"In 1928, Sam Hill built a 22-room house on a 35-acre estate at Bonneville for his 'friend' Mona Bell."

Clarence E. Mershon, The Columbia River Highway: From the Sea to the Wheat Fields of Eastern Oregon

The Oregonian, The architectural hash mansion of eccentric Mona Bell Hill was razed for the Bonneville Dam

Mona’s impressive home 40 miles east of Portland was built in 1928, apparently as a gift from her lover, the flamboyant, philanthropic, visionary entrepreneur Sam Hill, whose lasting works include the and the Columbia River Highway.

That same year, in August, their child, a boy, was born in Portland. Two months later, Sam sold the home and 34 acres to Mona Bell Hill for $1. She had acquired her last name, Hill, through a brief marriage to Sam’s cousin, Edgar, which is another story altogether.

For several years, Mona and her son, whom she named Sam, lived an idyllic life on her hilltop. Then, with cruel speed, her world imploded in 1931 when the elder Sam became ill, was hospitalized in Portland and died, all within a few weeks. Mona tried to see him in his room at St. Vincent’s Hospital but was turned away by his family.

Suddenly more alone than ever and with her young son to care for, she survived by working odd jobs. She was a correspondent for The Oregonian and also a circus performer – she was a dead shot. She also had income from a trust fund Sam created for her and her son.

In early 1934, the War Department condemned the mansion she loved to make way for the great dam. There was no question Mona would lose her home and acres, the only question was how much the government would pay. Mona considered the government’s offer – $25,600 – an insult and demanded $100,000, about $1 million today.

For 15 months through two trials Mona fought in U.S. District Court in Portland with two of Sam’s longtime friends at her side, Jay Bowerman, a former Oregon governor, as her attorney, and then-current governor Julius Meyer as a witness.

While she won three times more than the government offered, she never outgrew the pain of losing both the man and the place she loved in quick succession. When she finally was evicted, in July 1935, she moved to the cabin in Minnesota, which she had inherited from her parents. She never returned to the Columbia River Gorge.

"On April 10, 1942, the federal government gave to the state 17.24 acres located on both sides of the highway. On that portion north of the road was a large home which had been built by the late Samuel Hill. This home was occupied intermittently for several years. At the time the Columbia River Highway was being rebuilt, in 1959, this home was sold. It was demolished and removed from the area because a portion of the land was needed in the construction of the new highway. To provide access to the remaining area would have been very expensive, if not impossible."

Links

The Oregonian: The architectural hash mansion of eccentric Mona Bell Hill was razed for the Bonneville Dam

http://www.oregonlive.com/hg/index.ssf/2014/03/the_home_of_mona_bell_hill_onc.html

Photos of the remains of Bell's 22 room cabin by Curios Gorge: (Panoramio is gone now, just leaving these here In Memoriam...)

The long-gone Mona Bell mansion built by Sam Hill for his mistress Mona Bell: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/52098770

Mona Bell's one-time mansion atop Bonneville Rock: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/74053683

Remnant foundation of Mona Bell Hill's Mansion: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/74053689

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