Historic Hood River
“Good Roads” Movement 1912
6-11-2013
Notes
The “who’s who” of Hood River was invited to Maryhill on May 5, 1912 to tour Sam Hill’s demonstration highway. Their efforts were aimed at securing approval of the Columbia River Highway project, which changed Hood River in profound ways. Present that day were:
- C.K. Marshall
- O.H. Rhoades
- G.A. McCurdy
- Roy D. Smith
- W.L. Clark
- Murray Kay
- Samuel Hill (Host)
- Clarence Gilbert
- W.E. King
- C.P. McCan
- Leslie Butler
- R.E. Scott
charlott
That is the fountain at the corner where you come up from Columbus (Maryhill) and make the turn in front of the old stone store to go out to the location of the Meadow Lark Inn, Annex, Kidder House , Maryhill Land Office and Stonehenge. I know as a child I even climbed into it on a number of occasions. it is still there. I do not know if it ever spouted water. There were water lines put in around there, but don’t know when they were activated. There was water there in the late 1940’s when Clara and Lucy lived there, along with Tiny Bishop who leased the land office building for his rock shop.
It appears to me that their backs are to the Columbia River and Oregon side, but can’t be certain.
Such a wonderful place and many many memories I have attached with this place.
charlott
W. L. Clark was William Lewis Clark. He was an engineer by profession and at one time worked for some of the railroads in the area. He spent time as the engineer for the government at Cascade Locks.
nels
Are those names in order, left to right, as in the picture? Love those hats and face hair.
Dedilee
I’ve always wondered about the story behind this beautiful fountain. I’ve never seen it have water, was it intended to? Is there a special significance to it being the location of this picture? It is still there but in need of repair.
Judy
I too love the hats! Wind must not have been blowing quite so bad!
Christie
Sam Hill had dreams of a big community at Maryhill and tried to dam the creek and have water for his city. This was his fallback community after his plans for a city "where the rain meets the sun" (in White Salmon) were thwarted. He never was successful getting the water to his city and it was a huge failure. The fountain and the dam are both still there.
Arthur
nels, I believe the names are left to right. That puts Sam Hill and Leslie Butler in the right place. Unfortunately the notes on the photo don’t say for sure.
Bill Seaton
Is this the R. E. Scott of
R. E. and Tom Scott Real Estate?
charlott
If I recall the dam broke, at least once pouring water down the canyon. The most beautiful part of the "dream?" was Lucy and Clara, as far as I am concerned. At least they were the last people remaing in what became known as "Sam Hill’s Folly." I always wished I could have seen the church and Mary’s Cottage before they were torn down. I do remember the majority of the other buildings prior to their burning. Especially Meadowlark, Kidder House, and the land office. The land office had these wonderful old pidgeon holes in one wall, like those of the old time post offices, but these were deep and that is where the maps were rolled and kept.
If all these men are Hood River men, R. E. Scott would have had to have been of R.E. and Tom Scott, Bill.
Arthur
You may recall we saw R.E. Scott with Booker T. Washington in this post:
https://www.hoodriverhistorymuseum.org?showimage=707
We also saw Capt. C.P. McCan’s house a long time back:
https://www.hoodriverhistorymuseum.org?showimage=89
spinsur
Murray Kay was a deputy surveyor to the County’s first County Surveyor, John L. Henderson. He later became County Surveyor himself. The County still has many of both of their field work, and they are often referred to for information regarding corner locations.
Lesa
Think what a folly it would have been, if Sam Hill had never come here with his dreams. Besides if not for him, my mother, who never swore a day in her life, couldn’t have said, "What in the Sam Hill, do you think you are doing?!"
Lesa
When I lived in Maryhill as a teenager in the 70’s, the motorcycle gangs would show up once & twice a year, to have a rally and rock concert at Stone Henge. They would drive through the town, shooting and killing any cat, dog, or chicken, that showed itself. The state, & county police would come and line the roads above the town, carrying sawed off shotguns, to try and keep them in bounds. Then for days they would drink, do drugs, and generally raze you know what. The officers of the law, seemed incapable of doing anything besides monitoring them. One year they even shot the windows out of the old community church, which was right next door to us.
Those were sad days in Maryhill, much of the damage done to that area, was because of their vandalism, and no one seemed to care enough to stop them.
Lesa
I know the proper word should have been, "raise," you know what, but living there, you would have used the word, "raze," too. They were allowed to do so much damage, and nothing was done about it. It still makes me pretty angry to think of it. The image I have in my head, of those sneering bikers, as they drove through our town, while the law did nothing, when a simple road block could have sufficed, will stick with me forever.
Charlott
Apparently the law was very lacking in Klickitat County at that time, or scared of those sickos. I know it had trouble with the Indian in 1880, but think that was about the wildest it ever got. However, for such a small town of Columbus it did have a number of saloons in it’s hay day.
Charlott
When the word came down to Columbus that the Yakima’s were on the war path, my great-grandmother said that all the children and women were put on a flat boat (maybe a barge type thing) with food, water, bedding, etc. They were anchored off shore. The men barricaded themselves on shore to defend them. In the event of an attack they would cut their anchor lines and get themselves across the Columbia to the Oregon side. Thankfully word eventually came that it had been a false alarm. The Indian’s did prowl round there at night, as many nights she said her Papa would be warned by the dog and he would be up with his guns.
Jennifer Knighten
Charlott, please contact me at jenniknighten@yahoo.com. I would like to talk to you about the Kidder/Bishop house. Mrs. Kidder is the great-great aunt of my husband and we are trying to fill in some details with her history. Are you still in the Goldendale area?