Historic Hood River
Cascade Locks Depot
5-26-2015
Notes
This view of the Cascade Locks depot also captures a steamship leaving the dock. It’s also a nice view of Stevenson, with quite a few large buildings. Too bad there’s not a train at the station.
Longshot
What would have been the name(s) of this station prior to it becoming Cascade Locks? What year was the name changed to Cascade Locks?
spinsur
Others can fill in the dates and details, but essentially the locks were built to make steam paddlewheel travel safer; the railroad made river travel less necessary. The railroad came after the locks, therefore it would have been Cascade Locks station from beginning.
Arthur
Not exactly– Work on the locks started before the railroad came through (1882/1883), but funding was sporadic and construction wasn’t completed until 1896, after about 20 years of work. I think I posted some photos of the construction from 1883, taken from the railroad tracks when the canal was far from complete.
Wikipedia claims the final push to complete the canal/locks was to break the rail monopoly on freight.
To answer Longshot’s question– I think by the time the railroad came the station served the town of workers constructing the locks, so my guess is they always called the station "Cascade Locks".
The river and the rail competed for freight– I know when Hood River got it’s new fire engine it came by steamer (1920). The steamship captain brought it for free, and the city council wrote a nice thank you letter.
Arlen Sheldrake
Neat photo, yes, a train would have been a nice addition but this is great just as it is.
According to McArthur, it was named Cascade Locks in 1878, the year the locks construction was started and when the post office was established.
And speaking of paddle wheelers, the Portland was out this last Saturday and will be running one Saturday each month through October….short trips but a steamer with a GREAT whistle. More info: Oregon Maritime Museum.
l.e.
Trying to see HHR on an I phone is the pitts.
Wasn’t there a monopoly by a company with both rail and river? Did Oregon Navigation something or other have both?
Kenn
Wonder what or whose the large house between station and river was
l.e.
Check photo #196. Is that the same house?
Jeffrey Bryant
The 1860 Census for Wasco County called the area Falls Precinct, with the Post Office called Cascades.
Longshot
The publication, "Official Register of the United States containing a list of Officers and Employes in the Civil, Military and Naval Service on the First of July, 1883", mentions the name Cascade Locks, so the name CL would have been in use at about the time the railroad was built.
L.E.
I drove through CL today and wondered where the train station sat.
Arlen answers the question at photo #395.
We also have a summer and winter view of the train station.
https://www.hoodriverhistorymuseum.org?showimage=395
Mike
Before construction started on the Cascade Locks, this place was called Cascades or more formally, Upper Cascades in reference to the upper end of a stretch of falls and particularly swift current which occurred between this place and just below present-day Skamania Landing, where the river widens.
The Oregon Steam Navigation Company had a monopoly on river and railroad transportation during the 1860s, until they sold out to Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company.
The steam ship on the river in this photo is the Bailey Gatzert. She is heading into the channel, most likely just after leaving the Locks.