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Rowena Crest (in background, left), as seen from Mayer State Park, Oregon.
Image taken November 11, 2004.
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Rowena ...
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The name "Rowena" is associated with many features, including
Rowena, Rowena Creek, Rowena Dell, Rowena Station, Rowena Crest (once called "Rowena Bluffs"), Rowena Loops, and Rowena Gap.
Rowena Post Office was established in 1911 and existed until 1916. Today the small town of Rowena, Oregon, still exists along the old Historic Columbia River Highway.
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"What's in a Name?" ... Three Theories ...
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At least three different theories as to the origin of "Rowena" are listed in Oregon Geographic Names (McArthur and McArthur, 2003). The first theory is the name Rowena was for H.S. Rown who, in the early 1880s was an offical of the railroad company that was building along the south bank of the Columbia River. The second possibility, according to local long-time residents, was that "Rowena" was the name of a girl who lived in the vicinity. The last theory presented was that "Rowena" was the young lady in Sir Walter Scott's "Ivanhoe", a popular novel of the era.
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Rowena Gap ...
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Rowena Gap, Washington side, from Mayer State Park, Oregon.
Image taken November 11, 2004.
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Rowena Crest ...
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Rowena Crest, Oregon, from Mayer State Park, Oregon.
Image taken November 11, 2004.
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Rowena Crest and Interstate 84, Oregon.
View from moving car on Interstate 84 heading west.
Image taken October 2, 2006.
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Rowena Crest, on the Historic Columbia River Highway, Oregon.
Image taken September 18, 2005.
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Rowena Creek and Rowena Dell ...
Rowena Creek enters the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 179, just downstream of Tom McCall Nature Preserve and Rowena Crest and upstream of the Oregon town of Mosier. Lyle, Washington and the Klickitat River are across from Rowena Creek on the Washington side of the Columbia. Rowena Dell is the valley of Rowena Creek. Rowena Dell at one time was called "Hog Canyon" after residents, tired of the rattlesnakes infesting the canyon, fenced the end and turned hogs loose. After the Columbia River Highway was built, residents wanted a more "elegant" name and chose "Rowena Dell".
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Rowena Dell, Oregon, looking downstream.
View from bridge on the Historic Columbia River Highway.
Image taken September 18, 2005.
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1882 ... "Rowena Station" ...
"New Railroad Stations. -- The O.R. & N. Co's station on the Oregon side at the lower Cascades has been named Bonneville, in honor of Capt. Benjamin L.E. Bonneville, the distinguished explorer. The nesxt station above is the Cascade locks. Wythe is the next station, seven miles above the locks. The fourth station is Viento, six miles above Shell Rock. It is opposite Wind mountain, and the name is Spanish, signifying windy. The fifth station is Hood River, and the sixth Mosier's. The last station, Rowena, is seven miles below The Dalles."
Source:
"Willamette Farmer", April 14, 1882, courtesy Historic Oregon Newspaper Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, 2016.
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Rowena in 1920 ...
"There is something about the Columbia river highway that seems to make artists of all men who have anything to do with the building of any part of it. ... It has been so in the construction of this section of the highway. Between Mosier and Rowena, nine miles west of The Dalles, where the road drops to the lowlands and follows at the foot of bordering bluffs into The Dalles -- between these two points, its course lies over and around cliffs, across chasms, along the brink of deep precipices, on ledges hewn out of the rock. It looks and curves and turns on a beautifully descending grade to the lowlands from the heights of the Rowena bluffs.
This part of the new highway is not merely a highway. It is a work of art. Only men with the souls of artists could have conceived and built a road like this."
Source:
"The Sunday Oregonian", September 26, 1920, courtesy Historic Oregon Newspaper Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, 2016.
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Rowena, Rowena Crest, and Rowena Dell in 1940 ...
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From the Oregon State Archives "A 1940 Journey Across Oregon":
"...
West of ROWENA, 109.2 m. (148 alt., 60 pop.), the
highway climbs the face of a steep cliff by a series
of sharp curves and switch-backs known as the
Rowena Loops. ...
ROWENA CREST, 111.8 m. (706 alt.), is in MAYER STATE PARK; parking place. From the crest one has a panoramic view of cliff and winding river.
ROWENA DELL, 112.6 m., a sheer walled canyon (R) was infested by rattlesnakes until pioneers fenced the lower end and turned in a drove of hogs. Then for a time the dell was called Hog Canyon. ..."
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- "Grant's Castle" and "Memaloose Castle" ...
- Historic Columbia River Highway ...
- Rowena Loops ...
- Rowena to Lyle Ferry ...
- Tom McCall Nature Preserve ...
- Views along the Highway ...
- Views from Rowena Crest ...
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"Grant's Castle" and "Memaloose Castle" ...
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In the early 1900s the massive basalt feature at Rowena was known as "Grant's Castle" or "Memaloose Castle".
In the 1902 publication "Oregon Teacher's Monthly", the massive Rowena basalt feature was called "Memaloose Castle".
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"On the Oregon shore, high up on the side of the rough mountain, is a natural curiosity which is associated with the island [Memaloose Island] in name only. It is Memaloose Castle. It is an exact likeness to a ruined castle, and four towers still climb into the air as though trying to lift their heads above the background of green in mute observance by those who pass. At the base of these towers are heaps of broken rock resembling the crumbled walls of a once-pretentious edifice. The resemblance is complete, and of all places where nature has tried to reproduce the destructible works of man in bold contrast to her own indestructible productions, this is the most striking. What wonders cannot nature build?"
[Max McClay, 1902, "Nature on Memaloose Island": IN: Oregon Teacher's Monthly, vol.7, no.2, October 1902, Salem, Oregon]
In the 1904 publication "The Trail of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1904", written by Olin D. Wheeler,
today's Rowena Crest was called "Grant's Castle".
In the 1905 Oregon Sunday Journal article "With Lewis and Clark, from Celilo to the Sea", "Grant's Castle" was a name use for a basalt feature on the Oregon side of the Columbia, while
"Memaloose Castle" was a name used for a feature on the Washington side of the river.
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"Between their camp [Lewis and Clark's] at Crates Point and the Klickitat river on the Washington shore are the first points that are from a scenic standpoint beautiful and awe-inspiring. The first is what is known as the Devil's slide. High up the mountain side is a chute extending from the top of the mountain to the river below; for a portion of the way it is lined on either side by huge slabs of basalt many feet in thickness. Immediately below, on the same side of the river, is what is commonly known as Grant's castle, a towering, massive reproduction of the castels of feudal days. It rests on a shelf of the mountain, 300 feet above the river, while the roof of its watch-tower, six stories above, is 800 feet above the surface of the waters below. Nature has been lavish with this colossal structure, painting it a steel gray, green foliage of the cliffs adjoining; windows, portholes and terraces are also given it, all of which combined make it look at first glance as if it had been built by the hand of man. ...
... Just below the mouth of the Klickitat river is Memaloose castle. Memaloose castle, a counterpart of Grant's castle, shows the effects of the elements to a greater degree; the top has crumbled away, and falling on the terraces below ahs given to it a dome shape, while the body of the castle still holds its shape. In coming up stream the castles are indistinct, and can hardly be located by those who have never before seen them, but while immediately opposite and above they are clearly outlined and are readily found by the passing tourist."
[Oregon Sunday Journal, August 13, 1905]n
The 1912 John Harvey Williams' publication titled "The Guardians of the Columbia ..." contains an illustration of Rowena's Crest with the caption: "'Grant's Castle' and Palisades of the Columbia, on north side of the river below The Dalles".
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Historic Columbia River Highway ...
Rowena Crest is on the Oregon side of the Columbia River and is part of the Rowena Gap basalt flows. The Historic Columbia River Highway passes over Rowena Crest, and contains an impressive loop in the eastern side.
[More Historic Columbia River Highway]
[More HCRH Route]
- HMP 79.8 ... Rowena Crest Overlook, Mayer State Park (1924)
- HMP 79.9 - 82.1 ... Loops, Rowena Crest to Rowena Ferry Road
- HMP 80 to 82 ... Rowena Loops (1921)
- HMP 80.0 ... Pedestrian Observatory east of Rowena Crest Overlook (1921)
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Rowena Loops ...
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Eight Loops Down the Bluffs.
"Completing the picture is a long extent of lowland along the river, bordered by cliffs, the shining rails of the Union Pacific stretching toward The Dalles, and perhaps the smoke of a train in the offing.
In the two and one-half miles from the top of Rowena bluffs to the bottom, the highway describes eight maximum curves or loops. Each of these loops in itself is a scenic delight. Combined they are an artistic masterpiece."
Source:
"The Sunday Oregonian", September 26, 1920, courtesy Historic Oregon Newspaper Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, 2016.
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Rowena Loops, Historic Columbia River Highway, Oregon.
View from Rowena Crest.
Image taken September 18, 2005.
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Rowena Loops, Historic Columbia River Highway, Oregon.
View from Rowena Crest.
Image taken September 18, 2005.
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Rowena to Lyle Ferry ...
A small ferry crossed the Columbia River between Rowena, Oregon, and Lyle, Washington.
As the Columbia River Highway descended from Rowena Crest and reached the river level the Highway turned southeast and continued into The Dalles. The Rowena Ferry Road turned northwest and headed to the Columbia River. A part of that road remains today.
August 11, 1921:
"The wind was so strong several days that the Rowena-Lyle ferry east of here [Hood River] was forced to tie up. The gales had no effect on the big ferry of the Hood River-White Salmon Ferry Co."
Source:
"The Hood River Glacier", August 11, 1921, courtesy Historic Oregon Newspaper Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, 2016.
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September 18, 1921:
"The Rowena-Lyle ferry [located] between Mosier and The Dalles. It is at the end of a rough and narrow road, two miles from the highway and is a seven-car boat. The charge is $1.05 for four passengers and car, 25 cents for each additional passenger."
Source:
"The Oregon Daily Journal", September 18, 1921, courtesy "Newspapers.com" website, 2016.
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Map detail, Wasco County, 1933, Columbia River Highway at Rowena, Oregon.
Metsker Map courtesy "HistoricMapWorks.com" website, 2016.
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Klickitat County map detail, 1950, showing the North Bank Railroad (SP&S), the North Bank Highway (Route 8), and the area from Underwood to Lyle.
Metsker Maps.
Original map courtesy "HistoricMapWorks.com" website, 2016.
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Underwood, White Salmon, Bingen, Vila, and Lyle ... the Hood River to White Salmon Bridge and the Rowena to Lyle Ferry.
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Historic Columbia River Highway at Rowena Ferry Road, Oregon.
Image taken March 30, 2016.
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Tom McCall Nature Preserve ...
The 271-acre Tom McCall Nature Preserve is a plateau called "Rowena Plateau". It is located on the Oregon side of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 180, just west of Rowena Crest and east of the Oregon town of Mosier.
Tom McCall Nature Preserve was named for one of Oregon's governors, Thomas Lawson McCall. Ownership and management of the preserve includes The Nature Conservancy,
Mayer State Park and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
There are two trails on the preserve. The 1-mile plateau trail begins at the interpretive sign at the entrance to the preserve and crosses Rowena Plateau to spectacular cliff edges. The trail also circles a permanent pond. A great view of the
Rowena Creek drainage and
Rowena Dell can be had from the cliff edge. The 3-mile McCall Point trail to the top of McCall Peak (open May through November) begins from the south side of the turnaround and gains 1,000 feet in elevation and provides a spectacular view of the area.
Wildflowers are abundant in the spring.
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Tom McCall Nature Preserve, Oregon.
View towards the Columbia River and the state of Washington. The Rowena Dell/Rowena Creek is visible on the left.
Image taken September 18, 2005.
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Views along the Highway ...
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Near Rowena Crest, Historic Columbia River Highway.
View shot through front window, moving car.
Image taken September 18, 2005.
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Near Rowena Crest, Historic Columbia River Highway.
View shot through front window, moving car.
Image taken September 18, 2005.
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Views from Rowena Crest ...
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View downstream from Rowena Crest, Oregon.
Image taken May 13, 2007.
"Mima mounds" on basalt bench in the foreground. In the last 15,000 years these mounds formed in Missoula flood sand and gravel deposits. The deposits are about 30 feet across and five feet high and rest on barren basalt bedrock.
[Allen, et.al., 2009]
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Lyle, Washington, from Rowena Crest, Oregon.
Image taken August 23, 2008.
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Mayer State Park, the Columbia River, and Washington's Rowena Gap basalts, as seen from Rowena Crest, Oregon.
Image taken September 18, 2005.
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The Lyle Convict Road ran along the lowest bench above Washington State Highway 14. The "kolk pond" in the foreground is a remnant of the Missoula Floods.
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Columbia River, looking upstream from Rowena Crest, on the Historic Columbia River Highway, Oregon.
Image taken September 18, 2005.
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Porsches, Rowena Crest, Oregon.
Image taken September 18, 2005.
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Klickitat River and the "twin bridges", as seen from Rowena Crest, Oregon.
Image taken August 23, 2008.
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Klickitat River and the "twin bridges", as seen from Rowena Crest, Oregon.
Image taken March 6, 2010.
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From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...
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Clark, October 29, 1805 ...
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