Cruising Clifton and Prairie Channels
- Thread starter Knotty C
- Start date
I tried to post the picture here, but couldn't figure out how. 
Don & Dee
I was hoping you'd tell us about your trip down the inside channels, thanks. I hope to make that run soon, maybe when the Cathlamet gig is happening the fishing will be closed down and it'll be our time.
Lifejackets on a lab? Isn't that kind of like putting a raincoat on a fish?
I was hoping you'd tell us about your trip down the inside channels, thanks. I hope to make that run soon, maybe when the Cathlamet gig is happening the fishing will be closed down and it'll be our time.
Lifejackets on a lab? Isn't that kind of like putting a raincoat on a fish?
LOL :lol: I knew we'd take grief for that. In fact right before Troy took his dip, I asked Don if he thought our dogs were sissys with the jackets on. I am glad, however, that they did, for our sake as well as theirs. All I could think of was what if we had to be rescued like that couple Tom rescued. I couldn't bear to watch them go down. Maybe this summer when we're trolling in a lake I'll give in and let them ride without the jackets. :smileo
Larry, one word of advice when you do make the trip, use the charts as a guide but you'll have to feel your way across the river. There are several places where you have to cross from one side to the other to stay in deeper water, but they aren't always right where the chart says. Just watch the depth finder. We did make it all the way without churning any mud.
By the way, Tyboo, thanks for the perspective on that part of the river. We've only been there twice and both times were rough. We'll definitely be more prepared next time.
Don and Dee
Larry, one word of advice when you do make the trip, use the charts as a guide but you'll have to feel your way across the river. There are several places where you have to cross from one side to the other to stay in deeper water, but they aren't always right where the chart says. Just watch the depth finder. We did make it all the way without churning any mud.
By the way, Tyboo, thanks for the perspective on that part of the river. We've only been there twice and both times were rough. We'll definitely be more prepared next time.
Don and Dee
Brats,
The "map" below, (as opposed to "chart" that you could navigate with) shows the route we took on the "inside passage" to Astoria from Puget Island where our trip deviated from the main channel. To prepare for the inside passage trip I had the Evergreen Pacific River Cruising Atlas for the Columbia, Willamette & Snake Rivers, pages 9-13. In addition, I had NOS Charts 18523 and 18521. I also had a Garmin 176C chartplotter, (we have since upgraded to a Raymarine C80). Some of the tracks on the chartplotter showed us on dry land, esp. around Devil's Elbow. Hug the north side of Devil's Elbow. Other parts of the trip you have to "feel your way through the shallows". A couple that own a 40 foot Blue Water, 5 foot deep draft trawler took the trip recently in lower water and experienced the same track on "dry land", so the charts are dated. The skipper said he "churned a little mud". Take it slow and enjoy the Lewis and Clark Wildlife Refuge along the way, (we saw many sea lions and a bald eagle). We also saw a dugout canoe underway that was part of the Corps of Discovery in the Knappa Slough, (See page four of our photo album) I hope the map below gives brats less familiar with the area some idea of the area referenced in the thread.
The "map" below, (as opposed to "chart" that you could navigate with) shows the route we took on the "inside passage" to Astoria from Puget Island where our trip deviated from the main channel. To prepare for the inside passage trip I had the Evergreen Pacific River Cruising Atlas for the Columbia, Willamette & Snake Rivers, pages 9-13. In addition, I had NOS Charts 18523 and 18521. I also had a Garmin 176C chartplotter, (we have since upgraded to a Raymarine C80). Some of the tracks on the chartplotter showed us on dry land, esp. around Devil's Elbow. Hug the north side of Devil's Elbow. Other parts of the trip you have to "feel your way through the shallows". A couple that own a 40 foot Blue Water, 5 foot deep draft trawler took the trip recently in lower water and experienced the same track on "dry land", so the charts are dated. The skipper said he "churned a little mud". Take it slow and enjoy the Lewis and Clark Wildlife Refuge along the way, (we saw many sea lions and a bald eagle). We also saw a dugout canoe underway that was part of the Corps of Discovery in the Knappa Slough, (See page four of our photo album) I hope the map below gives brats less familiar with the area some idea of the area referenced in the thread.
AstoriaDave
New member
I paddle these waters frequently, and Knotty C's advice is spot on. The shores of some of the islands (Tronsen and Horseshoe, in particular) which front on the Prairie Channel have eroded considerably since the chart was made. I draw about 4 inches, so I never get hung up, but low water can be very tricky for deeper draft craft.Knotty C":3srtoif9 said:
Depending on the tide stage when you get there, you may also find the stretch from Settlers Point to the John Day River to have some shallow spots.
It is a great route, and one that really shows the flavor of the Lower Columbia. Lots to see, especially waterfowl. Keep your eyes peeled along the upper shore of Marsh for a major heron rookery ... visible up high in the trees, if you have sharp eyes and high water.
It sounds like Chuck and some others took a "channel cruise" during the Cathlamet gathering. We had originally planned to attend the potluck and visit with all of you but we have an annual Easter family event we host and couldn't attend this year. How many boats/Brats took the "channel cruise" and how far did you get? We would like to hear about the trip.
Don and Dee
Don and Dee
Don & Dee
There were 8 boats that took the backwater cruise. A very pleasant trip indeed. We took the back channels all the way to Tongue Point and then took the main shipping channel back to Cathlamet. We looked like a train traveling on the water as everyone was in near perfect single file formation. Two 16 footers, five 22's and one 25.
There were 8 boats that took the backwater cruise. A very pleasant trip indeed. We took the back channels all the way to Tongue Point and then took the main shipping channel back to Cathlamet. We looked like a train traveling on the water as everyone was in near perfect single file formation. Two 16 footers, five 22's and one 25.
That's very cooool :thup That's a nice trip, esp. with some company. I recognized some of scenery in the Cathlamet gathering photo album. The Lewis and Clark Wildlife Refuge is along that trip. Did you see anything of note? We saw a bald eagle and several sea lions along our recent trip.
Don
Don
Chuckpacific
New member
Don,
Although it did nothing to dampen the spirits of the people who made the Cathlamet trip, the weather offered everything from rain, wind, hail, fog, sun and even snow Sunday morning in the hills above the marina. We probably would have seen more wildlife if the weather had been a bit more consistent. In the past I have seen numerous bald eagles and sealions in addition to deer and even elk on the tidal flats.
Nonetheless I think the cruise made some folks (like Ken and Marge) hungry to do a little more exploring in that area especially since there is such a good launch/take-out at Aldrich Point.
In retrospect the only additional advice I have about the route is that when going thru the Devil's Elbow, open your starboard window and make sure you can grab vegetation off the island...that's the best way to make sure you're in the deep channel!
Chuck
Although it did nothing to dampen the spirits of the people who made the Cathlamet trip, the weather offered everything from rain, wind, hail, fog, sun and even snow Sunday morning in the hills above the marina. We probably would have seen more wildlife if the weather had been a bit more consistent. In the past I have seen numerous bald eagles and sealions in addition to deer and even elk on the tidal flats.
Nonetheless I think the cruise made some folks (like Ken and Marge) hungry to do a little more exploring in that area especially since there is such a good launch/take-out at Aldrich Point.
In retrospect the only additional advice I have about the route is that when going thru the Devil's Elbow, open your starboard window and make sure you can grab vegetation off the island...that's the best way to make sure you're in the deep channel!
Chuck
As one of the 8 that made the trip up Prairie Channel, I really appreciated the opportunity to travel with the other boats. I had passed the openings to those islands many times and always wanted to see what was back there. On another note, I learned something that may be valuable in the future. The cruising speed, both comfort and economy, of a 16 is quite a bit different than that of the 22's and 25's. I guess that should be obvious but I never really considered it. If you have a 16 and want to travel with the bigger boats you can't count on going the same speed for any given condition. What was obviously very comfortable and economical for the bigger boats was akward for me. I was either plowing and ineficient while holding position in line or had to go on plane to keep up. Usually not a big deal but I will have to consider it as we prepare for the trip to Princess Louisa. Just a thought.
Chuckpacific
New member
Don...
Cathlamet Cruise
Oregon was originally the Indian word for the Columbia River. America and Great Britain, hearing tales of the great river from the Indians both tried to find it first. British sea captain George Vancouver listened to Spanish explorer Bruno Hecata tell him of evidence of the mouth of a great river at forty-six degrees, seventeen minutes north. He sent Captain Meares south to search for it. Meares emphatically denied the existence of a river instead naming the supposed inlet Deception Bay and its northern headland Cape Disappointment.
Several years later an American sea captain Robert Gray, met Vancouver in the Straits of Juan de Fuca. He told Vancouver that because of strong currents in the area he suspected the existence of a river at forty-six degrees, ten minutes north. Vancouver told Gray it was merely Hecata’s Deception Bay. Still curious, Gray sailed south again and found the river that wasn’t there on May 11, 1792. Dropping anchor at Tongue Point, Gray named the river after his ship, the “Columbia Redivivia”. Gray, born in Rhode Island in 1755, was a fur trader from Boston, on his second voyage to the Oregon coast (his first trip was in 1787 on his way to the Orient, resulting in his becoming the first American merchant to circumnavigate the globe).
Beleaguered by rain and bogs on the north side of the Columbia the Lewis and Clarke party voted to move across the river, on the far side of Cathlamet Point, which the captains called Point Samuel. Moving westward the party called upon an Indian Village named Tle-las-qua, near present day Knappa then moved on camping for the night between Swenson and Tongue Point.
Tenasillahe Island is located in the middle of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 35, just downstream of Puget Island. Tenasillahe Island is one of the many islands in the Julia Butler Wildlife Refuge for Columbia White-tailed deer (Columbian White-tailed Deer National Wildlife Refuge). On the downstream side of Tenasillahe is located Welch Island, one of the many islands in the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge. The Red Slough separates the two islands.
In 1792 Lieutenant William Broughton, of the George Vancouver expedition, passed by Welch Island and Tenasillahe Island on October 25, 1792. In 1805 and 1806, Lewis and Clark called Tenasillahe Island and a nearby smaller island (today's Welch Island) the "Marshy Islands", a descriptive name rather than a naming of the islands.
In 1841, Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Exploring Expedition used the name "Katalamet" for Tenasillahe Island. Tenasillahe Island's present name is composed of two Chinook-jargon words, "tenas," meaning small, and "illahe," meaning land.
Aldrich Point is located on the Oregon side of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 31, at the head of the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge. It is the northernmost point in the state of Oregon. At one time the area was referred to as "Cathlamet Head". Downstream of Aldrich Point is Blind Slough and Knappa Slough and Knappa. Upstream are Clifton and Bradwood and Welch and Tenasillahe Islands. Lewis and Clark camped at Aldrich Point on March 24, 1806, a day after leaving their winter camp of Fort Clatsop. Aldrich Point was named for R.E. Aldrich who once operated a store there. Lewis and Clark called the point "Point Samuel", for Samuel Lewis, a relative of Meriwether Lewis. Samuel Lewis copied the map drawn by Clark in 1814.
Knappa Landing provides access for paddlers and kayakers to the central part of the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge. There is a small cobble beach between an old dock on the left and a private dock on the right.
Blind Slough Swamp is the best example of a Sitka spruce swamp remaining in Oregon. Once common in coastal estuaries from Tillamook to Alaska, this habitat type has been mostly lost in Oregon and Washington to logging, diking and other development. Some of these Sitka Spruces are 400 years old.
In 1912, Whitney Co. at Blind Slough installed baths and single steel bunks with mattresses, an innovation described as a revolutionary in the lumber business but long overdue as far as the loggers were concerned. Body lice and bedbugs were an accepted part of a loggers’ life and steel bunks were no place for the bugs.
Resident bridge tenders wheel the RR bridge at Blind Slough manually into place when trains are due, otherwise they are left open to let boat traffic pass.
Oregon's town of Knappa was named after an early settler Aaron Knapp Jr., and the Knappa post office operated from 1872 to 1943. Not much is left of the turn-of-the-century Knappa. Only a couple houses from the 1914 era exist.
The head of Knappa Slough begins where Blind Slough and Prairie Channel meet, at the southern end of Marsh Island and the eastern end of Karlson Island, two of the islands in the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge. The mouth of Knappa Slough hits Minaker Island and splits into Big Creek Slough and Calendar Slough before merging into Prairie Channel at the southeastern end of Russian Island, at the eastern end of Cathlamet Bay. Downstream of Knappa Slough is Svensen Island, Settler Point, and the location of today's Twilight Eagle Sanctuary, the location of Lewis and Clark's campsite of November 26, 1805.
Svensen, Oregon (often erroneously seen spelled "Svenson"), lies on the south side of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 24. Svensen and Svensen Island were named for Peter Svensen, who reportedly jumped ship in Astoria and settled in the area in 1877. It was not until 1895, however, that the name of the local post office was changed from Bear Creek to Svensen. The Svensen Post Office was in operation from 1895 until 1944.
The Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge is located upstream of Astoria and extends from Tongue Point and Cathlamet Bay upstream to Welch Island, just west of Tenasillahe Island and Puget Island. It includes most of the islands and open water in the Lower Columbia River Estuary between Columbia River Mile (RM) 18 and RM 25. The refuge boundary encompasses 35,000 acres of mostly tidelands and open water, and 8,313 acres of islands and sand bars. The islands are accessible by boat. Some of the islands are visible from U.S. Highway 30, five miles east of Astoria, Oregon. The refuge provides wintering and resting areas for estimated up to 1,000 tundra swans, up to 5,000 geese and up to 30,000 ducks. Other species include shorebirds and bald eagles. Estuarine waters provide vital food resources for juvenile salmon as they pause to become acclimated to salt water before entering the Pacific Ocean.
John Day River was named after the mentally disturbed Virginia backwoodsman. Originally part of the Hunt party (employed by John Jacob Astor) he had crossed the Rockies in present day Wyoming. He had been separated from the party in eastern Oregon and had been robbed and beaten by a group of Wishram Indians who had stripped him of all his clothes and left him to starve. Found by a party of whites he was then taken to Ft Astoria. A problem there, Day was sent back to St Louis early summer of 1812 with the Robert Stuart party.
Pioneers later carved a road from this river to Astoria.
A buoy depot of the U.S. Coast Guard is located on the west side of Tongue Point near the inner end, while on the east side of Tongue Point are the concrete piers of the former naval base, built in 1942.
In 1919 Congress approved the construction of a submarine and destroyer base at Tongue Point, Oregon, and in 1921, Clatsop County transferred ownership of 395 acres to the federal government and dredging began. Construction was completed in 1924, with a breakwater and four wooden finger piers extending into Cathlamet Bay. However, with decreased military appropriation following World War I, the base was never used. In 1939 the actual ground breaking for the naval station began with three out of the four old wooden finger piers being removed. Tongue Point was to be a base for amphibious seaplane patrols of the coastline. This proved difficult due to the logs and other floating debris on the Cathlamet Bay that made takeoffs and landings hazardous. During World War II, the facility's most significant role was a site for pre-commissioning and commissioning escort aircraft carriers (better known as "jeep flattops") built in the big Victory shipyards in the Portland-Vancouver area. Other wartime activities included aircrew training and routine patrol flights. Following World War II, the base was converted to a moorage facility for the Ready Reserve fleet, and eight new concrete piers were built out into Cathlamet Bay. From 1946 to 1962, the U.S. Navy stored as many as 250 mothballed Liberty ships at Tongue Point. In 1962 Tongue Point Naval Air Station was deactivated.
Grays Bay is a large shallow bay on the Washington side of the Columbia River, and extends from Grays Point at Columbia River Mile (RM) 20, east to Harrington Point at RM 24. Mudflats lie in the northeast section of bay. Miller Point lies at the northernmost tip of the bay and is flanked by Deep River on the west and Grays River on the east. Upstream of Grays Bay are Altoona, Washington and Pillar Rock, and downstream of the bay are Megler, Washington and Point Ellice. Grays Bay was named by Lieutenant William Broughton of the George Vancouver expedition, who, in 1792 named the bay after the American Captain Robert Gray, the first European to explore the mouth of the Columbia River.
Altoona, Washington, is located on the eastern side of Grays Bay, at Columbia River Mile (RM) 24, just upstream of Harrington Point. In the early 1900s Altoona became one of six fish-buying stations and canneries operating within a six-mile stretch of the Columbia River in the Grays Bay area. Eventually before the decline of the salmon industry, 39 canneries would line the banks of the lower Columbia River. Altoona was also a major stop for steamers traveling between Astoria and Portland. In the 1830s the Hudson’s Bay Company used the Altoona site as a fish receiving station and saltery. In the early 1890s Millar Sands (the shallows offshore from Altoona) provided good salmon seining grounds. William Hume, long-time fish entrepreneur opened a fish-receiving station. Eagle Cliff is located on the Washington side of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) _____, just downstream from County Park Line and upstream of Cathlamet. Eagle Cliff was the site of the first salmon cannery in the Pacific Northwest, established in 1865 (another source says 1866) by brothers G.W. and William Hume. According to Keith Hay in The Lewis and Clark Columbia River Water Trail (2004) during the spring of 1867 the brothers packed four thousand cases of forty-eight cans each. By 1868 they were producing over 6,200 cases, much of which would be exported to Australia. By 1874 there were 12 canneries in business between Astoria and Portland, and by 1881 there were 35 canneries. In 1883 there were 55 canneries operating on the Columbia. Salmon harvests peaked in the early 1880s, with canneries producing more than 600,000 cases in a season. Salmon were so abundant in the early years of the industry canneries were not able to pack the number that were caught. The last Columbia River cannery shut down in 1980. The salmon decline became noticeable by 1887 and by 1950 the commercial salmon industry on the Columbia River was over. William Hume who found eagles nesting above the town named the location Eagle Cliff.
The 1888 U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries's "Chart of the Columbia River from the Ocean to Portland, Oregon, illustrating the condition of the salmon fishery, season of 1888-9" has "Eagle Cliff Cannery" located on the upstream side of the point and "Eureka Cannery" on the downstream side of the point.
In 1903, Hans Peterson (originally an employee of Hume) logged 830 acres of property at the station, named the new community "Altoona" (after his home town of "Altona", Germany, a major fish-processing city on the Elbe River) and began the Altoona Mercantile and Fish Company Cannery. By 1910 the Altoona Cannery ranked fourth among the Columbia River canneries. A fleet of 25-foot sail-rigged gillnet boats operated out of Altoona fishing at night, when nets were invisible to the salmon.
In 1935 a "road" reached Altoona. In 1947 with the decline of the Columbia River salmon industry, the Altoona Cannery closed. In 1978, Altoona's "Columbia River Gillnet Boat" at the Altoona Cannery was added to the National Register of Historic Places (Structure #78002783) as an important part of the fishing industry along the Columbia River between 1900 and 1924.
Pillar Rock is located on the Washington side of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 27, just off of Jim Crow Point. Three miles downstream was located the old fishing cannery at Altoona, with Harrington Point, the eastern end of Grays Bay to the west. At one time Pillar Rock stood 75 to 100 feet above the water (depending on the tide) before being flattened for installation of a navigation marker (Marker 17) and a light. Today Pillar Rock stands about 25 feet above the Columbia River surface. According to a Wahkiakum myth, the rock was named "Taluaptea", after a chief who displeased the spirits and was turned to stone.
The Washington town of Skamokawa is located on the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 33.5, where Steamboat Slough joins the mouth of the Skamokawa Creek. Skamokawa was founded in 1844. Originally the town was a river community known as "Little Venice", and was visited daily by large stern wheel steamboats running between Portland and Astoria. The homes and businesses were built facing the river. In 1917 that the town was linked by road to the neighboring communities, and in the early 1930s Washington State Highway 4 was finished linking Skamokawa to the rest of the state. The name "Skamokawa" is an original Chinook Indian name meaning, "Smoke on the water", referring to the fog often encountered at the mouth of Skamokawa Creek.
Cathlamet Cruise
Oregon was originally the Indian word for the Columbia River. America and Great Britain, hearing tales of the great river from the Indians both tried to find it first. British sea captain George Vancouver listened to Spanish explorer Bruno Hecata tell him of evidence of the mouth of a great river at forty-six degrees, seventeen minutes north. He sent Captain Meares south to search for it. Meares emphatically denied the existence of a river instead naming the supposed inlet Deception Bay and its northern headland Cape Disappointment.
Several years later an American sea captain Robert Gray, met Vancouver in the Straits of Juan de Fuca. He told Vancouver that because of strong currents in the area he suspected the existence of a river at forty-six degrees, ten minutes north. Vancouver told Gray it was merely Hecata’s Deception Bay. Still curious, Gray sailed south again and found the river that wasn’t there on May 11, 1792. Dropping anchor at Tongue Point, Gray named the river after his ship, the “Columbia Redivivia”. Gray, born in Rhode Island in 1755, was a fur trader from Boston, on his second voyage to the Oregon coast (his first trip was in 1787 on his way to the Orient, resulting in his becoming the first American merchant to circumnavigate the globe).
Beleaguered by rain and bogs on the north side of the Columbia the Lewis and Clarke party voted to move across the river, on the far side of Cathlamet Point, which the captains called Point Samuel. Moving westward the party called upon an Indian Village named Tle-las-qua, near present day Knappa then moved on camping for the night between Swenson and Tongue Point.
Tenasillahe Island is located in the middle of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 35, just downstream of Puget Island. Tenasillahe Island is one of the many islands in the Julia Butler Wildlife Refuge for Columbia White-tailed deer (Columbian White-tailed Deer National Wildlife Refuge). On the downstream side of Tenasillahe is located Welch Island, one of the many islands in the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge. The Red Slough separates the two islands.
In 1792 Lieutenant William Broughton, of the George Vancouver expedition, passed by Welch Island and Tenasillahe Island on October 25, 1792. In 1805 and 1806, Lewis and Clark called Tenasillahe Island and a nearby smaller island (today's Welch Island) the "Marshy Islands", a descriptive name rather than a naming of the islands.
In 1841, Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Exploring Expedition used the name "Katalamet" for Tenasillahe Island. Tenasillahe Island's present name is composed of two Chinook-jargon words, "tenas," meaning small, and "illahe," meaning land.
Aldrich Point is located on the Oregon side of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 31, at the head of the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge. It is the northernmost point in the state of Oregon. At one time the area was referred to as "Cathlamet Head". Downstream of Aldrich Point is Blind Slough and Knappa Slough and Knappa. Upstream are Clifton and Bradwood and Welch and Tenasillahe Islands. Lewis and Clark camped at Aldrich Point on March 24, 1806, a day after leaving their winter camp of Fort Clatsop. Aldrich Point was named for R.E. Aldrich who once operated a store there. Lewis and Clark called the point "Point Samuel", for Samuel Lewis, a relative of Meriwether Lewis. Samuel Lewis copied the map drawn by Clark in 1814.
Knappa Landing provides access for paddlers and kayakers to the central part of the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge. There is a small cobble beach between an old dock on the left and a private dock on the right.
Blind Slough Swamp is the best example of a Sitka spruce swamp remaining in Oregon. Once common in coastal estuaries from Tillamook to Alaska, this habitat type has been mostly lost in Oregon and Washington to logging, diking and other development. Some of these Sitka Spruces are 400 years old.
In 1912, Whitney Co. at Blind Slough installed baths and single steel bunks with mattresses, an innovation described as a revolutionary in the lumber business but long overdue as far as the loggers were concerned. Body lice and bedbugs were an accepted part of a loggers’ life and steel bunks were no place for the bugs.
Resident bridge tenders wheel the RR bridge at Blind Slough manually into place when trains are due, otherwise they are left open to let boat traffic pass.
Oregon's town of Knappa was named after an early settler Aaron Knapp Jr., and the Knappa post office operated from 1872 to 1943. Not much is left of the turn-of-the-century Knappa. Only a couple houses from the 1914 era exist.
The head of Knappa Slough begins where Blind Slough and Prairie Channel meet, at the southern end of Marsh Island and the eastern end of Karlson Island, two of the islands in the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge. The mouth of Knappa Slough hits Minaker Island and splits into Big Creek Slough and Calendar Slough before merging into Prairie Channel at the southeastern end of Russian Island, at the eastern end of Cathlamet Bay. Downstream of Knappa Slough is Svensen Island, Settler Point, and the location of today's Twilight Eagle Sanctuary, the location of Lewis and Clark's campsite of November 26, 1805.
Svensen, Oregon (often erroneously seen spelled "Svenson"), lies on the south side of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 24. Svensen and Svensen Island were named for Peter Svensen, who reportedly jumped ship in Astoria and settled in the area in 1877. It was not until 1895, however, that the name of the local post office was changed from Bear Creek to Svensen. The Svensen Post Office was in operation from 1895 until 1944.
The Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge is located upstream of Astoria and extends from Tongue Point and Cathlamet Bay upstream to Welch Island, just west of Tenasillahe Island and Puget Island. It includes most of the islands and open water in the Lower Columbia River Estuary between Columbia River Mile (RM) 18 and RM 25. The refuge boundary encompasses 35,000 acres of mostly tidelands and open water, and 8,313 acres of islands and sand bars. The islands are accessible by boat. Some of the islands are visible from U.S. Highway 30, five miles east of Astoria, Oregon. The refuge provides wintering and resting areas for estimated up to 1,000 tundra swans, up to 5,000 geese and up to 30,000 ducks. Other species include shorebirds and bald eagles. Estuarine waters provide vital food resources for juvenile salmon as they pause to become acclimated to salt water before entering the Pacific Ocean.
John Day River was named after the mentally disturbed Virginia backwoodsman. Originally part of the Hunt party (employed by John Jacob Astor) he had crossed the Rockies in present day Wyoming. He had been separated from the party in eastern Oregon and had been robbed and beaten by a group of Wishram Indians who had stripped him of all his clothes and left him to starve. Found by a party of whites he was then taken to Ft Astoria. A problem there, Day was sent back to St Louis early summer of 1812 with the Robert Stuart party.
Pioneers later carved a road from this river to Astoria.
A buoy depot of the U.S. Coast Guard is located on the west side of Tongue Point near the inner end, while on the east side of Tongue Point are the concrete piers of the former naval base, built in 1942.
In 1919 Congress approved the construction of a submarine and destroyer base at Tongue Point, Oregon, and in 1921, Clatsop County transferred ownership of 395 acres to the federal government and dredging began. Construction was completed in 1924, with a breakwater and four wooden finger piers extending into Cathlamet Bay. However, with decreased military appropriation following World War I, the base was never used. In 1939 the actual ground breaking for the naval station began with three out of the four old wooden finger piers being removed. Tongue Point was to be a base for amphibious seaplane patrols of the coastline. This proved difficult due to the logs and other floating debris on the Cathlamet Bay that made takeoffs and landings hazardous. During World War II, the facility's most significant role was a site for pre-commissioning and commissioning escort aircraft carriers (better known as "jeep flattops") built in the big Victory shipyards in the Portland-Vancouver area. Other wartime activities included aircrew training and routine patrol flights. Following World War II, the base was converted to a moorage facility for the Ready Reserve fleet, and eight new concrete piers were built out into Cathlamet Bay. From 1946 to 1962, the U.S. Navy stored as many as 250 mothballed Liberty ships at Tongue Point. In 1962 Tongue Point Naval Air Station was deactivated.
Grays Bay is a large shallow bay on the Washington side of the Columbia River, and extends from Grays Point at Columbia River Mile (RM) 20, east to Harrington Point at RM 24. Mudflats lie in the northeast section of bay. Miller Point lies at the northernmost tip of the bay and is flanked by Deep River on the west and Grays River on the east. Upstream of Grays Bay are Altoona, Washington and Pillar Rock, and downstream of the bay are Megler, Washington and Point Ellice. Grays Bay was named by Lieutenant William Broughton of the George Vancouver expedition, who, in 1792 named the bay after the American Captain Robert Gray, the first European to explore the mouth of the Columbia River.
Altoona, Washington, is located on the eastern side of Grays Bay, at Columbia River Mile (RM) 24, just upstream of Harrington Point. In the early 1900s Altoona became one of six fish-buying stations and canneries operating within a six-mile stretch of the Columbia River in the Grays Bay area. Eventually before the decline of the salmon industry, 39 canneries would line the banks of the lower Columbia River. Altoona was also a major stop for steamers traveling between Astoria and Portland. In the 1830s the Hudson’s Bay Company used the Altoona site as a fish receiving station and saltery. In the early 1890s Millar Sands (the shallows offshore from Altoona) provided good salmon seining grounds. William Hume, long-time fish entrepreneur opened a fish-receiving station. Eagle Cliff is located on the Washington side of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) _____, just downstream from County Park Line and upstream of Cathlamet. Eagle Cliff was the site of the first salmon cannery in the Pacific Northwest, established in 1865 (another source says 1866) by brothers G.W. and William Hume. According to Keith Hay in The Lewis and Clark Columbia River Water Trail (2004) during the spring of 1867 the brothers packed four thousand cases of forty-eight cans each. By 1868 they were producing over 6,200 cases, much of which would be exported to Australia. By 1874 there were 12 canneries in business between Astoria and Portland, and by 1881 there were 35 canneries. In 1883 there were 55 canneries operating on the Columbia. Salmon harvests peaked in the early 1880s, with canneries producing more than 600,000 cases in a season. Salmon were so abundant in the early years of the industry canneries were not able to pack the number that were caught. The last Columbia River cannery shut down in 1980. The salmon decline became noticeable by 1887 and by 1950 the commercial salmon industry on the Columbia River was over. William Hume who found eagles nesting above the town named the location Eagle Cliff.
The 1888 U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries's "Chart of the Columbia River from the Ocean to Portland, Oregon, illustrating the condition of the salmon fishery, season of 1888-9" has "Eagle Cliff Cannery" located on the upstream side of the point and "Eureka Cannery" on the downstream side of the point.
In 1903, Hans Peterson (originally an employee of Hume) logged 830 acres of property at the station, named the new community "Altoona" (after his home town of "Altona", Germany, a major fish-processing city on the Elbe River) and began the Altoona Mercantile and Fish Company Cannery. By 1910 the Altoona Cannery ranked fourth among the Columbia River canneries. A fleet of 25-foot sail-rigged gillnet boats operated out of Altoona fishing at night, when nets were invisible to the salmon.
In 1935 a "road" reached Altoona. In 1947 with the decline of the Columbia River salmon industry, the Altoona Cannery closed. In 1978, Altoona's "Columbia River Gillnet Boat" at the Altoona Cannery was added to the National Register of Historic Places (Structure #78002783) as an important part of the fishing industry along the Columbia River between 1900 and 1924.
Pillar Rock is located on the Washington side of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 27, just off of Jim Crow Point. Three miles downstream was located the old fishing cannery at Altoona, with Harrington Point, the eastern end of Grays Bay to the west. At one time Pillar Rock stood 75 to 100 feet above the water (depending on the tide) before being flattened for installation of a navigation marker (Marker 17) and a light. Today Pillar Rock stands about 25 feet above the Columbia River surface. According to a Wahkiakum myth, the rock was named "Taluaptea", after a chief who displeased the spirits and was turned to stone.
The Washington town of Skamokawa is located on the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 33.5, where Steamboat Slough joins the mouth of the Skamokawa Creek. Skamokawa was founded in 1844. Originally the town was a river community known as "Little Venice", and was visited daily by large stern wheel steamboats running between Portland and Astoria. The homes and businesses were built facing the river. In 1917 that the town was linked by road to the neighboring communities, and in the early 1930s Washington State Highway 4 was finished linking Skamokawa to the rest of the state. The name "Skamokawa" is an original Chinook Indian name meaning, "Smoke on the water", referring to the fog often encountered at the mouth of Skamokawa Creek.
Chuckpacific
New member
...fortunately I still had the thing in word.........
Mr. Fisherman
New member
Wow, thanks for sharing...
I wish I had made the cruise.
I hope to have another opportunity as I really like that part of the river...
I wish I had made the cruise.
I hope to have another opportunity as I really like that part of the river...
Chuck - thank you for posting the historical handout. I really find this type of information very interesting. I did not make the cruise but still plan on exploring the area by boat.
I had a chance to buy a ghost town on the Washington side about 30+ years ago. Didn't do it and don't remember the name of it or exactly where it is now. I think it was West of Deep River on the Columbia River. The road to it was an un-improved dirt road and not passable at the time. Had to walk in to it. There was a dozen or so structures there at the time and if I remember right, a couple were still inhabitable. Do you have any idea where this might be and if any buildings are still standing?
I had a chance to buy a ghost town on the Washington side about 30+ years ago. Didn't do it and don't remember the name of it or exactly where it is now. I think it was West of Deep River on the Columbia River. The road to it was an un-improved dirt road and not passable at the time. Had to walk in to it. There was a dozen or so structures there at the time and if I remember right, a couple were still inhabitable. Do you have any idea where this might be and if any buildings are still standing?
AstoriaDave
New member
Gotta be Frankfort, inside and upstream of Grays Point, 30 years ago inhabited mostly by back to the land folks, originally a 19th century pipe dream western terminus of a railroad that was supposed to run along the WA shore of the Columbis (picture the engineering involved in that!!!).oldgrowth":2sq1ckgd said:
Frankfort is still largely in the hands of one person, Bev Aspmo, in her high '70's. Lives in Astoria and does volunteer work at the Flavel House Museum with my fiancee's mom. Don't know if Bev wants to sell it. Got some nice timber on it, so it won't be cheap!
There was a PTSD-ed 'Nam vet out there five years back, taking pot shots at visitors, who got "escorted" away by the Sheriff.
Squatters have made a mess of the few structures remaining. It is fascinating to walk the old roads and paths in Frankfort, many still easy to follow under giant maples. All the landward access roads are gated, but you can walk or mountain bike in (about 6 miles, some of it hilly), or anchor off and dinghy ashore. Avoid the posted private property in the creek bottom.
Another ghost town was Brookfield, just down stream from the mouth of Jim Crow Creek and upstream from JC Point. It succumbed to the wrecking ball and all the structures were torched in the early '70's when Crown Z acquired the townsite and converted it to a booming area for logs. Oldsters who lived there claim it was haunted, driving the Slavs across the river, establishing the float houses on the downstream end of Woody Island -- not sure when, but probably 1930's or so.
Chuck wrote: The Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge is located upstream of Astoria and extends from Tongue Point and Cathlamet Bay upstream to Welch Island, just west of Tenasillahee Island and Puget Island. It includes most of the islands and open water in the Lower Columbia River Estuary between Columbia River Mile (RM) 18 and RM 25.
Chuck's guide and historical abstract of this region is a masterpiece.
The above is the only error I could find: actually, the Refuge includes every blinking island from Puget Island to Tongue Point, except the small unnamed island just upstream of Tenasillahee, which is State owned, and the only place you can legally camp ashore. [People do cheat -- not saying where or when!]. That means all of Tenasillahee inside the dike is also Refuge. They don't care if you walk the dike, which is kept open for vehicles, but you can't go inside the dike. Too bad. I hear it's very cool in there.
Tenasillahee was a dairy farm until the 1960's, when it was deeded over to the Feds for the Refuge. Once talked to a guy in his 80's who left Tenasillahee in 1920 (he was 10) -- quite a story about how all the dairies in the Lower Columbia made cheese and shipped it to market on the steamer. Could not market their milk because there was no way to refrigerate it.
And then there was the WW II vintage Navy fuel depot, camoflaged, on Three Tree Point. Still some relics in there.
I could go on ... but I'll stop!