Steamboats
1851
Peg Willis, Building the Columbia River Highway: They Said It Couldn't Be Done
Stern-wheeled (or side-wheeled) steamships began plying the river in the 1850s...
Willis 17
Roads, Rails and Riverboats Interpretive Sign, Bridal Veil State Scenic Viewpoint
During the Steamboat Era (1851 - 1920), more than two hundred vessels worked the lower, middle, and upper segments of the Columbia River.
Kathie Durbin, Bridging a Great Divide: The Battle for the Columbia River Gorge
Nard Jones' novel, Swift Flows the River, is based on the steamboat era of the Columbia centering about the Cascades.
Construction of a series of locks at the Cascade portage, discussed by congress as early as 1870, was delayed repeatedly. The Cascade Locks finally were completed in November of 1895. Hundreds of excursions passed through the 3,000 foot canal and its lifts over the next few years. Their busiest year was 1905, when 1,417 boats passed through.
Durbin 18
The success of the Cascade Locks spurred a demand for more locks to boost shipping and passenger service between Portland and Idaho. This pleased residents of small communities that had been bypassed by the railroads.
Durbin 18
In 1915, locks were completed at Celilo, providing passage around the raging Big Eddy Rapids.
Durbin 18
Yet passengers and wheat farmers were in no hurry to use the river route. "A fine paved highway was being built up the south side of the Columbia from Portland and almost immediately it became the most talked about piece of road in the Northwest," wrote Stewart Holbrook.
Holbrook, qtd. in Durbin 18
Today's Historic photo shows two paddle steamers on the Columbia River at Bonneville circa 1910. The paddle steamer closest to the photographer appears to be the Hassalo. A photo of which is available online at http://goo.gl/V5cj4P. Unfortunately, we currently do not have any additional information about this photograph. Hopefully someone on here can help us out with a more precise location or identify some of the features in the background. We look forward to your comments and hope you all have a wonderful weekend! =) Austin
"Before locks were built past the Cascade Rapids, passengers would have to exit one steamer, portage past the obstructions, and then board another steamer. Passengers and freight would travel the lower Columbia River to the Cascades on the Fashion, Carrie Ladd, Mountain Buck, or Julia. There they would put ashore and ride the portage railroad behind a tiny rail car, affectionately known as the Oregon Pony to the upper landing, where they would board the Idaho, Hassalo, or Wasco to The Dalles. There they would ride a horse drawn wagon for a short ride around Celilo Falls then board the Colonel Wright, Nez Perce Chief, Yakima, or Spray for a cruise to Lewiston on the Snake River."(1)
"In 1878 construction of the 8-foot-deep Cascade Locks Navigation Canal began. It was completed on November 5, 1896, providing a way around the infamous Cascade Rapids, a section of the Columbia which had restricted navigation up the Columbia since the time of Lewis and Clark. Forty-two years later, early in 1938, the Cascade Locks canal was submerged under the rising waters of the Bonneville Reservoir, behind the Bonneville Dam."(1)
(1)http://columbiariverimages.com/…/steamboats_columbia_river.…
(OWR Photographs & Negatives 1910-1964 - Columbia River at Bonneville - Paddle Steamer Hassalo)
Historic Hood River: May 27, 2014
The Georgie Burton's career is bracketed by tragedy. She was launched in 1906, on the same day as the San Francisco earthquake. She survived to be one of the last steam powered sternwheelers on the Columbia, retiring in 1947. She was moored in the Dalles to become a museum, but the 1948 floods ripped her from her mooring and destroyed her. This Alva Day photo is from June 5, 1948. Though the Vanport flood was six days earlier, the river still looks awfully angry.
The ship was being stored in the Celilo Canal when it was destroyed. You can still see part of the canal from I-84.
Links
HASSALO AND THE RUNNING OF THE CASCADES:
http://www.gatheringthestories.org/2014/01/27/hassalo-and-the-running-of-the-cascades