Historic Hood River
Our Population, 622.
Notes
When the calendar clicked forward to 1900 The Hood River Glacier took on the ambitious task of conducting its own door-to-door census of the city’s population. There is no way to know how accurate it was (where are the children?) but it is the most detailed view we have of who was living here then. “L L L Co.” stands for “Lost Lake Lumber Company” which we know had just established a mill at the base of the Hood River, which within a few years they moved up to Dee.
It appears they continues this incredible effort through Hood River’s greatest growth spurt, ending with the January 1909 count of 2313:Â the population almost quadrupled in less than a decade.
For your reference purposes, here are The Hood River Glacier census counts from 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, and 1909. I have been unable to find the census from 1907 or 1908. Perhaps they were published in a special edition we don’t have.
Jeffrey Bryant
The listings do not include other county residents outside of the city.
The History Museum may have telephone directories that could fill in the gaps for the missing years.
Arthur Babitz
The museum does also have telephone directories and Polk’s directories. I was planning a post on them shortly, as I am working to put them online for easy access. While this list is only the city (adult?) population it is an incredibly rich source of info as it includes employers/professions.
Alan Winston
That’s only about 300 names, mostly with occupations. The 622 could include children, unlisted spouses, maybe the unemployed?
Arthur Babitz
That makes sense, Alan. I think the term “directory” had a more specific meaning back then. This is very much like the “Polk Directory” which seems to be mostly a list of people engaged in commerce.
Jeffrey Bryant
I look forward to seeing the old directories on-line. I’m still going through the new set of Hood River Glaciers.