Click image to enlarge
|
Mount Hood, Oregon, and the Interstate-205 Bridge, as seen from Ryan Point, Washington.
Image taken December 18, 2004.
|
Ryan Point ...
|
Ryan Point is on the Washington State side of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 108, a little more than one mile upstream of the
Interstate 5 Bridge. Ryan Point is the site of a former shipyard and is now an industrial park. The actual "point" is behind Building 33, a huge warehouse in Columbia Business Center, one of the largest industrial parks in the Vancouver-Portland area.
Lewis and Clark's
March 30, 1806 campsite was located just downstream of Ryan Point, across from the center of today's Hayden Island, near the location of today's Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. This area was to be known as "Jolie Prairie".
As they approached this area they viewed
Mount Hood and
Mount St. Helens, and
saw and named
Mount Jefferson.
|
Click image to enlarge
|
Ryan Point from Tidewater Cove.
Image taken October 9, 2006.
|
Click image to enlarge
|
Ryan Point, Washington, and the old Kaiser Shipyards.
Tomahawk and Hayden Islands are in the background.
Image taken October 9, 2006.
|
Marine Park ...
|
Marine Park is a 26-acre community park located at Ryan Point. The park includes picnic tables, play equipment, a ball field, hiking trails, and a boat ramp.
Marine Park lies along Vancouver's Waterfront Renaissance Trail.
|
Click image to enlarge
|
Obolisk, Marine Park.
View at the entrance to Marine Park and Ryan Island.
Image taken April 5, 2007.
|
Click image to enlarge
|
Marine Park.
Image taken April 5, 2007.
|
Ryan Point and the Kaiser Shipyards ...
|
The area of Fort Plain east of Vancouver Barracks continued as agricultural land into the early 20th century with the railroad first crossing it in 1907. Fort Plain was dramatically altered by the construction of Kaiser Shipyards in July 1942. Kaiser Shipyards produced "Victory Ships" during World War II and was situated on the southern edge of Fort Plain west of Marine Park and extending to Ryan Point and the eastern edge of the waterfront area of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. The concrete ways and structures of the shipyard are still present west of the project area. The Kaiser Shipyards tower on the west side of Marine Park tells the story of the shipyards. Archaeological surveys in the area of the Kaiser Shipyards have documented dredge fill between 15 feet and 20 feet in depth. This was placed on the southern part of Fort Plain to build up the land to accommodate the shipyards. The dredge fill has greatly hindered finding archaeological sites from the central and eastern portions of Fort Plain. The western portion of the plain contains the highly significant remains of Fort Vancouver and Vancouver Barracks - the premier historical archaeological site in the Pacific Northwest.
|
Click image to enlarge
|
Kaiser Shipyard Memorial sign, Ryan Point, Vancouver, Washington.
Image taken December 18, 2004.
|
Click image to enlarge
|
Kaiser Shipyard Memorial, Ryan Point, Vancouver, Washington.
Image taken December 18, 2004.
|
Click image to enlarge
|
Ryan Point, Washington, and the old Kaiser Shipyards.
Tomahawk and Hayden Islands are in the background.
Image taken May 29, 2003.
|
Click image to enlarge
|
The old Kaiser Shipyards, from Ryan Point, Washington.
Image taken December 18, 2004.
|
Early Ryan Point ...
|
Ryan Point is named for William Ryan, an early sheriff and assessor in Clark County. The point was previously known as "McLoughlin Point" after Dr. John McLoughlin of the Hudson Bay Company.
McLoughlin Point appears in the journal and on the maps of the Charles Wilkes Expedition, 1841. The name changed to Ryan Point sometime before the Hidden family, which still owns the riverfront property, bought the land in 1865.
The 1850 Federal Census for the Clark County area of the Oregon Territory
lists a "Wm. Ryan", age 36, farmer, born in Ireland, wife Susan, age 28, born in Kentucky,
daughter Jane, age 9, born in Missouri, son James, age 7, born in Missouri, and
daughter Susanna, age 2, born in Oregon Territory.
An 1863 Washington Territory cadastral survey (tax survey) for T2N R1E shows Claim No.39, the property just east of the "Vancouver U.S. Military Reservation", belonging to William Ryan. The property included the point.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office Records Website (2006) shows title being granted to Sasannah Ryan and William Ryan for 633.3 acres of T2N R1E Sections 24, 25, 35, and 36, on December 11, 1879 (1850 Oregon-Donation Act).
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office Records Website (2006) shows title being granted to Arthur W. Hidden for 164.65 acres of T2N R1E Section 22, on April 20, 1882 (1820 Sale-Cash Entry). Entries for a "Lowell M. Hidden" are located to the north.
An 1888 plat map for "Clarke County" shows the "W. Ryan D.L.C." being split into smaller homesteads, with "W. Ryan, Jr." owning the property west of the Point, and "L.M. Hidden" owning the Point and the property to the east. West of the "W. Ryan, Jr." property, yet still on the Ryan Donation Land Claim, is property owned by "J. Blurock", possibly the same Blurock of Blurock Landing.
In 1914 the U.S. Board of Geographic Names made official the name "Ryan Point".
|
|
The 1948 NOAA Nautical Chart #6156, "Columbia River, Vancouver to Bonneville" shows a ferry landing at the location of today's Ryan Point boat ramp. Another ferry landing was across from Ryan Point on the Oregon side, just downstream of the west end of the
Portland Airport, where NE33rd St. meets the Columbia River. A marina exists there today.
|
Click image to enlarge
|
Boat dock at Ryan Point, Washington.
Image taken October 9, 2006.
|
Click image to enlarge
|
Oregon side, area of the ferry landing across from Ryan Point, Washington.
A marina now exists where there once was a ferry landing. From Columbia Shores, Washington (just downstream of Ryan Point) looking towards Oregon and the location of the old ferry landing. Rocky Butte is on the left and Mount Jefferson can be seen on the skyline on the right.
Image taken March 8, 2004.
|
|
Columbia River from Ryan Point ...
|
Click image to enlarge
|
Ryan Point, Washington, waves, with Mount Hood.
Wave action from a passing boat.
Image taken December 18, 2004.
|
Click image to enlarge
|
Ryan Point, Washington, waves.
Wave action from a passing boat.
Image taken December 18, 2004.
|
|
Views from Ryan Point ...
|
Click image to enlarge
|
Mount Hood, Oregon, and the Interstate-205 Bridge, as seen from Ryan Point, Washington.
Image taken December 18, 2004.
|
Click image to enlarge
|
Portland International Airport, as seen from Ryan Point, Washington.
Image taken December 18, 2004.
|
Click image to enlarge
|
Portland International Airport, as seen from Ryan Point, Washington.
Image taken June 15, 2003.
|
Click image to enlarge
|
Tomahawk Island.
Tomahawk Island, Oregon as seen from Ryan Point, Washington.
Image taken June 15, 2003.
|
Rocky Butte from Ryan Point ...
Click image to enlarge
|
Rocky Butte, Oregon, as seen from Ryan Point, Washington. Rocky Butte is one of the volcanic cones of the Boring Lava Field which covers quite a bit of Portland's eastern outskirts.
Image taken June 15, 2003.
|
|
From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...
|
Clark, March 31, 1806 ...
we Set out this morning [from their camp at "Jolie Prairie", today the location of Fort Vancouver and Pearson Airpark ... also in this area are Wintler Park and Ryan Point] and proceeded untill 8 oClock when we landed on the N. Side opposit one large House of the Shah-ha-la Nation near this house at the time we passed on the 4th of November last was Situated 25 houses, 24 of them were built of Straw & Covered with bark as before mentioned. those [of] that description are all distroyed, the one built of wood only remains and is inhabited [vicinity of today's Portland International Airport].
...
at 10 A. M we proceeded on accompanied by one Canoe and three men, one of them appeared to be a man of Some note,
...
passed up on the N. Side of White brant Island [Lady Island] near the upper point of Which a Small river falls in about 80 yards wide and at this time discharges a great quantity of water [Washougal River]. the nativs inform us that this river is very Short and heads in the range of mountains to the N E of its enterance into the Columbia the nativs haveing no name which we could learn for this little river we Call it Seal river [Washougal River] from the great number of those Animals which frequents its mouth. this river forks into two nearly equal branches about 1 mile up and each branch is crouded with rapids & falls. we proceeded on about 2 miles above the enterance of this Seacalf river [Washougal River] and imedeately opposit the upper mouth of the quick Sand river [Sandy River] we formed a Camp in a Small Prarie on the North Side of the Columbia [Cottonwood Beach] where we intend to delay one or two days to make Some Selestial observations, to examine quick sand river [Sandy River], and kill Some meat to last us through the Western Mountains which Commences a fiew miles above us [Cascade Mountain Range] and runs in a N. N. W. & S. S. E. derection. The three Indians encamped near us and visited our fire we entered into a kind of a Conversation by signs, of the Country and Situation of the rivers. they informed us that Seal river [Washougal River] headed in the mountains at no great distance. quick Sand river [Sandy River] was Short only headed in Mt. Hood [Mount Hood, Oregon] which is in view and to which he pointed. this is a circumstance we did not expect as we had heretofore deemed a comsiderable river. Mount Hood bears East from this place and is distant from this place about 40 miles. this information if true will render it necessary to examine the river below on the South Side behind the image canoe [Hayden Island] and Wappato islands [Sauvie Island] for some river which must water the Country [Willamette River] weste of the western mountains to the Waters of California. The Columbia is at present on a Stand and we with dificuelty made 25 miles to day—.
|
|
|
Return to