Historic Hood River
First Car At Cloud Cap
7-26-2013
Notes
The year is 1916. According to the caption, this Dodge was the first car to make it up to Cloud Cap Inn under its own power. The men are identified as Harry and Joe Thomison, along with W.E. DeWitt.
charlott
I think we saw this car before. Who is the 4th man, does anyone know?
Had to have been a rough ride and wonder how long it took them once they left what we know as Cooper Spur Junction to get up there?
l.e.
We have seen Harry DeWitt, but I think this is the first mention of a W.E. DeWitt.
There was another DeWitt family in the Hood River area but I could never make a connection to Harry.
Did those old cars have shocks?
Arthur
Remember this was in the days of the old wagon road which runs straight up the hillside. The "modern" road with switchbacks and moderate grade was built in the 1920’s.
Buzz
I don’t doubt those old cars were rough riding, but from my limited time in my youth playing cowboys and indians on horses, I don’t remember a bare backed horse being that smooth a ride either. They probably thought riding on a car seat was a big improvement.
nels
Obviously summer time with leafy vegetation, but I dare say a comparison of snow pack would be quite different today.
Arthur
We have so many pictures of Mt. Hood from this vantage point, and many of them are dated. Maybe someone will make use of the collection to document the changes in snowpack over the decades.
l.e.
I would be interested to see comparisons of the mountain in the 1930’s.
I think that decade was a time of odd weather.
Joe Garoutte
This s from another article in this archive:
"With the spring of 1905 came Howard M. Covey with a single cylinder Cadillac, and a ï¬rm determination to reach Cloud Cap Inn. Mr. Covey brought with him S. S. Baldwin, driving a four, cylinder 30-horse power Pierce Great Arrow.
The water in the Columbia was high at this time and the two cars were taken oï¬ the boat in front of the O. R. & N. depot. The news that there were two automobiles in town spread like wildï¬re. The verdict of the crowd which quickly gathered was that they would never make the stiff climb to the depot. But both cars made it without apparent effort.
Early next morning Mr. Covey and "Baldy," as he afterward became known to all the residents of the valley, together with two passengers, made the trip to Cloud Cap Inn. The picture shows Mr. Covey and one of the passengers on the snow back of the Inn. The picture above shows the car climbing the steps at the Inn. This is the ï¬rst car which ever reached the Inn, and is a record for the Cadillac.
On the return trip Mr. Covey, leaving his passengers at the Inn, attempted to make a speed record. As he tore down Booth’s hill and came to the cross road he did not know which way to turn. Coatless, his hat lost somewhere on the road far back, his hair clipped close to his head and followed by a cloud of dust, it is no "˜wonder that C. R. Bone, who was working in his orchard nearby, mistook him for an escaped convict, and on being asked which road to take, replied, "Keep right on going!"
Mr. Covey’s success on this trip proved the feasibility of the automobile as a stage. Since that time the "Cloud Cap Inn Auto Stage" has been a common sight during the summer months."