Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2009)
8 • The Southwest Portland Post FEATURES January 2009 Oregonian history columnist ‘wrong in every aspect’ about Capitol Highway By Don Snedecor The Southwest Portland Post In John Terry’s history column, “First wagons easier to pin than the last,” (The Oregonian, November 30, 2008) Tim Lyman wondered about Southwest Portland’s Capitol Highway. Lyman: “Seems to me that it was named Capitol Highway because it was the road that went to the Capi- tol (Salem),” he wrote. “Am I correct in this idea? I have also heard that portions of Capitol Highway were some of the first concrete roads in the USA.” According to Terry, Capitol High- way got its name from Capitol Hill, which, according to Eugene Snyder’s “Portland Names and Neighbor- hoods,” was “a small hill in southwest Portland developed with residential property. There was a ‘Capitol Hill’ subdivision in 1907.” So far, so good. But that doesn’t explain Capitol Highway, and Snyder doesn’t take us down that road. Other sources I checked are even less satisfactory. My guess is the subdivision developers wanted a name suggesting easy access to their tract and came up with the name to convince potential buyers that 1907 Hupmobiles could easily make the grade. Over time the thoroughfare grew to somewhat warrant its appel- lation. As for its being the route to the state “Capitol,” that doesn’t fly because, at least for Portland’s west side, that was Boones Ferry Road, which wound its way south to the Willamette crossing olD MultNoMah at Wilsonville and on to Salem and predates Capitol Highway by a good half-century. I’m also somewhat doubtful Capitol Highway can lay claim to being among the first concrete-paved highways in the nation, but it’s possible. This much is for sure, courtesy of the Port- land Cement Association: “The first concrete highway constructed in the United States was a 24 mile (38.6 km) long, 9 ft (2.7m) wide, 5 in. (12.7 cm) thick strip of concrete pavement built near Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in 1913 -- five years after the introduction of the Model T Ford. By 1914, portland cement concrete had been used to pave 2,348 miles (3778 km) of roadway.” If Capitol Highway’s builders used it, did that put it among that first year’s 2,348 miles? Who knows? Be- fore 1913 there was no Oregon High- way Commission, no state highways, and county road departments were notoriously lax in both construction and record keeping. In a letter to John Terry, copied to The Post, Lyman replied: I don’t know what your sources are, or if you even bothered to check any, but you are wrong in every respect about Capitol Highway. It was a highway, it did go the state capitol, and that’s why it was named Capi- tol Highway. Capitol Highway was a segment of the original Pacific Highway, predecessor to US99 and later I5, which was laid out in 1912-1913. Capitol Highway was purpose built A jitney stops along Capitol Highway near Bertha Station circa 1930. (Post file photo) for automobile traffic and was one of the first paved automobile high- ways in the country. Paving started in 1914, Capitol Highway was completely paved by 1915 and the entire Pacific Highway from Canada to Mexico was com- pletely paved by 1922. Boone’s Ferry road did precede Capitol Highway, but it was never part of any highway system. Attached are the frontispiece from the State of Oregon First An- nual Report of the Highway Engineer Period Ending November 30, 1914 and the page that references Capitol Highway as going to Salem. Also attached are two pages from the Automobile Blue Book of 1919, Vol 9. There is a map of roads around NW Oregon and a passage outlining the route from Portland to Salem via the Capitol Highway. The Blue Book is not a government publication, but was considered to be the most authoritative source of road information in the early days of motoring. A simple search “capitol high- way” on Google books would have yielded you the same results. Even a simple search for “Capitol High- way” on Wikipedia would have yielded the correct answer. The book That ribbon of high- way III : Highway 99 through the Pacific Northwest, available at the Multnomah County Library also describes Capitol Highway. The Multnomah County Library also has a fine selection of early twen- tieth century Oregon road maps. PoSt a to Z BuSINESS caRD DIREctoRy 503-244-6933 Cosas Bonitas Oregon 'Beautiful Things' from Latin America Fair Trade Indigenous Fine Folkart & Crafts Large Selection, Great Prices • Very Fine Mexican Huichol Indian Beaded Art, Yarn Art & Jewelry • Oaxacan Tin Mirrors, Pottery, Carvings, Day of the Dead Art Plus Much More! By appointment in Hillsdale • 971-212-3505 Open House December 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21 From 12PM–5PM Call for directions or look for 'Mexican Fair Trade' street Signs in the area. www.cosasbonitasoregon.com
