The Historic Columbia River Highway
in Oregon
The Deschutes River to Umatilla
The Historic Columbia River Highway
in Oregon
The Deschutes River to Umatilla
The Deschutes River to Umatilla
The Columbia River Highway between the mouth of the Deschutes river and Umatilla was 83 miles long. It passed through Biggs, Rufus, Arlington, Boardman, Irrigon and Umatilla. It also passed through lesser known places, which were nothing more than a boat landing for steamers or a station or flag stop on the Oregon Railroad and Navigation company's (O. R. & N.) line or both. The predecessor to the O. R. & N. was the Oregon Steam and Navigation co. (O. S. N.) which dates back to 1862 when it was just a small portage railroad on the Columbia hauling cargo around the rapids.
Old Biggs which was a mile downstream from Biggs Junction was the terminus of the Columbia Southern railroad. This was were the railroad had their yard and shops and the interchange with the O. R. & N. mainline, which later became the Union Pacific and who would eventually own both railroads. The rail yard at Biggs shut down in 1967 when the line leading south was abandoned. Afterwards the place slowly disappeared. There was a small settlement there that faded away long before the rail yard had shut down. The boat landing for Old Biggs was at Spanish Hollow and there was no road leading to Biggs and you would have to walk through the sand to reach the Biggs hotel and depot which was established by the O. R & N. in 1885. Nothing remains there today except a Grain storage elevator along with a rail and barge shipping facility which serve the grain producers of the area.
Grants was a small community located about 23 miles east of The Dalles and 2 miles east of Biggs Junction. Although it was small it was an important shipping point along the Columbia river and was opposite Columbus (now Maryhill) which was another important shipping point. Timber from the Simcoe mountains was brought down through the gap to Columbus where is was taken across the river to Grants. Freight could be brought over from Grants to Columbus and hauled up the hill from the river to Goldendale and other points on the Washington side.
In The Dalles Chronicle issued on July 20, 1895 there is an article about the town of Rufus. The founder of the town, Rufus Carroll Wallace, (Wallace was sometimes spelled Wallis) was in The Dalles that summer day on business. He said since the flood of June 1894, the town of Grant had become almost deserted, and the town of Rufus, 2 miles east, began to show signs of prosperity. He said that many new buildings had been erected that season, and there were other evidences of enterprise and progress.
Squally Hook is the name of a set of Rapids on the Columbia river. The following is from the book Down the Columbia by Lewis R. Freeman published in 1921; "From the foot of Rock Creek Rapids to the head of Squally Hook Rapids is something less than 4 miles of not very swift water. Squally Hook, I could see, was much the same sort of a short, sharp, savage rapid as Rock Creek. There was the same restricted intake, and the same abrupt bend just beyond the foot. Below Squally Hook the river turned to the left, where at Rock Creek it had turned to the right."
Quinton is located about 14 miles downstream from Arlington and close to exit 123 on Interstate 84 west of the mouth Philippi Canyon. Quinton was an old steamer landing where sacks of wheat were loaded onto riverboats long before the railroad came through in 1880. The place was also known as Quinn's and was named after a man named Quinn who was the first to settle in the area. The railroad built a station at Quinton to serve the residents of the area and a telegraph office was inside the station. Except for the telegraph operator the residents of Quinton were either farmers or they worked for the railroad.
Blalock or Blalock's was a small town located at the mouth of Blalock Canyon about 7 miles upstream from Quinton, and about 8.5 miles downstream from Arlington. The first settlement there was an Indian village called Táwash. In 1881 the town of Blalock was platted by the Blalock Wheat Growing Company. By 1884 Blalock had a population of about 50. At its peak in the early 1900's the town consisted of; a depot, hotel, school, saloon, a livery and stage stable, a real estate office, 2 grain warehouses, a store with a post office, and an agricultural implement factory. The railroad depot and warehouse were constructed in 1881 by A. J. McLellan, who was an OR&N superintendent in charge of the construction of its bridges and buildings.
The town of Arlington, Oregon is located at the mouth of Alkali canyon about 46 miles upriver from The Dalles and 45 miles downstream from Umatilla. In the late 1870's before the town was founded, Arlington was known as the "Big Bend Landing." This was because before the John Day Dam was constructed, there was a bend in the Columbia river at the mouth of Alkali canyon. Lang's Landing which shows up on an 1876 Oregon map was at the mouth of Lang Canyon which is about 5 miles downstream from Arlington. These landings were used by the ranchers of the area who brought in their cattle which were then loaded onto steamers and taken downriver to market. At the landings, ranchers had large corrals which were used to hold the cattle until the steamers arrived. These landings were used until 1881 when the railroad was completed to Portland.
Heppner Junction was established in 1888 during the construction of the O. R. & N's 45 mile Heppner branch. It was originally called Willows Junction, and in April of 1896 the name was changed to Heppner Junction which was rejoiced by the residents of Heppner. The branch line was completed in November of 1888, and Heppner travelers would no longer have to take a bumpy stagecoach to Willows station which was 2 miles west of Heppner Junction to catch the train to Portland or Walla Walla. The passengers would be transferred to mainline trains at Arlington instead.
Boulder was once a small stop on the Oregon and Washington Railroad & Navigation co. ( O. W. R. & N.) and was located about 4 miles upriver from Heppner Junction, and 14 miles upriver from Arlington. It was just a shipping point for the railroad as all the stops along the line were. There was no steamer landing and no depot building was ever built. No town ever developed and the only structure was a platform next to the railroad tracks for loading the rail cars. Boulder's only claim to fame was that in the 1920's it was a ferry landing for the Boulder-Alderdale ferry. Alderdale, on the Washington side was a little town with a school, depot and a store with a post office, which was established in 1907, and was discontinued in 1962.
The Oregon town of Castle Rock was located 5 miles upstream from the Boulder ferry and 6 miles downstream from Boardman. The town was named for a natural rock formation that stood 40 feet high among the sand and sage brush, and from the river it looked like a castle to the passengers passing by on the old riverboats. Castle Rock was originally just a steamboat landing which was used by the people of Heppner and the surrounding area in the 1870's. During the spring of 1883 the O. R. & N. completed its line to Portland and established a station at Castle Rock.
The Columbia River a Photographic Journey
Recreating the Old Oregon Trail Highway