Lewis and Clark's Columbia River - Columbia City, Oregon

Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later"
"Columbia City, Oregon"

Includes ... Columbia City ... Caples House ... Pixie Park ...

Image, 2007 Columbia City, Oregon, click to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Columbia City, Oregon. View from the Lewis River delta. Image taken March 29, 2007.

Columbia City ...

Columbia City lies along the Oregon side of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 83.5. Upstream is the community of St. Helens and downstream is Deer Island, Goble, and Rainier, Oregon. Across the river is Woodland Washington and the mouth of the Lewis River.

Click image to enlarge	House downstream of Pixie Park, Columbia City, Oregon. Image taken February 17, 2007.
Click image to enlarge	Detail, House downstream of Pixie Park, Columbia City, Oregon. Image taken February 17, 2007.

Early Columbia City ...

Early Columbia City was a steamboat landing for passengers and freight between Portland, Woodland, and downriver.

Lewis and Clark passed the area of Columbia City on November 5, 1805, on their way to camp at Prescott Beach. On their return they camped at Deer Island on March 28, 1806, passing by the area of Columbia City on March 29, 1806. They make no mention of the area.

The Columbia City Website (2007) mentions an Indian village called "Cumahi".

"... The steamboat navigation was started on the Columbia River by the building of the combination sail and steam sidewheel ship "Beaver" launched in 1834 at London, England, for the Columbia and Willamette River traffic by the Hudson Bay Company. On its first voyage up the Columbia River to where it was to be based at Fort Vancouver, it would have gone by the sight that is now Columbia City. All that was here then was an Indian fishing village, which they called "Cumahi." There is no way to tell how it was spelled for the Indians did not have a written language. ..." ["columbia-city.org" Website, 2007]

Today's Columbia City is not the first "Columbia City". In fact, it's not even the second. The name "Columbia City" was first used on the Washington side of the Columbia River at the location of today's Vancouver. In 1854 Vancouver was officially "Columbia City" by decree of the Washington Territory Legislature, before going back to the name "Vancouver" in 1855. On the Oregon side of the Columbia today's Umatilla was founded as "Columbia City" in 1860, before becoming "Umatilla Landing" in 1863 and "Umatilla City" in 1865.

Today's Columbia City was founded in 1867 by Jacob and Joseph Caples. The Caples Post Office was established in 1871. Jacob and Joseph Caples had hoped the city would become a railroad terminus for the Willamette Valley Railroad, however the terminus ended in Portland instead.

The U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Website (2007) lists "McBride" as an early name for Columbia City, saying "McBride" was listed on early Burlington Northern Timetables.

During World War I the Sommarstrom Brothers built a shipyard to build wooden ships for the Government, a contract which ended with the war.

The "City of Columbia City" was incorporated in 1926.

Caples House ...

Caples House was built in 1870 by Doctor Charles Caples. The house was given to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) in 1959 and is currently a museum. The property not only has the main house but also a Carriage House, Country Store, Pioneer Tool Shed, and the Knapp Social Center. Views of the Columbia River and "Pixie Park" can be had from Caples House.

Click image to enlarge	Caples House, Columbia City, Oregon. Image taken February 17, 2007.
Click image to enlarge	Caples House, Columbia City, Oregon. Image taken February 17, 2007.
Click image to enlarge	Columbia River view from Caples House, Columbia City, Oregon. View looking towards the Columbia River, with Pixie Park visible. Image taken February 17, 2007.

Pixie Park ...

Pixie Park was named for a boat owned by Columbia City resident Harvey Jordan. A sidewalk leads to a small gravel beach where canoes and kayaks can be launched. Pixie Park is part of the Multnomah Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

Click image to enlarge	Pixie Park, Columbia City, Oregon. Image taken February 17, 2007.
Click image to enlarge	View downstream from Pixie Park, Columbia City, Oregon. Image taken February 17, 2007.

Views from Columbia City ...

Click image to enlarge	Lewis River delta, Washington, as seen from Columbia City, Oregon. View looking downstream from Pixie Park, Columbia City, Oregon. Image taken February 19, 2005.
Click image to enlarge	Lewis River delta, Washington, as seen from Columbia City, Oregon. View from Pixie Park, Columbia City, Oregon. Image taken February 19, 2005.

More from Columbia City ...

One of the Patterns of the mightly Columbia River.
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Image, 2005, Columbia River ripples, click to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Columbia River ripples. View from Pixie Park, Columbia City, Oregon. Image taken February 19, 2005.

From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...

Clark, ...

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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: "Columbia-city.org" Website, 2007; Hay, K.G., 2004, The Lewis and Clark Columbia River Water Trail, Timber Press, Portland; McArthur, L.A., and McArthur, L.L., 2003, Oregon Geographic Names, Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland, Oregon; U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Website, 2007.

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.