"... about this time several canoes of the natives arrived at our camp and among others one from below which had on board eight men of the Shah-ha-la nation these men informed us that 2 young men whom they pointed out were Cash-hooks and resided at the falls of a large river which discharges itself into the Columbia on it's South side some miles below us. ..." [Clark. April 2, 1806]

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In 1829 Dr. Dr. John McLaughlin took up a land claim on property next to the Willamette Falls. This was the same Dr. John McLaughlin who was Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver. In 1842 Dr. McLoughlin platted a townsite and named the new community "Oregon City". In 1846, after he left Fort Vancouver, Dr. McLoughlin settled in Oregon City.

The falls were a major salmon fishing location and and important part of the development of the community of Oregon City. They furnished power for a lumber mill (1842), a flour mill (1844), a woolen mill (1864), and the first paper mill in the Pacific Northwest (1867).

In 1847 the Oregon City Post Office was established.

In 1873, the Willamette Falls Locks were opened when the steamer Maria Wilkins became the first vessel to navigate up the west end of the falls.

In 1889 the first long-distance commercial electric power transmission in the United States went from Willamette Falls to the City of Portland.

Oregon City was considered the "End of the Oregon Trail", whether pioneers came by rafting down the Columbia or came overland via the Barlow Road.

• Blue Heron Paper Company ...
• Bridges over the Willamette ...
• Canemah Historic District ...
• Clackamas River ...
• Dr. John McLoughlin ...
• McLoughlin Historic District ...
• Missoula Floods ...
• Municipal Elevator ...
• Murals ...
• Willamette Falls ...
• Willamette Falls Locks ...
• Willamette River ...

"... The Willamette River Bridge at Oregon City is a 745-foot structure consisting of a 360-foot steel through arch and eleven concrete deck girder approach spans. The steel arch span is protected from corrosion by encasement in sprayed-on concrete (Gunite), which gives it the appearance of a concrete structure. The detailing--obelisk-shaped pylons, ornate bridge railing, arched fascia curtain walls, fluted Art-Deco main piers, cantilevered sidewalks, ornate balustrade railings and the use of bush-hammered inset panels--identify this structure as a Conde B. McCullough and contributes to the significance of the structure. ..." [Oregon State Department of Transportation website, 2006]

The new Oregon City bridge opened in 1922 with a dedication called "Wedding of Two Cities", a celebration which included a bridge queen, parade, and even a wedding held at the center span. The "Willamette River (Oregon City) Bridge (No.357), also known as the "Oregon City Bridge", was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 (Architecture/Engineering, #05000639).

The six-lane Abernethy Bridge opened in 1970 and carries Interstate 205 traffic across the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn. The bridge was named for George Abernethy, the first governor of Oregon under the provisional Oregon government. Abernethy was elected in 1845 and re-elected in 1847. His administration technically ended in 1848 when Oregon received territorial status and President Polk appointed General Joseph Lane as the first official territorial governor.

Willamette River George Abernethy Memorial Bridge Bridging a transportation gap ... In 1968, the Oregon Department of Transportation began constructing the Interstate 205 freeway bridge over the Willamette River. The bridge is a steel plate and box girder bridge spanning 2,727 feet. it opened on May 3, 1970 at a cost of $15.9 million and was originally designed to traverse the location of a famous Elm tree planted near the end of the Oregon Trail by the wife of George Abernethy. The bridge was moved after realizing the tree's significance. In 1845, Oregon City became the seat of the Provisional Government and George Abernethy was appointed governor. The 1979 Oregon Legislature designated the bridge as the "George Abernethy Memorial Bridge" in fitting tribute to Oregon's first pioneer Governor George Abernethy." Source:    "Willamette River, George Abernethy Memorial Bridge" information sign, Clackamette Park, Oregon City, Oregon, visited July 2016.

"Canemah was once a Clow-e-walla Indian village, and its name is derived from the Indian work "Kanim", or "canoe place", as the area was known. Because of the spring water and plentiful salmon, Calapooya bands encamped above the Falls in order to fish during spring and summer. They continued the practice even after the white settlers arrived. Absalom Fonts Hedges founded Canemah and helped organize the steamboat manufacturing industry on the upper Willamette. Hedges bought the land from Asa Lovejoy (co-founder of Portland) and filed his claim in November, 1845. He tried to develop the property with the aid of several partners, including James Nesmith, but he did not succeed until he went into partnership with his brother-in-law, William Barlow. The pair had the town surveyed in 1849, platted in 1850, and they named it Falls City. However, the Indian name "Canemah" prevailed. Michael Herr of Philadelphia and Sam Barlow purchased a majority of the lots in Canemah, thus providing Hedges sufficient capital to begin riverboat construction in Canemah in 1851. Ever increasing traffic on the Willamette necessitated improved portage facilities around the Falls. In 1850, Peter Hatch blasted out a portage road along the river between Oregon City, below the Falls, and Canemah. The demand for steam travel on the Willamette River was clearly evident by 1850 ... Hedges decided to take advantage of the harbor-like river frontage of his community, and he established a steamboat-building operation at Canemah. Construction of his first steamboat, the Canemah, was completed in 1851. Between 1851 and 1878, 28 riverboats were constructed at Canemah ... Between 1850 ad 1878 Canemah enjoyed its heyday ... The thriving business carried on at the Canemah dockside came to an abrupt halt in early December of 1861. Unusually cold and heavy rains during November were followed by rains warm enough to melt the snowpack in the higher country. In the ensuing flood, Canemah's warehoues and docks were washed away. The flood, however, enlarged the basin, and money was soon re-invested in Canemah. In 1862, Asa Lovejoy, D.P. Thompson and William and John Dement financed the construction of a railroad on the protage road between Oregon City and Canemah. ... As early as 1850, there had been talk of establishing a system of locks and canals at the Falls in order to accelerate the passage of freight and eliminate the need for portage facilities altogether. Finally, in 1870, the Oregon State Legislature appropriated funds to the Willamette Transportation and Locks Company for construction of boat locks on the opposite side of the river from Canemah. The opening of the locks in 1873 made the direct transportation of goods possible from the upper to the lower Williamette River, and thence down the Columbia River to Pacific shipping lanes. ... By the 1890s, Canemah and other once-thriving towns along the WIllamette River had changed from busy shipping centers to quieter residential communities. ..." "McLoughlin Boulevard (State Highway 99E) was built in the 1920s, and a section of it runs the length of Canemah. Connecting Canemah with Oregon City proper, it replaced earlier roads built along the foot of the bluffs, the first of which was blasted out in the 1850s. ..." "In 1928, Canemah residents petitioned the City of Oregon City for annexation, and, following a voter approval, Canemah ceased to exist as a separate governing entity. ..." Source:    U.S. National Register of Historic Places, 1978, Canemah Historic District Nomination Form, #78002279.

"The McLoughlin District is referred to as the "second level," refleting its topography and relationship to the original town of Oregon City, which lies just below at the base of a steep basalt cliff. In the 1850s few people built homes on the second level but as the downtown area became more crowded, and after completion of the Oregon & California railroad in late 1869, more residents moved up the hill, to what is now called the McLoughlin neighborhood."

"There are approximately 153 blocks in the McLoughlin Conservation District of which 121 are from the original plat of Oregon City."

The restriction at Kalama, Washington, and Prescott, Oregon, created a backwater lake, known as "Lake Allison". This lake filled the Willamette River Valley as far as Eugene, Oregon, over 100 miles away, with a measured height of 400 feet at Oregon City and an estimated height of 380 feet at Eugene. The area covered was approximately 3,000 square miles. The flood waters dumped thick layers of Palouse Silt, making the Willamette Valley one of the most fertile agricultural lands in the country.

"Each flood filled the Willamette Valley as far south as Eugene to nearly 400 feet in elevation, leaving deposits in the valley that consist of layered rhythmites known as Willamette Silt. The floods entered the Willamette Valley through the Oregon City Gap. More than 300 known groups of erratic boulders were dropped by melting icebergs around the margin of ephemeral Lake Allison. The floods also poured west through the Lake Oswego Gap into the Tualatin Valley, filling it to at least 350 feet elevation." [Allen, etc., 2009]

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"... There are only three other municipal elevators in the world. Basalt terraces divide the city into three levels. In 1915 the town built a water-powered elevator to connect the two lower parts of town in a ride that took 3 minutes. Early residents recall that if the water pressure suddenly dropped it meant somebody was riding the elevator. The Oregon City Elevator was converted to electricity in the 1920s which reduced the ride to 30 seconds. The new elevator was built in 1955. ..." ["Oregoncity.com" website, 2006]

"In January, 1954, the firm of Stevens and Thompson submitted a new design proposal that could be built within the bond amount. The new design produced a low bid of $116,000 and a contract was awarded to James and Yost, Inc. The new elevator was dedicated on May 5, 1955, and the City Commission accepted it on July 13, 1955. At that time, 2,000 elevator passes were printed. Even though the elevator ride has always been free, the distribution of these passes as a keepsake has continued as a City tradition. The existing elevator took over 751 tons of concrete and steel to construct, is 130 feet high, and passengers can zip to the top in 15 seconds. Additionally, passengers now walk through a 35-foot long tunnel under the tracks rather than over the tracks. The Oregon City Municipal Elevator continues to operate as one of only four municipal elevators in the world and "Elevator Street" remains the only "vertical street" in North America." Source:    Oregon City website, 2016, "Public Works".