Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later" "Columbia County Courthouse, St. Helens, Oregon"

Includes ... Columbia County Courthouse ... St. Helens Courthouse ... St. Helens, Oregon ... National Register of Historic Places ...

Click image to enlarge Courthouse, St. Helens, Oregon. The St. Helens' Courthouse was built in 1906. Image taken October 31, 2006. Columbia County Courthouse ... The Columbia County Courthouse located in St. Helens, Oregon was built in 1906 with the clock and bell added in 1910. Stone for the courthouse was quarried locally (in the early 1900s St. Helens' basalt rock quarry was a major industry for the area). The courthouse annex was constructed in 1968. Early History ... "The first Columbia County court met in 1854 in Milton, which was county seat until it moved to St. Helens in 1857. The devastating blaze of 1904 spared the original woodencourthouse, but the danger was apparent. In 1906, the city leaders laid the cornerstone for a courthouse built from local basalt. The bell and the Seth Thomas clock in the tower were added in 1910. A modern courthouse annex was constructed in 1972." Source:    Tricia Brown with the Columbia County Museum Association, 2015, "St. Helens", Arcadia Publishing. U.S. National Register of Historic Places ... In 1984 the "St. Helens Downtown Historic District" was added to the National Register of Historic Places (District, #84000137). The District rougly covers Strand, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Cowlitz, and St. Helens Streets, and Columbia Boulevard. "The Columbia County courthouse is a two story structure which sits on an above grade basement. It is "I" shaped in plan and has a symmetrical three-bay front and five-bay sides. The roof is a flat hip with boxed eaves. ...   The bell and clock tower which is centered on the top of the roof has a square base of metal ...   Each gable end has a clock face in it. The four faced clock was made by Seth Thomas of Connecticut in 1910 and installed in the County Courthouse on February 10, 1911. The bell is suspended from the ceiling below the clock faces. The river and plaza facades of the building were identical, as were the north and south side facades of the building originally. In 1972 a new, incompatible, addition was built onto the north facade." Source:    U.S. National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, 1984, "St. Helens Downtown Historic District" #84000137. Click image to enlarge HISTORICAL IMAGE, 1911, Courthouse and Bank, St. Helens, Oregon. Image courtesy U.S. National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, 1984, "St. Helens Historic District" #84000137. Views ... Click image to enlarge Columbia County Courthouse, St. Helens, Oregon. The "down the trodden path" is in the foreground. Image taken February 17, 2007. Click image to enlarge Courthouse, St. Helens, Oregon. Image taken October 31, 2006. Click image to enlarge Steps and sign, Courthouse, St. Helens, Oregon. The St. Helens' Courthouse was built in 1906. Image taken October 31, 2006. Click image to enlarge Columbia County Courthouse, St. Helens, Oregon. Image taken February 17, 2007. Click image to enlarge Front upper window, Courthouse, St. Helens, Oregon. Image taken October 31, 2006. Click image to enlarge Clock and Bell, Courthouse, St. Helens, Oregon. Image taken October 31, 2006. Click image to enlarge Courthouse side windows, St. Helens, Oregon. Image taken October 31, 2006. Click image to enlarge Fire escape, Courthouse, St. Helens, Oregon. Image taken October 31, 2006. Click image to enlarge Side window glass, Courthouse, St. Helens, Oregon. Image taken October 31, 2006. Columbia County Court House, etc. Courthouse Annex ... View from the Washington Side ... Courthouse Annex ... The original fog bell from Cape Disappointment Lighthouse resides in front of the entrance to the new section of the Columbia County Courthouse. The fog bell was placed at Cape Disappointment Lighthouse between 1856 to 1858, and was discontinued in 1881. Between 1889 and 1961 it resided at Warrior Rock Lighthouse on Sauvie Island. Click image to enlarge Entrance new section, Columbia County Courthouse, St. Helens, Oregon. Fog bell on the right is the original bell from Cape Disappointment. Image taken February 17, 2007. Click image to enlarge Cape Disappointment Fog Bell, Columbia County Courthouse, St. Helens, Oregon. Image taken February 17, 2007. Click image to enlarge Cape Disappointment Fog Bell, Columbia County Courthouse, St. Helens, Oregon. Image taken February 17, 2007. Scripture reads: "Cast by J Bernhard & Co No.78 N 6 St Philada 1855" View from the Washington Side ... Click image to enlarge Columbia County Courthouse, St. Helens, Oregon. View from the Washington side of the Columbia River, just downstream the mouth of the Lewis River, Washington, showing both the old (left) and the new (right) Columbia County Courthouse. Image taken March 29, 2007. From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ... Clark, November 5, 1805 ... Return to Menu

*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: Brown, T., with the Columbia County Museum Association, 2015, "St. Helens", Arcadia Publishing; City of St. Helens website, 2006; McBride Elementary School website, 2006, St. Helens, Oregon; Oregon State Archives website, 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/columbia_county_courthouse.html September 2008