 miles were graded from 2 ½ miles west of Cascade Locks
to the city of Hood River.
1914 Built From Crown Point to Horsetail Falls, the construction of
bridges, viaducts and the Oneonta Tunnel were completed.
1915 Established Official opening of the highway from Chanticleer Point to the
city of Hood River.
1915 Built Construction of the Mitchell Point Tunnel completed.
1915 Established John Yeon and Simon Benson campaigned for funds to pave
the Columbia River Highway.
1915 Built Construction of bridges and viaducts from McCord Creek to
Eagle Creek.
1915 Designed J.A. Elliot surveyed from the city of Hood River to the Hood
River Wasco county line.
1916 Designed Elliott conducted a preliminary survey from the Hood River/
Wasco County line to The Dalles.
1916 Built Warren Creek Bridge built.
1916 Built Dedication of the Columbia River Highway (June 7, 1916)
with ceremonies at Crown Point and Multnomah Falls.
(Paving with Warrenite completed to Multnomah Falls at time
of dedication.)
1916 - 1918 Built Construction of bridges and viaducts from Ruckel Creek
to Rock Creek west of Mosier, including the Hood River
Bridge.
1916 Built Lindsay Creek Bridge built.
1917 Built Wasco County road built over Seven-Mile Hill between Mosier
and The Dalles.
1917 - 1918 Built Viento and Cascade Locks segments graded and surfaced.
1917 - 1918 Built Ruthton Hill segment relocated and graded.
1917 - 1918 Built Grading and macadamizing from the Multnomah/Hood River
county line to City of Hood River.
1918 Built Herman Creek Bridge, a reinforced concrete deck girder
bridge 100 feet in length, was built.
1918 Built Completion of Crown Point Vista House (Dedicated May 5,
1918).
1918 Built Viento Creek Bridge built.
1918 Built Road surface macadamized from Cascade Locks to the City
of Hood River.
1918 Built Gorton Creek Bridge, a 50’ reinforced concrete slab structure
designed by Metzger, was built. (Mile post marker 58, also
from 1918, is nearby.)
1918 Built Ruthton Point Viaduct built. Designed by Metzger, it was a
fifty foot concrete curving viaduct, with one 10 foot and two
20 foot spans.
1919 Designed Final location of the M-Rowena route surveyed by J. H. Scott,
locating engineering (OSHD).
1919 - 1920 Built Grading and macadamizing was completed from city of Hood
River to Rowena. Paving was completed from Cascade Locks
to City of Hood River. These sections opened to traffic in
August 1920.
1919 Built Phelps Creek Bridge built.
1919 - 1921 Built Construction of bridges, viaducts and Mosier Twin Tunnels
in Hood River and Wasco Counties completed. (Mosier Twin
Tunnels completed in April 1921). Grading and macadamizing
completed from Mosier to Rowena (open to traffic in June
1920.)
1921 - 1922 Built Paving completed from City of Hood River to The Dalles,
and was officially opened to traffic in June 1922.
1921 Established The Columbia River Highway became part of the National
Highway System as U.S. Route 30.
1922 Built Final segment of highway at Rowena Point paved.
1922 Established Formal dedication of the eastern paved portion of the
Columbia River Highway held at the Dalles (July 2, 1922).
1925 Established Viento State Park opened 1925. Final land acquisition in
1967.
1930 Established Starvation Creek State Park opened in 1930 at Starvation Falls.
Final land acquisition in 1960.
1932 Designed Lancaster proposed a new water-level highway for higher
speed traffic, leaving the Columbia River Highway as a scenic
route.
1932 - 1969 Established Lang State Park established by purchase and condemnation
of private property. It was named for the original owner,
Elizabeth Lang.
1933 Designed Surveys for the new water-level highway ordered between
Troutdale and Cascade locks.
1933 - 1938 Built Bonneville Dam was built. Rising waters flooded the railroad
tracks in 1938 and made it necessary to move sections of the
Columbia River Highway.
1933 Built The first facility improvements in State Parks were made by
the CCC.
1933 Established Wygant State Park established on 251 acres donated by Simeon
and Olivia Reed.
1935 Built Oregon State Highway Commission and US Army Corps of
Engineers built a cut-through just east of Eagle Creek on
new water-level alignment to provide passage for railroad and
highway traffic.
1936 Built Highway Bridge across Eagle Creek constructed on new
water-level alignment. This was the first section of the new
highway to be constructed.
1937 Built Toothrock Tunnel on new water-level alignment opened as
part of Bonneville Dam project.
1943 Established Lindsay Creek State Park established by purchase and gift
from private owners. The creek was named for John Lindsay,
an 1850s settler in the area who later worked on Columbia
River steamboats. The park was later expanded.
1943 Established A picnic area along the Columbia River Highway existed at
Lindsay Creek State Park until the 1960s.
1944 Established Seneca Fouts State Park established on 150 acres given by
Seneca Fouts.
1949 - 1953 Built Water-level freeway constructed to replace the HCRH.
1949 Built A segment of water-level freeway was built from Troutdale
to Dodson.
1950 Closed Lindsey Creek Bridge, the Viento Bridge and Warren Creek
Bridge were torn down in the early 1950s.
1953 Closed Rockfall blocked the highway between Mosier and Hood
River at the mouth of the Twin Tunnels. Traffic was rerouted
to Washington side until the new water-level highway opened
later that month.
1953 Established The Columbia River Gorge Commission was established.
1954 Closed Mitchell Point Tunnel, Mosier Twin Tunnels and Oneonta
Gorge Tunnel barricaded and closed to the public due to
safety concerns.
1954 Portland attorney Frank Branch Riley wrote a letter criticizing
the maintenance of the old highway as being “shabbily
neglected”, which caused debate over the closing of the Mosier
Twin Tunnels, Mitchell Point Tunnel and Oneonta Tunnel.
1954 Built New water-level highway completed from Portland to the
Dalles, replacing about 26 miles of the middle section of the
old Columbia River Highway and fragmenting much of the
remainder.
1954 Established Vinzenz Lausmann State Park was established by gift from the
Lausmann family.
1956 Built The water-level freeway was widened and transformed into
Interstate 84.
1966 Closed Mitchell Point Tunnel destroyed.
1979 Closed Herman Creek Bridge destroyed.
1983 Established National Register Historic District nomination by ODOT
approved by the Secretary of the Interior.
1986 Established 290,000 acre Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
established.
Sources
Davison, Danae, Barbara Knapp. Cultural Landscape Inventory: Shellrock Mountain to Ruthton Point - Historic Columbia River Highway. Oregon Department of Transportation. January 2010. 7 - 12.
Taylor, Michael C. Road of Difficulties: Building the Lower Columbia River Highway. Wallowa, Oregon: Bear Creek Press. 2008.