Oregon State Archives Facebook Page, February 11, 2019
Today's historic photo shows the view looking East in the Columbia Gorge towards Rooster Rock and the Vista House. This was taken before the construction of I-84 and shows the Salmon Cannery that was situated in a cove on the Southwest side of Rooster Rock. I hope you all enjoy this unique snapshot of time in the Historic Columbia River Gorge. Have a wonderful day! =) Austin
If you are interested in reading more about the history of this cannery here is a link to a great article: https://www.chinookobserver.com/news/chapter-four-the-cannery-at-rooster-rock/article_4b53db10-6f31-5190-ab35-d757e27f6015.html.
Here are links to some more recent photos of this view which are from the grounds of what is now the Menucha Retreat and Conference Center: https://goo.gl/maps/RTJThaeRQcr & https://goo.gl/maps/AicSQ4tnLNH2.
"The Rooster Rock Cannery once existed on the west side of Rooster Rock in the small bay between Tunnel Point and Rooster Rock. The Cannery was built by Antone Fastabend for Samuel Elmore, who had a large Cannery business in Astoria, Oregon. Because of constant silting of the bay where the cannery was located, it eventually was forced to move to Ellsworth on the Washington shore. The pilings to the left of Rooster Rock are remnants of a fish wheel operation."
Rooster Rock Cannery c.1900s: Photo shows lead to Reed Rooster Rock Fishwheel and Cannery isolated by the silt ridge outside Rooster Rock. Since 1867 when C.E. Watkins first photographed the scene, the silt reef formed and washed out several times. Present barrier shown here forced cannery to move to Ellsworth on Washington shore.