Lewis and Clark's Columbia River
Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later"
"Kelley Point and Kelley Point Park, Oregon"
Includes ... Kelley Point ... Hall J. Kelley ... Kelley Point Park ... "Belle Vue Point" ... Pearcy Island ... Willamette River Lighthouse ... Columbia Slough ...
Image, 2003, Kelley Point and mouth of the Willamette River, Oregon, from Blurock Landing, Washington, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Kelley Point (treed area middle left) and mouth of the Willamette River (to the right of Kelley Point), Portland, Oregon. The point of Sauvie Island, thought to be Broughton's "Belle Vue Point", is treed area on the right. View from Blurock Landing, Washington. Image taken July 2, 2003.


Kelley Point ...
Kelley Point, Oregon, is located at the junction of the Willamette River with the Columbia River, at Columbia River Mile (RM) 101. Kelley Point is the right bank point of the Willamette. Directly across the Willamette from Kelley Point is Sauvie Island, and across the Columbia from Kelley Point on the Washington side is Blurock Landing, a spot where five Cascade Range volcanoes can easily be viewed from the parking lot. Upstream of Kelley Point is Hayden Island.

Hall J. Kelley ...
Kelley Point was officially named in 1926 after Hall J. Kelley, an early promotor of Oregon. In 1829, Kelley drew up plans for a great city on the peninsula between the Columbia and the Willamette Rivers. Kelley was also famous for his proposal to name the Cascade Range Peaks after U.S. Presidents.

Early Kelley Point ...
Kelley Point was once a separate island separated by sloughs from the mainland Oregon, and known as "Pearcy's Island". The City of Portland covered the flood-prone peninsula with tons of river dredgings to create Kelley Point Park.

In 1792, Lieutenant Broughton on his exploration of the Columbia River, passed by the mouth of the Willamette River and refered to "two small woody islets". They called the Willamette River the "River Munnings".

"... they passed ... a small river leading to the southwestward; and half a mile further on the same shore came to a larger one that took a more southerly course. The entrance of the latter, about a quarter of a mile in width, are two small woody islets; the ajacent country extending from its banks presented a most beautiful appearance. This river Mr. Broughton distinguished by the name of River Munnings. Its southern point of entrance, situated in latitude 45o 39', longitude 237o 21', commanded a most delightful prospect of the surrounding region, and obtained the name of Belle Vue Point ..." [Broughton/Vancouver, October 29, 1792]

In 1841 Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Exploring Expedition noted the islands at the mouth of the Willamette River.

"... the upper mouth of the Willamette, which flows into the Columbia, between Billy Bruce and Johnson's Islands. From this point, the river takes a bend to the southeast ..."

An 1854 cadastral survey (tax survey) for T2N R1W showed two islands at the mouth of the Willamette River. The island on the north side of the mouth of the Willamette would eventually merge with Sauvie Island and would become today's Belle Vue Point. The island on the south side of the mouth of the Willamette when merged with mainland Oregon would become Kelley Point. The map also shows a small island off of the Kelley Point island which also would become part of Kelley Point, and a second small island in the slough separating the Kelley Point island from mainland Oregon, which would become part of mainland Oregon.

An 1888 U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart "Columbia River Sheet No.6, Fales Landing to Portland" has the same four islands, with sand bars in the sloughs separating the islands from land. The mouth of the Willamette River runs between the islands. "Coon I." was the island off of Sauvie Island, "Pearcy's Island" was the island which was to become Kelley Point and "Pearcy's Slough" separated the island from mainland Oregon. "Ramsey's I." was the small island on the southwest side of the slough, with the Columbia Slough entering into the Willamette River behind Ramsey's Island. "Nigger Tom I." was the small island off of Pearcy's Island which would later become part of Kelley Point.


Views ...

Image, 2003, Mouth of the Willamette River, from Kelley Point Park, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Mouth of the Willamette River, as seen from Kelley Point Park. Sauvie Island is in the background. Image taken September 13, 2003.
Image, 2003, downstream tip Hayden Island from Kelley Point, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Hayden Island as seen from Kelley Point Park. Downstream tip of Hayden Island, Oregon, as seen from Kelley Point, Oregon. Image taken September 13, 2003.


Kelley Point, etc.

  • Belle Vue Point ...
  • Columbia Slough ...
  • Concrete Barriers ...
  • Five Volcanoes ...
  • Kelley Point Park ...
  • Willamette River Lighthouse ...


Belle Vue Point ...
Today, directly across from Kelley Point is Sauvie Island's Belle Vue Point, a spot historians say is the "Belle Vue Point" named in 1792 by Lieutenant Broughton, of the Captain George Vancouver expedition. While early research thought Kelley Point was Broughton's "Belle Vue Point", research in the late 1920s and early 1930s showed Broughton's "Belle Vue Point" was most likely on Coon Island, now a part of Sauvie Island. "River Munnings" is today's Willamette River.

"... This river Mr. Broughton distinguished by the name of River Munnings. Its southern point of entrance, situated in latitude 45o 39', longitude 237o 21', commanded a most delightful prospect of the surrounding region, and obtained the name of Belle Vue Point; from whence the branch of the river, at least that which was so considered, took a direction about S.57E. for a league and a half. ... [Broughton, October 29, 1792]

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Columbia Slough ...
The southern border of Kelley Point Park is the Columbia Slough, which enters the Willamette River at River Mile (RM) 1. The Columbia Slough is a 60-square-mile watershed located on the floodplain of the Willamette and the Columbia, and includes approximately 32,700 acres, 6 lakes, 3 ponds, and 50 miles of waterways. The Columbia Slough begins at Fairview Lake and meanders west for 19 miles to Kelley Point where it empties into the Willamette.
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Image, 2019, Mouth of the Columbia Slough, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Columbia Slough merging with the Willamette River, Oregon. View from Kelley Point Park. Image taken February 20, 2019.
Image, 2006, Mouth of the Columbia Slough, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Columbia Slough merging with the Willamette River, Oregon. View from Kelley Point Park. Image taken February 4, 2006.


Concrete Barriers ...
Parking area just after entering Kelley Point Park, overlooking the Columbia Slough and the Purina Complex.

Image, 2019, Kelley Point Park, Portland, Oregon, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Concrete Barriers, Kelley Point Park, Portland, Oregon. View looking towards the Columbia Slough and the Purina Complex. Image taken February 20, 2019.
Image, 2019, Kelley Point Park, Portland, Oregon, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Concrete Barriers, Kelley Point Park, Portland, Oregon. Image taken February 20, 2019.
Image, 2019, Kelley Point Park, Portland, Oregon, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Concrete Barriers, Kelley Point Park, Portland, Oregon. Image taken February 20, 2019.
Image, 2019, Kelley Point Park, Portland, Oregon, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Concrete Barriers, Kelley Point Park, Portland, Oregon. Image taken February 20, 2019.
Image, 2019, Kelley Point Park, Portland, Oregon, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Concrete Barriers, Kelley Point Park, Portland, Oregon. Image taken February 20, 2019.
Image, 2019, Kelley Point Park, Portland, Oregon, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Concrete Barriers, Kelley Point Park, Portland, Oregon. View looking towards the Columbia Slough and the Purina Complex. Image taken February 20, 2019.
Image, 2019, Kelley Point Park, Portland, Oregon, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Concrete Barriers, Kelley Point Park, Portland, Oregon. View looking towards the Columbia Slough and the Purina Complex. Image taken February 20, 2019.


Five Volcanoes ...
Kelley Point is located on the southern bank of the Willamette River, as it enters the Columbia River, where, on April 2, 1806, Captain Clark wrote:

"... from the enterance of this river, I can plainly See Mt. Jefferson which is high and Covered with snow S.E. Mt. Hood East, Mt St. Helians a high humped Mountain to the East of Mt St. Helians. I also Saw the Mt. Raneer Nearly North ..." [Clark, April 2, 1806]

The "high humped Mountain to the East of Mt St. Helians" is Mount Adams. The five peaks, Mount Jefferson and Mount Hood, Oregon, and Mount Adams, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Rainier, Washington, can be seen throughout this stretch of the river.
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Image, 2003, Mount Hood, Oregon, from Kelley Point, Oregon, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Mount Hood, Oregon, from Kelley Point, Oregon. Image taken September 13, 2003.


"... Mt. Hood East ..."
[Clark, November 2, 1806]


Kelley Point Park ...
Kelley Point Park is located at the junction of the Willamette River with the Columbia River. According to the Portland Parks & Recreation website (2019), Kelley Point Park comprises 104.16 acres and was acquired in 1984, and it includes a restroom, beaches, canoe launch, paved and unpaved paths, and picnic areas.

Image, 2003, Columbia River looking downstream from Kelley Point Park, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Columbia River looking downstream from Kelley Point, with mouth of the Willamette River entering from left behind pilings. Image taken September 13, 2003.
Image, 2006, Woods, Kelley Point Park, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Woods, Kelley Point Park, Portland, Oregon. View from Kelley Point Park. Image taken February 4, 2006.


Willamette River Lighthouse ...
In 1895 a lighthouse was constructed near today's Kelley Point where the Willamette River met the Columbia. In 1935 the lighthouse was electrified and no longer needed keepers to light the lantern or ring the fog bell. It was sold and moved during the 1940s and burned during the 1950s.
[More]

Penny Postcard, Columbia River - Willamette River Lighthouse, Oregon, ca.1910
Click image to enlarge 		Penny Postcard: Columbia River - Willamette River Lighthouse, ca.1910.
Penny Postcard, ca.1910, "Light House at the Junction of Columbia and Willamette Rivers.". Published by Portland Post Card Co., Portland, Oregon. In the private collection of Lyn Topinka.


From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...

Clark, November 4, 1805 ...




Clark, April 2, 1806 ...



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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:
  • McArthur, L.A., and McArthur, L.L., 2003, Oregon Geographic Names, Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland;
  • NOAA Office of Coast Survey website 2005;
  • Portland Parks and Recreation website, 2005;


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/kelley_point.html
September 2008