Oregon State Archives: A 1940 Journey Across Oregon

At 78.1 m. [West of Hwy. 730 Junction] is a junction with US 97.

Right on US 97 to the Maryhill ferry, 0.4 m. (fare $1; service as needed) From the north bank ferry landing in Washington, US 97 continues to the junction with US 830, 1.2 m.; L. here 2.9 m. on US 830 to MARYHILL CASTLE, also built by Samuel Hill. It is a three story rectangular structure of concrete, set on a bluff 800 feet above the river. Though the building was dedicated by Queen Marie of Romania in 1926, it was not opened to visitors until 1937. Queen Marie gave to the museum a life size portrait of her daughter, a desk, chairs, and other pieces of furniture. Hill lavished a fortune on the estate but never made it his home. However, he left a bequest of $1,200,000 for completing and maintaining it as a museum. In a crypt repose the owner's ashes, commemorated by a tablet bearing the inscription: "Samuel Hill amid Nature's unrest, he sought rest."

Past and Present Views Along the Columbia River Highway

Kirk J. Poole, May 30, 2021

Here is a map that shows where the Biggs-Maryhill Ferry was. [ABOVE] NOTE: The co-signing of 30 and 97 between Biggs and the road to the ferry! The ferry road itself is marked as US 97.

A. F. Litt, May 30, 2021

That is where my info has had the old ferry, but I think it might have moved to Biggs Junction at some point, but I am unclear on that.

Kirk J. Poole, May 30, 2021

I haven't seen a thing about it over at Biggs. I've only seen that road going out to the old shore. One thing I'm not clear about is how The Dalles Dam affected the ferry in it's final 5 years of operation? The bridge was finished in 1962 and the water rose some order of feet from the dam 16 miles west. If I could see an aerial from '57 to '61, I'd get my answer.

June 6, 2022

Without even realizing what I was looking it at back in 2014, I found the answer to Kirk's question above. They raised the Ferry Road! The photos below tell the story...

Past and Present Views Along the Columbia River Highway

Kirk J. Poole, February 4, 2021

Someone gave this a 1960 date [Image Above]. That's a 1962 Oldsmobile behind the Lincoln.

Michael West, February 5, 2021

Accidents did happen, my parents told me about a lady from Goldendale by the name of Hornibrook got excited and hit the gas rather than the brake and she went off the front. It was on the Maryhill side and close to shore.

ColumbiaRiverImages.com: Maryhill to Biggs Ferry

The first ferry in the Maryhill and Biggs area was established in 1868 by William Hicenbotham.

During the early and middle 1880s ferry business was such that two ferries ran simultaneously. Historian Jeffrey Elmer ("Rootsweb.com" website, 2006) quotes from the Goldendale Sentinel June 15, 1944:

"... Wagon and teams were crossed for the sum of three dollars, and horse and rider were charged one dollar. During this period, the early, and middle eighties, business increased so that two ferries were run simultaneously, the "Nellie" with its accompanying sail barge at the upper landing where the present ferry docks; and the "Rattler," a self-propelled boat with the steam engine installed in the barge, at the lower landing, about a mile west of the upper landing. These two, the "Nellie" and the "Rattler," together carried the shore-to-shore traffic until the year 1889, when the "Rattler" was sold and put into service as a ferry at Ainsworth, near the Snake-Columbia junction. The faithful "Nellie" continued service up until 1903, when it burned. This marked the end of the era of steam on the upper Columbia. ..."

The same 1944 Goldendale Sentinel also stated:

"... In 1915 a ferry was re-established at the lower landing. In February of that year Samuel Hill launched the "Governor West." This ran for five years, giving way to the "Everyday Ferry." After little more than a year ferry at the lower landing was discontinued and was never re-established. ..."

The April 24, 1924 Klickitat County Agriculturist, Goldendale, Washington, stated that entepreneur Sam Hill announced he would run a ferry from Maryhill to Biggs.

"... In spite of vigorous opposition by the owners of the present ferry at Maryhill, the board of county commissioners have granted Samuel Hill, good roads booster and owner of a 5000-acre farm at Maryhill, a license to operate a ferry from the Klickitat shore to the Oregon side, at the mouth of Spanish Hollow, not far from the railway station of Biggs. H.G. Van Allen, John H. Johnson, and Ralph L. MacDonald, doing business as the Maryhill Ferry Company, and who hold a Klickitat county license, resisted the granting of a license to Mr. Hill on the ground that issuance of a license to him would be an infringement on rights granted under their license. Hills states that his ferry will be a connecting link between the states of Oregon and Washington for the everyday highway that he is promoting from the Canadian line to Mexico. This ferry, states Mr. Hill, will be an continuous operation until a bridge is constructed. This bridge is located opposite the Hill mansion and the terminus will be close to Biggs. It will be constructed within that the next three years. ..."

Sam Hill's ferry began operations in 1925 and held five cars placed in a single line. Hill boasted that the ferry would make the round-trip from Maryhill to Biggs in 10 minutes.

The January 15, 1931 Goldendale Sentinel, Goldendale, Washington, in a report on the proposed The Dalles Bridge, stated that the The Dalles to Grand Dalles ferry had an income of $17,250 per year, the Maryhill to Biggs ferry made $25,700 per year, the Roosevelt to Arlington ferry made $30,000 per year and the Lyle to Rowena ferry made "about $9,000 per year".

The 1942 U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor Coast and Geodetic Survey's "United States Coast Pilot, Pacific Coast", Serial No.649 lists four ferries across the Columbia upstream of The Dalles:

"... Four ferries cross the Columbia River above The Dalles as follows: Biggs-Merryhill, 16 statute miles; Arlington-Roosevelt, 50 statute miles; Boulder-Alderdale, 65 statute miles; and Irrigon-Coolidge, 88 statute miles. ..."

The last run of the Maryhill ferry was in 1962. According to the Mt. Adams Sun, Bingen, Washington, November 15, 1962:

"... The Maryhill Ferry which has criss-crossed the Columbia for 94 years ended its last run at 7:59 a.m. Thursday, November 1. Nine ferrymen lost their jobs to make way for the new $2.4 million Sam Hill Memorial Bridge which opened to traffic at high noon. ... Bridges have replaced all but four ferries across the Columbia. The ones still operating are at Megler, Cathlamet, Roosevelt and Verneta, all in Washington. ..."

Links

ColumbiaRiverImages.com: Sam Hill Memorial Bridge / Maryhill to Biggs Ferry

http://columbiariverimages.com/Regions/Places/sam_hill_memorial_bridge.html

Yakima Valley Libraries: Highway 97 Ferry, operating between Maryhill, Wash. and Biggs Junction, Ore. (1961)

https://archives.yvl.org/handle/20.500.11867/14723

https://archives.yvl.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11867/14723/EPM-067-05-004.PDF

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