Lewis and Clark's Columbia River
Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later"
"Collins, Collins Creek, Collins Landing, and Collins Point, Washington"
Includes ... Collins ... Collins Creek ... Collins Hot Spring ... Collins Landing ... Collins Point ... Collins Landslide ... Campsite of April 13, 1806 ... North Bank Road ...
Image, 2004, Wind Mountain and the Collins Slide, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Wind Mountain, Collins Point, and the Collins Landslide, Washington. View from Starvation Creek State Park, Oregon. Image taken September 24, 2004.


Collins, Collins Creek, Collins Landing, and Collins Point ...
Collins, Collins Creek, Collins Landing, and Collins Point were all named for William Collins who settled in the area in the 1870s.

Collins ...
The small Washington community of Collins is located in T3N R8E, Skamania County, along the Columbia River. Downstream is the community of Home Valley and the Wind River and north of Collins is Wind Mountain. Upstream is Grant Lake and Dog Mountain.

Collins Creek ...
Collins Creek is a small creek (0.8 miles) which follows the west side of Dog Mountain draining into the Columbia River at Collins Point. A small lake, Grant Lake, is nestled between Collins Creek and Dog Mountain. The 1878 U.S. Bureau of Land Management's cadastral survey (tax survey) for T3N R9E shows Collins Creek merging into the Columbia River in Section 31. In 1979 the U.S. Board of Geographic Names made the name "Collins Creek" official.

Collins Landing ...
(to come)

Collins Point ...
Collins Point is located on the Washington side of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 158, upstream of Wind Mountain and downstream of Grant Lake and Dog Mountain. Good views of Collins Point can be seen from across the river at Starvation Creek State Park.

Image, 2005, Collins Point as seen from Washington State Highway 14, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Collins Point, Washington. View from downstream off of Washington State Highway 14. Image taken February 26, 2005.
Image, 2005, Collins Point as seen from downstream, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Collins Point, Washington, as seen from Washington State Highway 14. Image taken February 26, 2005.


Lewis and Clark and Collins Creek ...
Lewis and Clark's campsite of April 13, 1806, was on the Washington shore of the Columbia River, between Collins Creek and Dog Creek.
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William Collins ...
Collins, Collins Creek, Collins Landing, and Collins Point were all named for William Collins, an early settler and eventual Skamania County Judge.

The 1860 Federal Census for Skamania County, Washington Territory, did not list anyone with the name "Collins".

The 1870 Federal Census for Skamania County, Washington Territory, lists William Collins, occupation: "Farmer", age 55, from New Hamshire, Mary Collins, occupation: "Keepinghouse", age 54, from Massachusetts, and Abby Collins, age 20, from New Jersey.

Ten years later the 1880 Federal Census for Skamania County, Washington Territory, lists William Collins, occupation: "Probate Judge Skamania County, W. T.", age 67, from New Hampshire, and his wife, Mary F. Collins, occupation: "keeping house", age 65, from Massachusetts.


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

"Collins ... a postoffice in Skamania County and known sometimes as Collins Hot Springs."

According to C. Albert White's "Land Slide Report" (BLM, 1998):

"Portions of Tps. 3N., Rs. 8 and 9E., and meanders of the right bank of the Columbia River were surveyed by E.L. Smith and Samuel J. Spray in 1875 ...   In his 1875 field notes, Samuel Spray noted the Collins house in Lot 4, section 31, and the "Collins Wood Flume" near the west side of Collins Creek. He also stated that most of the timber in the area had been logged off."

The 1875 Cadastral Survey (tax survey) map for T3N R9E shows "Collins Cr." merging into the Columbia River in Section 31, and the "Collins" homestead located on its right bank. This is located within the claim of James M. Findley.

The 1875 Cadastral Survey (tax survey) map for T3N R8E shows a "Collin Barn" on the left bank of a small drainage west of Wind Mountain in the southeast corner of Section 27. Today this is the location of the Washington community of Home Valley.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management General Land Office (GLO) Records database shows William Collins being granted title to 120 acres along Collins Creek, in T3N R9E Sec.30, north of Collins Point on December 10, 1881 (1820 Sale Cash Entry).

On May 6, 1882, James M. Findley was granted title to 351.21 acres at the tip of Collins Point, T3N R9E Sec.31, and T3N R8E Sec.36 (1850 Oregon Donation Act).

In 1906 a hospital associated with the North Bank Road existed in "Collins Springs".

"Dr. Scott, in charge of the hospital of the North Bank road located at Collins Springs, was a visitor at Hood River this week." ["The Hood River Glacier", September 13, 1906, Historic Oregon Newspapers, University of Oregon Libraries, 2015]

The 1911 USGS Mount Hood and Vicinity Topographic Map lists the town of "Collins", located on the bank of the Columbia just uphill of a point, directly across from Oregon's Shellrock Mountain and downstream of Collins Creek. Five structures are shown including the original Collins structure.

The 1946 NOAA Chart "Bonneville to The Dalles" has the town of "Collins" while the 1966 chart only lists point at that location "Collins Point". Today's charts list "Collins Point".

In 1979 the U.S. Board of Geographic Names made the name "Collins Creek" official.


Early Maps ...

1956 Map detail, Cadastral Survey, 1876, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
1876 Cadastral Survey map detail of T3N, R9E, Sections 31 and 32, showing Collins Creek and the Collin's homestead, Washington. The Collin's homestead is located in the southeast corner of the Findley DLC. Original map courtesy U.S. Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office (GLO) Records database, 2016.
1956 Map detail, Wind Mountain and Collins Creek, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
1911 U.S. Geological Survey Topographic Map detail, showing Wind Mountain, Collins Creek, and Collins, Washington. Original map 1:125,000 "Mount Hood and Vicinity, Oreg.-Wash.".
1956 Map detail, Home Valley and Collins area, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
1956 Skamania County map detail for T3N R8E, showing the Home Valley and Collins areas, Washington. Original map courtesy "HistoricMapWorks.com", 2019.
1956 Map detail, Collins Creek to Dog Mountain, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
1956 Skamania County map detail for T3N R9E, showing the Collins Creek to Dog Mountain area, Washington. Original map courtesy "HistoricMapWorks.com", 2019.


Collins, etc.

  • Collins Hot Spring ...
  • Collins Point Landslide ...
  • North Bank Road ...


Collins Hot Spring ...
The Collins Hot Spring and the site of the Collins Hot Springs Resort were located near Collins Point, Washington, and today are under the waters of Bonneville Reservoir. The resort boasted spring waters of 120°F.
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Collins Point Landslide ...
The Collins Point Landslide lies between Wind Mountain and Dog Mountain and consists chiefly of material from the Ohanapecosh Formation. This is still an active landslide, moving 40 to 50 feet a year at the upper end of the slide and 5 to 10 feet a year at the toe ("Collins Point"). The most impressive landslide however along this stretch of the Columbia occurred around 1100 A.D. The large Bonneville landslide, between the cities of North Bonneville and Stevenson, was 200 feet high and covered five square miles. That landslide blocked the Columbia River for a short period and gave rise to the legend of the Bridge of the Gods. The infamous "Submerged Forest" was also a result of the landslide.

Image, 2004, Collins Point Landslide, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Collins Point Landslide, Washington. View from Starvation Creek State Park, Oregon. Image taken September 24, 2004.


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, 1907. -- (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.

[More]



"The Golden Age of Postcards" ...

The early 1900s was the "Golden Age of Postcards". The "Penny Postcard" became a popular way to send greetings to friends and family. Penny Postcards today have become a part of history.


From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...

Clark, April 13, 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:
  • "HistoricMapWorks.com" website, 2019;
  • Historic Oregon Newspapers Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, 2019;
  • Meany, E.S., 1923, "Origin of Washington Geographic Names", University of Washington Press, Seattle;
  • NOAA Office of Coast Survey website, 2005;
  • U.S. Bureau of Land Management General Land Office (GLO) Records database, 2005, 2006, 2016;
  • U.S. Forest Service website, 2004, Gifford Pinchot National Forest;
  • U.S. Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) database, 2006;
  • U.S. Geological Survey, 1911, Mount Hood and Vicinity, Washington 1:125,000 Topographic Map;


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/collins_point.html
February 2013