Lewis and Clark's Columbia River
Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later"
"Bingen, Washington"
Includes ... Bingen ... Gorge Heritage Museum ... Broughton Flume ...
Image, 2013, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		"Live, Work, Play" ... Bingen, Washington. Image taken March 24, 2013.


Bingen ...
Bingen, Washington, is located at Columbia River Mile (RM) 171 and is located four miles west of a massive geologic feature called the "Coyote Wall". Bingen is the western end of the Bingen Gap.

Locale ...
Across the Columbia River from Bingen is the mouth of the Hood River and the community of Hood River. Slightly upstream on the Oregon side lies Stanley Rock, once the home to "Koberg Beach", an early Columbia River resort. On the Washington side on the ridge above Bingen lies the Washington community of White Salmon, and 10 miles upstream lies the Klickitat River and the community of Lyle. Downstream lies the mouth of the White Salmon River and the small community of Underwood.

Bingen Gap ...
The Bingen Gap is a constriction of the Columbia River located on both sides of the Columbia River just upstream of Hood River, Oregon and Bingen, Washington. The gap is a large anticline/syncline feature of Columbia River Basalt through which the Columbia River carved its channel.
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Lewis and Clark and the Bingen Gap ...
Lewis and Clark passed through the Bingen Gap and the Bingen area on October 29, 1805. They came through again on their return on April 14, 1806.

"... miles to a high Clift of rocks Std bend ..." [Clark, October 29, 1805, first draft]

"... I joined Capt Lewis and the party at 6 miles, at which place the river washed the bottom of high Clifts on the N. Side. ..." [Clark, April 14, 1806]

Early Bingen ...
In 1892, the Washington community of Bingen was established by Theodore and Phillip Suksdorf and named after "Bingen-On-The-Rhine", a familiar German city.

Edmund S. Meany wrote in "Origin of Washington Geographic Names" (1923, University of Washington Press):

"Bingen ... in Klickitat County. Theodore Suksdorf says: "The town was named by P.J. Suksdorf, owner of the premises, after the beautiful town on the Rhine, in Germany. The location of Bingen on the Columbia is much like Bingen on the Rhine. The town of Bingen was laid out in 1892. The postoffice was established two or three years later.""

Robert Hitchman wrote in "Place Names of Washington" (1985, Washington State Historical Society):

"Bingen (T3N, R11E, Sec.30) ... Town on a narrow flat between the north bank of the Columbia River and a bluff, opposite Oregon's Hood River, southwest Klickitat County. In 1892, it was established by P.J. Suksdorf and other German settlers, who named it for "Bingen_On-The-Rhine". In 1931, the town went to court over the controversial naming of a Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway station in the town. White Salmon, adjoining Bingen on the northwest, also wanted its name on the station. At present, the station carries both names."

Street Scenes ...

Image, 2014, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Bingen, Washington. Image taken February 22, 2014.
Image, 2017, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Bingen, Washington. Image taken May 8, 2017.


Bingen, etc.

  • Bingen Harbor ...
  • Bingen Marina ...
  • Bingen Point ...
  • Bluff Stairway ...
  • Broughton Flume Section ...
  • Daubenspeck Park ...
  • Dry Creek ...
  • Gorge Heritage Museum ...
  • Mural ...
  • North Bank Road ...
  • Sailboard Park ...


Bingen Harbor ...
Bingen Harbor is located on the east side of the community of Bingen and is owned by the Port of Klickitat.

Image, 2014, Bingen Harbor, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Bingen Harbor, Bingen, Washington. Image taken July 26, 2014.
Image, 2014, Bingen Harbor, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Bingen Harbor at mouth, Bingen, Washington. Looking upstream along the Columbia River. Image taken July 26, 2014.


Bingen Marina ...
The Bingen Marina is located at the northwestern tip of Bingen Harbor. It is owned by the Port of Klickitat and provides basic boating facilities, including a two-ramp boat launch, restrooms, and parking area for boat trailers. Bingen's Marine Park is located next to the Marina. Future plans (as of 2014) call for the development of additional facilities including transitory and long-term moorage, a fuel dock, pump-out facility, and other amenities.

Bingen Point ...
Bingen Point lies south of the community of Bingen and bordered by the Columbia River. The Bingen Marina, Bingen Harbor, Sailboard Park, and Marine Park are located at the point. Bingen Point is owned by the Port of Klickitat and is located at Columbia River Mile 173.

Image, 2014, Bingen Point, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Bingen Point, Columbia River Mile 173, Bingen, Washington. Image taken July 26, 2014.
Image, 2014, Columbia River, Bingen Point, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Columbia River looking downsteam from Bingen Point at Columbia River Mile 173, Bingen, Washington. Stanley Rock is off the Oregon shore in the distance. Image taken July 26, 2014.


Bluff Stairway ...
At one time a wooden stairway linked the two Washington communities of Bingen (below the bluff) and White Salmon (on top of the bluff).
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Image, 2014, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Bluff Stairway trace between Bingen (at base of bluff) to White Salmon (on top of bluff), as seen from the Hood River Bridge. Image taken July 26, 2014.


Old stairway path is visible on the left and goes from red-roofed house down to the river, appearing here ending at the bridge/railing junction.
Image, 2011, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Bluff Stairway trace between Bingen (at base of bluff) to White Salmon (on top of bluff), as seen from the Hood River Bridge. Image taken February 2, 2011.


Old stairway path is visible on the left and goes from red-roofed house down to the river, appearing here just above and to the right of the road sign on the left.


Broughton Lumber Flume Section ...
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Image, 2013, Broughton Flume section, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Broughton Flume section, Bingen, Washington. Image taken March 24, 2013.
Image, 2013, Broughton Flume section, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Broughton Flume section, Bingen, Washington. Image taken March 24, 2013.
Image, 2013, Broughton Flume section, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Broughton Flume section, Bingen, Washington. Image taken March 24, 2013.


Daubenspeck Park ...
Daubenspeck Park is named after William Franklin Daubenspeck, a co-founder of the SDS Lumber Company of Bingen. According to the "worldForestry.org" website (2006), during Daubenspeck's early work career he worked at the Broughton Lumber Company, eventually becomeing superintendent of the Willard mill, a job he held for nearly 23 years. After World War II, Daubenspeck teamed up with Bruce and Wally Stevenson and purchased the assets of the Nordby Lumber and Box Company of Bingen, calling their new company "SDS Lumber Company". Operations began in 1946. By the early 1960s, the company had about 500 employees who worked in various sawmills and a plywood plant. During the summer months, as many as 150 truckloads of logs would roll onto mill property every day.

Image, 2013, Daubenspeck Park, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Daubenspeck Park, Bingen, Washington. Image taken March 24, 2013.


"Dedicated June 13, 1976"
Image, 2013, Daubenspeck Park, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Daubenspeck Park, Bingen, Washington. Image taken March 24, 2013.
Image, 2013, Daubenspeck Park, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Daubenspeck Park, Bingen, Washington. Image taken March 24, 2013.
Image, 2013, Daubenspeck Park, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Daubenspeck Park, Bingen, Washington. Image taken March 24, 2013.
Image, 2013, Daubenspeck Park, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Daubenspeck Park, Bingen, Washington. Image taken March 24, 2013.


"In Memory of Newell Pollard, Bingen School Principal, 1940-1969"


Dry Creek ...
The Dry Creek drainage rises above Bingen.

Image, 2011, Dry Creek, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Dry Creek drainage, Bingen, Washington. Image taken February 2, 2011.


Gorge Heritage Museum ...
"The Gorge Heritage Museum is housed in the former Bingen Congregational Church, which was dedicated in May, 1912. The Museum was established in 1984 by the West Klickitat County Historical Society to promote interest in the legacy passed to us by the native people and the immigrants who settled and traded in the mountainous river valleys and along the Columbia River."


Source:    Gorge Heritage Museum website, 2014

Image, 2014, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Gorge Heritage Museum, Bingen, Washington. Image taken March 12, 2014.
Image, 2014, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Gorge Heritage Museum, Bingen, Washington. Image taken July 26, 2014.


Mural ...
Still looking for information about the mural (March 2014), but possibly Sacajawea ??? --- note the silhouettes of Lewis and Clark in the lower right corner.

Image, 2014, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Mural, Bingen, Washington. Image taken March 12, 2014.
Image, 2014, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Mural, Bingen, Washington. Image taken March 12, 2014.

Note: Lewis and Clark are in the lower right corner.


North Bank Road ...
The Great Northern Railway and Northern Pacific Railroad, competitors in the transcontinental business, launched the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway in 1905 and built a line along the north side of the Columbia River. This line was known as "The North Bank Railroad", "The North Bank Road", "Columbia River Scenic Route", and "The Northwests Own Railway". The tracks were started in October 1905 and completed in February 1908, with a celebration being held on March 11th at Sheridan Point upstream of the Fort Rains Blockhouse location. On March 19th, regular passenger service between Vancouver and Pasco was begun. The journey took eight hours.

STATIONS ON THE NORTH BANK
Between Vancouver and Pasco There Will Be 43 Stops.

"LYLE, Wash., July 24. -- (Special.) -- Chief Surgeon Irvine, of the North Bank Road says there will be 43 stations about five miles apart on the line between Vancouver and Pasco. From west to east the stations will appear on the new map as Image, Fisher, Bourne, Seal, Cruzatt, Butler, Cascades, Stevenson, Ash, Collins, Cooks, Hood, Bingen, Villa, Lyle, Skadat, Grandalles, Spedis, Avery, Timms, Columbus, Cliffs, Towal, Harbin, Fountain, Sanda, Roosevelt, Moonax, McCredie, Carley, Luzon, Sage, Patterson, Coolide, Gravel, Plymouth, Colbia, Mottinger, Tomar, Yellepit, Hoover and Finley. He also reports the track is being blasted as fast as laid."


Source:    "Morning Oregonian", July 25, 1907, courtesy Historic Oregon Newspapers Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, 2019.

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Sailboard Park ...
According to the Port of Klickitat website (2014), Bingen's Sailboard Park is a 1.75 acre park located along the Columbia River near the eastern end of Bingen Point. In the mid-1990s, this park was the place for windsurfing and played host to the "Gorge Games" and several speed competitions.

Image, 2014, Sailboard Park, Bingen, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Sailboard Park, Bingen, Washington. Image taken July 26, 2014.


From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...

Clark, October 29, 1805, first draft ...




Clark, April 14, 1806 ...



Columbia River GorgeReturn to
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*River Miles [RM] are approximate, in statute miles, and were determined from USGS topo maps, obtained from NOAA nautical charts, or obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website, 2003

Sources:
  • Gorge Heritage Museum website, 2014;
  • Historic Oregon Newspapers Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, 2019;
  • Hitchman, R., 1985, "Place Names of Washington", Washington State Historical Society;
  • Meany, E.S., 1923, "Origin of Washington Geographic Names", University of Washington Press, Seattle;
  • "Rootsweb.com" website, 2005;
  • U.S. Forest Service website, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, 2006;
  • U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) database, 2006;


All Lewis and Clark quotations from Gary Moulton editions of the Lewis and Clark Journals, University of Nebraska Press, all attempts have been made to type the quotations exactly as in the Moulton editions, however typing errors introduced by this web author cannot be ruled out; location interpretation from variety of sources, including this website author.
/Regions/Places/bingen.html
July 2014