Historic Hood River
Cascade Locks Construction
4-27-2015
Notes
I wish we knew more about this image, but then it wouldn’t be much of a mystery. I believe we’re looking at Cascade Locks, and the stone blocks suggests to me this is part of the construction of the locks themselves. Any thoughts?
L.E.
My first thought…It’s flooding!
Dale Nicol
It looks like they are placing cut trees along the shore line to help control erosion of the bank??
Arlen Sheldrake
The height of the building has me confused. Way more than what I would think a steam loco or locks construction would need. Could it be for ship building?
L.E.
I agree Arlen, that building is a mystery. At first I thought maybe they had raised it up. But why?
I assume this is the 1894 flood.
Longshot
I don’t think this photo has much to do with the construction of the locks. The locks were cut through dry ground. At the upper end of the locks the background would have been the wide river looking over the Cascade Rapids and the bottom end would have been the fast water below the rapids.
Maybe the building was built high like that so the spring freshets could pass under it.
L.E.
I have to share this with you. I had no idea the portage rail cars at the Cascades were this nice looking in 1867.
This isn’t the same building, and it’s the Washington side, but there are tracks and a railroad car!
Go to page 10 of the link.
http://www.columbiagorge.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Lost_Garrison_of_the_Cascades.pdf
Craig McCurdy
For building fish wheels?
Longshot
The building has heavy well supported beams running along either side, right at the height of the tops of the two ladders. It looks like it may have been designed to have a large carriage structure run along the beams???
Buzz
My first thought was it could be used to haul good sized boats out of the water for repairs.
Steve r
I spy-
A squared off stone or two- to the right of the ladder near the center of the pic. One might guess that the rails were used to move the stones.
Is that a dislocated small flat rail bed car at the water line to the right- in the center of the pic ? Perhaps pulled by a horse to move the rocks for scuplting?
L.E.
This photo shows a somewhat similar shaped building
http://columbiariverimages.com/PennyPostcards/Images/PC_cascade_locks_steamers_dalles_city_ca1910.jpg
And this photo, taken a year after the 1894 flood, shows a cable with a stone cutter? with several tracks in view.
Notice also, the bank across the river that was washed out in the 1894 flood taking one of the military blockhouses with it.
http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/popup.cfm?doc_ID=00084CAC-083B-1DBF-BB3880B05272FE9F
archer
this building was originally designed to keep the blasting charges and equipment away from the living quarters. It is out on what is now thunder Island. This is indeed in june 1894
Not sure about the lifting the building. Could be for the flood and an effort to stop it from being washed away