138
WEST SHORE.
THE DALLES AND VICINITY.
The Dalles, Vancouver and Astoria ire the three historic towns on the
Columbia river. They are the oldest towns in the northwest and about
them cluster most of the Important events in the early history of this coun
try. The Dalles Is the farthest up the river of the three. It is located at
the foot of the greatest obstruction In the channel of the Columbia, from
which the city takes its name. The Canadian voyageurs and other west
ward bound pilgrims of the early day eiperienced more or less serious in
convenience in being obliged to make portage around the dalles of
the river, and the aborigines of that locality were always troublesome.
Their thievish propensities were abnormally developed. With the excep
tion of the comparatively small obstruction at the cascades the river was
free from the dalles to the sea, and where The Dalles was built seemed an
advantageous point to establish settlement. In 1838 the Methodists lo
cated a mission there, and the Catholics two years later did the same, both
of which have been maintained to the present time. During the Indian
war of 1855-58, The Dalles was the base of military operations, and a mili
tary post waa established on the lightly timbered elope back of where the
town is located. After about a decade the poet was abandoned, but during
lta continuance it served an Important purpose. When the interior country
became sufficiently settled to render commercial channels necessary The
Dalles became an Important point on the river and as the volume of busi
ness increased the town at the lower end of the portage grew and at length
became live commercial city. The building of the Oregon Railway 4
Navigation line up the Columbia gave the town an additional prominence
and pushed it ahead in a business way. The railway shops were located
there as the most convenient point on
the division. The wide stretch of fer
tile country to the southward became
attractive to settlers and the vast
quantities of produce from that sec
tion sought shipment by way of The
Dalles. Thus it beceme a market of
the first importance.
The Dalles is the seat of justice
of Wasco which is one of the largest
counties in Oregon and baa a great
variety of physical features and pro
ductions. The county lies east of the
crest of Die Cascade mountains, in
cluding within its limits that famous
old peak Mount Hood, and its north
ern border is washed by the Colum
bia river. At The Dalles the river is
1,600 feet wide and of an average
depth at low water of eighty-five feet.
In the eastern part of the county the
rise back from the river Is quite grad
ual but in the west it is abrupt where
the stream cuts lta way through the
heart of the rugged mountain range.
The mountainous section Is covered with valuable timber. It would seem
to lie a dllllcult problem to get the timber out of so rugged a country but It
Is solved very easily. Haw mills are put in operation in the mountain fast
nesses and the lumber is " flumed " out to the city at very small expense.
The Dalles claims the distinction of being the largest primary wool mar
ket in the I'nlted Htatea. The annual shipments from that section aggre
gate aliout 5,uO0,0OO pounds. Wool la marketed at The Dalles from interior
points 200 miles distant, and tint Is the greatest wool raising section of the
state. Hince the first of this year about 125,0(10 sheep pelts have been
shipped from the city and large number of hides would also have'been
marketed but for the extremely low price which mule it hardly worth the
while to bother with them. The live stock shipments this seaton will ag
gregate alwut 300 cars. About 100,000 bushels of grain are sent away and
a flour mill with a rapacity of 100 barrels daily is kept running on the local
product. Probably a quarter of the grain supply comes from Klickitat
county, Washington, on the opposite side of the river, and a good deal of
other (arm produce from the other side finds a market in The Dalles. A
steam ferry plies on the river, rendering communication across the stream
easy.
A short time ago The Dalles Issued bonds to the amount of (100,000 for
funds to improve its water works plant. The credit of the city was so good
that the bonds brought $101,100. The work of Improving the water service
is now In progress. The city has macadamised streets, a good sewerage
system and electric lights. A franchise has been granted for an electric
street railway. The Dalles has excellent educational advantages. In addi
tion to four public schools buildings, In which fourteen teachers are em
ployed, there is the Wasco Independent Academy and a Catholic boarding
school for girls. The city has half t doaen churches. There are two weekly
three hotels and three banking houses, two of the Utter bring
T It 2s buildings are of brick and stone and of modern
M ?n ' Jhi ec e. One of the finest theaters in Eastern Oregon 1, lo-
i Tl Dal t The value of building improvements made during the
2 i IS aw the public bailding9 we cwdit-
8b'CS the river from the city of The D.lle. i. the town of North
Pall It ison agentle elope riBing to. shelf ata moderate jelevat.on above
to river, affording as fine a location for a town as could be found anywhere.
hat the movement lately indicates the establishment of a flourishing city on
the north side of the river. The road affording an outlet to the greater por
ion of Klickitat county, Washington, reaches the Columbia at that point.
The location is bo favorable that a large shoe manufacturing concern is about
to erect a factory at North Dalles that will employ 500 hand, and will turn
out 125 cases of boots and shoes daily when completed. Construction has
already been begun and a portion of the plant is under contract to be in op
eration in February. This one factory will be sufficient to give employ
ment to the inhabitants of a good sized town. The land has been platted
though it is not yet on the market. Some idea of the factory may be ob
tained from the engraving on another page of this paper. A steam ferry
plies between North Dalles and The Dalles rendering communication at all
times convenient, and the advantages in favor of the former place as a
pleasant residence locality are likely to make that attractive for those who
do business ou the Oregon side of the river. The property all around the
town plat is valuable, which contributes not a little to the desirableness of
the platted portion itself. Its growth must be rapid and by the time the
shoe factory is completed it will have
1,000 inhabitants.
Immediately below the dalles of
the river there is a considerable en
largement of the stream and what is
known as Terminal bay indents the
Washington shore. It baa an area of
several acres of deep water and seems
calculated by nature for accommoda
ting the river commerce that must
make the portage around the obstruc
tion in the channel of the stream.
The boat rajlway, which the govern
ment proposes to construct between
the navigable portions of the Colum
bia at that point, will commence at
Terminal bay and run up the river
some nine miles to the open water
above Celilo falls. A bill appropria
ting $2,800,000 for that enterprise
passed the United States senate at
the last session of congress, but as
usual with appropriations of that char
actor it did not become a law in the
congress in which the measure was
formulated. No other feasible scheme for circumventing that obstruction
so navigation has been proposed, however, and the plan will surely be
adopted and carried into operation before long. This one enterprise will be
sullicient to sustain a city on Terminal bay. A town has been platted there
and called Grand Palles. The Farmers A Merchants' railway, designed
primarily to sffbrd better portage facilities than are now enjoyed, and also
intended to reach a tract of productive country that has not had adequate
traniKrtation, starts from Grand Dalles. The iron on tills road is now be
ing laid and trains will be running early next year. This company also
contemplates running a line of steamers to Portland. The Hunt road is be
ing located along the river on its way to Portland, and will pass through
the newly-platted town. The river is so narrow at the dalles that it can be
easily bridged there, and railways contemplating crossing the stream are
anxious to get control of that point for a bridge, and congress bas granted
the right to erect such a structure there. It is likely that The Dalles, Klick
itat & Goldendale road will soon construct a line through Klickitat county
to a connection with the Northern Pacific at Kennewick. This line is defi
nitely located and will have terminal facilities and shops at Grand Dalles.
The Great Northern has also asked for terminal grounds there. The town
promises to be the greatest railroad center in Eastern Oregon. The loca
tion is most admirable for a city, and the traneportallon lines aiming for
that point insure Its commercial prominence. The towneite is level, it has (
picturefque surroundings, and is so located that it will command a large '
volume of the business of the inland empire.
The engravings presented on another page of this paper give a good
Idea of the river, looking southwest from Grand Dalles, and shows some of
the improvements that have been made about both the old town and the
new sites. The buildings compare favorably with any In the state.
r--
TIIS VOHT BLOCK, THE DAI.1.KS, OREGON.