Historic Hood River
“Columbia River and Beacon Rock From…”
2-26-2025
Notes
This image is captioned “Columbia River and Beacon Rock From Cascade Locks” but I’m pretty sure that’s incorrect. My best bet is this is from Bonneville long before the dam construction.
On the very right edge of the image you can see a small bridge with the main line of the OR&N railroad track. I believe the large structure is a rock crusher. You can see a track with many carts full of rocks approaching. I recall Scott Cook telling me about this years ago, but can’t fund any notes.
William C. Seaton
In the 1950’s, HRHS science teacher Mary Hawkes took me and my Mom to Beacon Rock for a picnic. And, we did the hike up Beacon Rock.
Pat A
This is the first water powered rock crusher I’ve seen. I wonder if this is part of Columbia River highway construction?
The house in the near background looks of modern construction.
Curious about the cabin on the island.
Thorn
Lining up the hills, I think today’s photo is the view from a quarry that was a little further west than your google map location, about halfway between McCord Creek and Metasequoia Creek. And, I think we’re looking at Beacon Rock (or was it Castle Rock at the time of photo?) between the dark Ives Island (right center) and Pierce Island (center) when the river was higher and channel wider–you can still see the lines of pilings off Ives island in google maps today, and the older section of forest on both islands further apart. And left center, a busy little bay that’s more beach today–the two vertical black lines left of the big tree strike me as steamboat stacks. Besides the quarry, most of the structures are likely for the salmon industry like canneries and fish wheels–Ives island apparently had three…just below the great rapids where the dam was built.
L. E.
If the Army Corps of Engineers would have had their way, that big rock across the River would have been blown to smithereens and hauled down the River to build a jetty.