Historic Hood River
Davenport Bros. Mill
Notes
Here’s a mill we haven’t seen before. It is identified as the Davenport Bros. mill at Parkdale in 1903. Notes indicate Emory Davenport is on the left, and Helen is the baby on the knee of a worker near the cooks.
The Davenport Bros. business interests are difficult to track because they were so widespread. I find mention of mills in Odell and Nelson Creek in 1902, at Parkertown and Green Point in 1904, with the Ruthton mill shortly thereafter. In 1896 they had a mill at the head of the irrigation ditch which was being built to water the orchards of the valley.
The newspapers of the era had a nasty habit of describing locations in very generic terms. While “the head of the ditch” may have meant something in 1896, it’s not as clear today. I’ve been searching in vain for geotags on our images, but for now we’ll have to settle for this one being “Parkdale, maybe.”
OrMtnMaid
Very interesting photo. We have the dog and little boy! Can you identify the toy the little boy is holding? And it appears a young girl is standing under the eave, upper left side of photo. I say girl by the hair cut. Man sitting on lower right looks like he has had his nose broken. Any idea the picture a couple men are holding?
L.E.
Yes, I wondered why the men were holding a photo.
Right now, the news around Hood River is a broken water main pipe and the notification to boil water.
Can you imagine how much water those ladies boiled in order to cook and wash clothes for that crew of men and children?
They probably didn't have to pack the water. Men were usually pretty good about that.
And then there was the slop bucket to empty after you were done washing and rinsing the dishes.
ArthurB
I don't think the little boy is holding a toy. His dad's hand is holding him on his lap.
Those two photos are teasing me, I can make out enough to see they are interesting but I can't tell what they are.
Kyle
Wonder if the ~10-12 year old boy at top left was employed there. Different times.
nels
So many faces to study. Some look tired or worn down. Others look like the kind you'll meet in the bar. Others look so innocent, others with so many different attitudes.
L.E.
If Helen is the daughter of Emory, she died at the age of 12 in 1914. She was the oldest of children of Emory and Nellie Davenport.
Harold
Related to Davenport Road in Mosier?
ArthurB
I was able to figure out what photo the man on the right is holding. Funny how sometime your peripheral vision is better for making an ID. It's a photo of the Mt. Hood Hotel when it was decorated for the GAR encampment in 1904. I can make out the “Welcome” arch as in http://historichoodriver.com/index.php?showimage=145