Locks & Thunder Island

"Construction of a series of locks at the Cascade portage, discussed by congress as early as 1870, was delayed repeatedly. The Cascade Locks finally were completed in November of 1895. Hundreds of excursions passed through the 3,000 foot canal and its lifts over the next few years. Their busiest year was 1905, when 1,417 boats passed through."

Oregon State Archives: A 1940 Journey Across Oregon

A serious barrier to quantity freight transportation during the era when mining booms in Idaho and eastern Oregon made steamboat transportation on the Columbia a huge business, the Cascades were again mastered, this time at water level by a wooden railed portage tramway over which mule drawn cars, laden with merchandise, rattled from one waiting steamer to another. This proved so profitable a venture that steel rails replaced the wooden ones, and the Oregon Pony, first steel locomotive to operate in Oregon and now on exhibition at the Union Station grounds in Portland, was imported to draw the cars. The importance of the Columbia River as a traffic artery being established, the locks were later built by the Federal Government being established, the locks were later built by the Federal Government. Nard Jones' novel, Swift Flows the River, is based on the steamboat era of the Columbia centering about the Cascades.

"Construction of a series of locks at the Cascade portage, discussed by congress as early as 1870, was delayed repeatedly. The Cascade Locks finally were completed in November of 1895. Hundreds of excursions passed through the 3,000 foot canal and its lifts over the next few years. Their busiest year was 1905, when 1,417 boats passed through."

Please note, camping is only permitted on Thunder Island for special events.

"The locks at Cascade Locks were finished in 1896, every bit of it constructed out of cut stone. The Locks were then flooded in 1938 behind Bonneville Dam. Most of the Locks are now underwater, but the entire structure is still there. The most fascinating bits are the stairways that lead directly down into the Columbia, disappearing mysteriously into the murky depths. There are two stairways on either side of the bridge, and then two more 100 yards to the west. Check CuriousGorgeBlog to see some historic pix of the Locks."

"The success of the Cascade Locks spurred a demand for more locks to boost shipping and passenger service between Portland and Idaho. This pleased residents of small communities that had been bypassed by the railroads."

"The Cascade Locks and Canal was a navigation project on the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington, completed in 1896. It allowed the steamboats of the Columbia River to bypass the Cascades Rapids, and thereby opened a passage from the lower parts of the river as far as The Dalles. The locks were submerged and rendered obsolete in 1938, when the Bonneville Dam was constructed, along with a new set of locks, a short ways downstream."

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascade_Locks_and_Canal

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