Historic Hood River
Logjam
Notes
The term “logjam” is frequently used as a metaphor, but here’s what a logjam really looks like. Clearing such a mess was incredibly dangerous work. If anyone knows how they would have attacked this problem please fill us in.
This logjam is described as being above Punchbowl, circa 1904. If this date is correct, this log run would predate the Dee mill. Perhaps these logs were destined for Tucker’s mill, or perhaps they were headed all the way to the Lost Lake Lumber Company mill at Hood River.
And a special message for HHR readers who live in Hood River:
The History Museum of Hood River County is hosting a Celebration and Fundraising Luncheon on Friday, November 4th from Noon to 1:00 p.m. at the Hood River Inn Gorge Room. This event intends to inspire, entertain, educate and inform you about the programs and plans for the future of The History Museum. There is no charge for this lunch event, however, reservations are required to attend. There are still a few seats left. If you are interested, contact the museum office at 541-386-6772 or email thehistorymuseum@hrecn.net. Your support of The History Museum assures that treasures like this wonderful photo collection are preserved and accessible for years to come.
And if that’s not reason enough to come for the lunch, you’ll get to meet your faithful HHR host in person.
Charlott
Could it have been that they were using this as "Mother Nature’s" fume. It is hard to fathom that they would have let them jam up in this fashion, unless it was intentional. Dump them in there then let the water in the spring run take them down to where ever they were intending to fish them out.
From the folige on the underlying brush and bushes this was a summer picture or so it seems.
this picture is taken dead on, bet from that bridge we saw earlier was where it was taken from, , or how else would they have been able to take this picture in that era? Other idea is the photographer may have been standing on the log jam.
spinsur
if the jam was bad enough that pikepoles and canthooks by loggers running ’round on the jam couldn’t free it, then dupont came to the rescue w/ dynamite. log jams and blasting them loose was so common as to be "credited" as one of the destroyers of our fish runs.
Ranger
This was an intentional act, notice all the logs have square cut ends. The West Fork and even Green Point Ck. show evidence of past "log drives". Many times the logging operation would dam smaller tributary streams and then dynamite the dam to flush the logs down stream. This was called "slash damming". It was a widely used method of transporting logs to the mill before rail and conventional roads were common.
Ranger
Another thing to point out about these log drives were that to prevent such log jams, the drivers often times cleared the stream of any old natural log jams or big rocks. These old jams were great habitat for the fish that were fighting their way up stream. Just another of many impacts to the fish in this system.
spinsur
probably down stream out of site of the camera, is a "splash" dam.
l.e.
From Hood River Navigability Studies by James E. Farnell. July 1980…….
In Dec. 1903, the superintendent of Mount Hood Lumber Co. invited the editor of the Glacier to visit their logging camps.
He reported that hundreds of big boulders had been blasted from the river and where there was more than one channel, cribs were built to force the water into one channel.
Splash dams were built in each fork of the river. Those dams are opened once a day and logs are carried down to the mouth of the river.
l.e.
Horses and donkey engines are used to haul the logs to the edge of the bluff where they are rolled into a chute down to the water.
The editor talks about visiting Devil’s Punchbowl were more logs than the river could handle had been turned into the river during heavy rains.
A solid mass of logs for a quarter of a mile.
The logs were freed, but not before two horses were dragged to their deaths over the cliff when the block and tackle lines they were pulling suddenly broke the jam.
In April 1904, owing to a sudden rise in the water, a dam belonging to the Mount Hood Lumber Co. of HR gave way and allowed a quantitiy of logs to be carried into the main river. Part of them were recovered in the Columbia.
So, does the foliage look like December or April?
l.e.
We have a photo on our wall of my husband’s grandfather, as a young man logging in the HR Valley with teams of horses. So this weeks series of photos has been extra interesting to us.