The Historic Pacific Highway
in Washington
Castle Rock to Centralia
The Historic Pacific Highway
in Washington
Castle Rock to Centralia
Castle Rock is a large volcanic outcropping about 190 feet high and resembles an old castle. This large rock located at the south end of a bend in the Cowlitz river has been a navigational beacon for the Cowlitz canoemen and the Hudson's Bay Trappers long before the settlers arrived in the 1850's. The rock is now a park located within the city of Castle Rock, about 11 miles north of Longview. There is a place to picnic next to the river and a trail that climbs up to the top of the rock.
Before the freeway bridges were built over the Toutle river, the new expressway was diverted back onto the Pacific Highway for about a mile. This was a dangerous place on the road and was known as the "Toutle Curves."
The North and South fork of the Toutle River begin at The northwest side of Mount St. Helens and flow in a northwest direction for about 23 miles where they converge at the town of Toutle. From the town, the river continues a northwesterly course for about 4 more miles before it turns southwest for about 8 miles and empties into the Cowlitz river about 3 miles north of Castle Rock. After the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in May of 1980, the lahars sent a tremendous amount of mud, ash and debris into the river destroying everything in it's path for miles downstream. Today, 40 years later the ash is still lining the banks of the river.
Before 1919, traveling north on the old wagon road a mile north of the Toutle river, the traveler had to climb over a steep hill. On the south side of this hill was a 12% grade, and on the north side was an 8% grade. This hill was another one of the many natural barriers to travel on the west side of the Cowlitz river that made travel extremely difficult for the early motorist.
The Pacific Highway between Castle Rock and Toledo was one of the most difficult sections for motorists to drive over and probably was second only to Carrollton hill. The 7 mile section from Castle Rock north was through swampy land and over 2 very steep hills. Driving north from the Toutle river, the first hill encountered is Tom Brown's hill, and a mile further is "Gumbo hill." Gumbo hill is located about 5.5 miles north of Castle Rock and about 8 miles south of Toledo. The grade on the south side was 12% and on the north side was an even steeper grade of 17%.
Olequa was a small village on the Cowlitz river along the old Military Road. In the 1900's there was an alternate route between Castle Rock and Chehalis that crossed the Cowlitz river on the Olequa ferry. In 1913, this road was proposed for the official route of the Pacific Highway. This route bypassed Toledo and traveled through the towns of Napavine, Winlock, Vader, and crossed the river at Olequa. In 1927, an automobile bridge was built on top of the old 1871 Northern Pacific bridge piers over the Cowlitz river at Olequa eliminating the ferry. The railroad had moved it's mainline to the west in 1911 bypassing this crossing. The bridge was removed by 1953 leaving the original 1871 piers in place.
Salmon Creek in Lewis county begins its journey near Hatchet mountain, 17 miles east of Toledo and 6 miles south of Mossyrock. The creek empties into the Cowlitz river about a mile below Toledo and opposite the old Cowlitz Landing. Carnelian, agates, petrified wood and jasper are found in Salmon creek. Carnelian is the red, orange, or amber variety of Chalcedony. It is often a solid color, or it may be banded, making it both agate and carnelian. Carnelian has been used in jewelry since the ancient times and was used by the Minoans of Crete. Romans also used carnelian for their seal rings and was used to make cabochons, beads for necklaces, bracelets, and carved cameos.
In the spring of 1913 the Pacific Highway between Chehalis and Castle Rock was not yet set in stone. There were 3 routes a motorist could take, though the preferred route was through Napavine and Winlock crossing the Cowlitz on the Olequa ferry. By the late summer the state decided that the Pacific Highway would cross the Cowlitz at Toledo and follow the south bank to Olequa, before turning south toward Castle Rock. In 1915 new highway construction began on the Pacific Highway south from Toledo replacing the old wagon road to Olequa. To get this road ready for the new highway, in 1919 the old wooden trestle over the Cowlitz was replaced with a steel span.
The Cowlitz prairie is situated on the northwest side of the Cowlitz river a few miles north of Toledo. The prairie is about 7 miles long and 2 miles wide. The prairie is a rich agricultural area and the land has been continuously cultivated since 1838. The upper waters of the Cowlitz river irrigate the southeastern portion of Lewis county which includes this prairie.
Between the upper Cowlitz river and the south fork of the Newaukum river is the Jackson prairie. This prairie sits about 150 feet above the bottom lands. It is about 4 miles wide at the bottom and 2 miles wide at the top. In the 1850's the area was known as the Highland's. In 1845 John R. Jackson settled along the Cowlitz Trail in the middle of this prairie. Jackson's cabin was the first stop for travelers on the trail leading north from the Cowlitz landing.
The upper waters of the Cowlitz river irrigate the southeastern portion of Lewis county. The Chehalis river comes out of the coast mountains, in the southwest part of the county, then turns westward and cuts through the coast range to make its way to Gray's Harbor, leaving a beautiful valley about twenty miles long in Lewis county. Its tributaries the Newaukum, from the east, and others all have fertile, though narrow, valleys. Those, with the Cowlitz and its tributaries, constitute a rich section of country, not exceeded by any land found on the west coast.
Chehalis and Centralia are located on the Pacific Highway between the Newaukum River crossing and the Skookumchuck River crossing. The highway through these towns is on the route of the Cowlitz Trail. Almost all of the overland American emigrants who settled in the Puget Sound area between 1850 and 1867, traveled this road. This section of the trail during the rainy season was extremely muddy and almost impassible. From about the late 1890's, until the Pacific Highway was established, this old route was known as the Cowlitz-Olympia Road.
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