HIDDEN HISTORY: CASCADE LOCKS AND CANAL with Janice Crane

A stretch of tumbling whitewater five miles long, the Cascades of the Columbia River were the greatest barrier to inland river trade and travel in the Pacific Northwest. One solution, the Cascade Locks and Canal, took nearly 18 years, hundreds of laborers, and the removal of over 800,000 cubic yards of rock and debris. Completed in 1896, millions of dollars in freight and hundreds of thousands of passengers made their way through the locks. Made redundant in 1938 by the completion of the Bonneville Dam, the remnants of the structure are still visible today in Cascade Locks, Oregon.

Janice Crane is the Executive Director of the Friends of the Cascade Locks Historical Museum, author of “Images of America: Cascade Locks and Canal,” treasurer of the Oregon Museums Association, and has an MBA in Nonprofit Management from the University of Portland and an MA in Folklore Studies from Western Kentucky University. She lives in Cascade Locks, Oregon, with her spouse, child, and two cats.

Hidden History is a monthly lecture series at The History Museum. We delve into the less obvious aspects of historical topics, investigate unexpected stories, and discover the myriad ways that we can learn about the past.

FREE – $10 Donation appreciated