Page Index

• Location

• The Convict Road

• Convict Camp (State Road No. 8, Camp No. 3)

"State Road 8 was extended east from Lyle to Maryhill and northeast to the county seat of Goldendale in 1907."

"...Lyle, where one of the most picturesque highways to be found in the world is under construction."

"This roadbed, directly above the tunnels east of Lyle, stretches about a half-mile and it's not too difficult to scramble over a century of rock fall and landslide to examine these remnant's of Sam Hill's road-building vision."

"The first highway that traveled through the Columbia River Gorge was surveyed in 1905 at a cost of $15,000 (equivalent to $393,722 in 2015) by the state of Washington as a wagon road connecting Washougal in Clark County to Lyle in Klickitat County that was designated as secondary State Road 8."

Scott Cook, Curious Gorge

Sam Hill, the quirkiest of the Northwest's pioneer business magnates, was building the infrastructure for his proposed Maryhill town site in 1909. Hill believed that economic prosperity followed road improvement and he campaigned enthusiastically for "Good Roads" (most roads in the early 1900s were dirt and rock, boggy and uneven. Gravel and pavement were still rare). Hill strove to get the WA gov't to build a road on the Columbia's north bank to aid commerce between Gorge, Maryhill, and inland farmers.

Initially, with WA Governor Hay's support, Hill convinced Klickitat County to house convicts in a walled tent camp east of Lyle in order to use their inexpensive labor to build the roadway over this difficult cliff-pinched impasse. The progressive use of convict labor garnered national attention and praise. Construction began with leveling the surface and building masonry retaining walls on this one-mile stretch ... until Gov. Hay inexplicably about-faced and pulled the plug on the convict-use idea. Regular wage workers were deemed too expensive to hire for this far-from-anywhere road, so the infant north-bank road was abandoned.

Hill fumed, to say the least. Gov. Hay had personally promised to back his project!

Infuriated, Hill successfully schemed to unseat Gov. Hay in the 1912 election. Meanwhile, interest was growing in Oregon for a Columbia River road, and Hill, despite his previous WA ties, joined with OR Gov. Oswald West to campaign energetically for a road on the Oregon side of the Gorge.

In Feb 1913, at Hill's own expense, he brought the entire Oregon Legislature -- 88 men -- out to his Maryhill ranch for a gala event. At this gathering Hill showed-off the experimental roads that he had been building on his ranch with his personally contracted road engineer, Sam Lancaster.

Together they displayed state-of-the-art grading and paving techniques used to construct the "Maryhill Loops." Hill's tenacious boosterism succeeded. Soon thereafter the legislature approved funding for the Columbia River Highway and hired Sam Lancaster to design the project.

...

Thus, if you love the Historic Columbia River Highway ... then go explore this remnant of road in Lyle and ponder Sam Hill's little known legacy. Biographer Tuhy states, "Had it not been for his [Gov. Hay's] objection to the use of Washington convicts on road projects and his thwarting of Sam's efforts to promote a north bank highway, Sam probably would not have turned his considerable energy and talents for persuasion to the Oregon side of the river."

"The secondary highway, named the North Bank Highway, was re-aligned in 1913 to follow closer to the Columbia River and was extended west to Vancouver and east to Mabton via Satus Pass."

"The State road system of Washington as already planned involves the construction of about 1,100 miles of highway. It is the intention, however, to first complete three main trunk lines, appropriations for which has been made, the Blaine-Vancouver, the Walla Walla-Vancouver, and the Walla Walla-Spokane. It is stated that these three roads will benefit 90 per cent of the people of the State."

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