In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

22 Chapter 2 The Watchdogs Samuel Lancaster, the father of Oregon’s highway system, understood that the Columbia River Gorge deserved a highway to match its majesty. “The mind can only wonder at this mighty work of God, done in His own way, on a scale so great that man’s best efforts appear but as the work of pygmies ,” Lancaster famously observed. Eccentric railroad magnate Sam Hill shared Lancaster’s vision. He was determined that a modern highway be built to the property he called Maryhill, on a remote promontory above the Washington shore of the Columbia, 103 miles east of Vancouver. With Hill helping to bankroll the project, Oregon named Lancaster the first state highway commissioner and charged him with overseeing the gorge project. From the beginning, the Northwest’s first major paved road was envisioned not as a utilitarian roadway but as a work of art, designed to complement and enhance the scenic grandeur of the gorge. Construction began in 1913, using horses, bulldozers and 2,200 workers. The first 74mile section was completed in just two years and what a highway it was. The narrow two-lane road twisted, looped, and swirled around hairpin curves and burrowed through lush forests, passing a half-dozen waterfalls that spilled from the walls of the gorge thousands of feet to the Columbia River. “Every curve of the route Lancaster plotted revealed another vista,” the Associated Press exulted in a 1988 retrospective. “The mile-wide Columbia , volcanic bluffs rising sharply out of the river plain, lush green forests, spectacular waterfalls and the snowy peaks of the Cascade Range.” Lancaster modeled some sections after highways in the Swiss Alps, incorporating their use of gradual inclines and long stretches of rock wall to stabilize the route. Seven viaducts skirted the edges of cliffs, some supported from beneath by concrete piers. Arched stone parapets marked roadside parks and viewpoints. Two dozen bridges framed their natural settings. The highway passed through four rock tunnels, including the THE WATCHDOGS 23 spectacular 390-foot tunnel at Mitchell Point, which featured five arched windows. The new highway put the Columbia River Gorge on the map, providing motorists with access to the grandeur in their back yard. For the first time, they could drive along the shore, stop to admire the falls and the view from Crown Point, and continue east, crossing from the lush west side to the stark beauty of the arid hinterland beyond the crest of the Cascades. Oregon’s leaders put a high priority on establishing parks in conjunction with state roads. As early as 1913, Gov. Oswald West declared that the state’s beaches should be designated as part of the public highway system. Oregon’s parks, like the highway system itself, were funded by state gasoline taxes. The development of parks and roadways went hand in hand. During construction of the highway, many of Oregon’s wealthiest and most prominent civic leaders stepped up to help burnish their legacy. Simon Benson, Osman Royal, and George Shepperd gave private lands in the gorge to the city of Portland. These donated lands eventually became Benson State Park, Crown Point State Park, and Shepperd’s Dell State Park, all jewels in the crown of the gorge. The Forest Service followed the state’s example. In 1915, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture D. F. Houston announced that a 22-mile-long section of what was then Oregon National Forest would be set aside as Columbia Gorge Park. The new park, encompassing the famous waterfall zone, would be set aside for recreation and scenery and would be declared off limits to timber harvesting. Samuel Boardman, widely regarded as the father of the Oregon state park system, served as state parks engineer from 1929 to 1950. He left an enduring mark, dramatically increasing the size of the state park system. Though his best-known acquisitions were on the Oregon Coast, Boardman also took a strong interest in the gorge. Over time, a series of state and federal waterfall parks and trails protected much of Oregon’s western gorge from development. By the 1950s, most of it was in public ownership. But while Oregon civic leaders moved early and decisively to protect the scenic treasures of the gorge, there was no similar commitment from Washington’s leaders. The small farms and timber towns east of Vancouver, directly across the river from Crown Point and Multnomah Falls, remained a backwater, largely ignored by political leaders in Olympia and Puget Sound...

Share