Lewis and Clark's Columbia River
Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later"
"Oregon Trunk Line"
Includes ... Oregon Trunk Line ... Wishram ... Celilo ... Spokane, Portland, & Seattle ...
Image, 2005, Celilo area and Mount Hood, Oregon, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Celilo area and Mount Hood, Oregon. From Washington State Highway 14, near Haystack Butte, looking down on the Oregon Trunk Line Railroad, Celilo area. Mount Hood, Oregon, shows in the notch of the Fairbanks Water Gap. Image taken May 24, 2005.


Oregon Trunk Line ...

The Portland & Seattle Railway was incorporated in 1905 with the purpose of connecting Spokane, Seattle and Portland by railroad. In early 1908 the company name was changed to the "Spokane, Portland, & Seattle" (SP&S) after the railroad started construction of a line from Portland to Spokane along the north bank of the Columbia River. Meanwhile in 1906 the Oregon Trunk line was being developed in Central Oregon, and was merged into the SP&S system in 1908. The Oregon Trunk originally connected with the SP&S using boats to cross the river, until 1912, when a bridge was constructed across the Columbia River, connecting the northern SP&S line with the southern Oregon Trunk line. The southern end of the bridge touches the Oregon shore downstream of Celilo Park. The northern end of this bridge is located just downstream of Wishram.
[More Railroads]


Views ...

Image, 2006, Oregon Trunk Line Railroad Bridge, Oregon side, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Oregon Trunk Line Railroad Bridge, Oregon side. View from Interstate 84. Image taken October 2, 2006.
Image, 2005, Oregon Trunk Line Railroad Bridge, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Oregon Trunk Line Railroad Bridge as seen from upstream, Washington State Highway 14. View from Washington State Highway 14 near Haystack Butte, looking down on the Oregon Trunk Line Railroad and Celilo area. Image taken May 24, 2005.
Image, 2005, Oregon Trunk Line Railroad Bridge, Washington side, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Oregon Trunk Line Railroad Bridge as seen from downstream at approximate location of Lewis and Clark's campsite. The Oregon Trunk Bridge connects the area which once was Celilo Falls with Wishram Washington. Lewis and Clark's camp of October 22 and 23 was on the downstream side of the bridge, in the foreground in this image. View from Washington State Highway 14. Image taken May 24, 2005.
Image, 2006, Oregon Trunk Line Railroad Bridge, Oregon side, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Oregon Trunk Line Railroad Bridge, Oregon side, as seen from Celilo Park. Image taken October 2, 2006.
Image, 2006, Oregon Trunk Line Railroad Bridge, Washington side, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Oregon Trunk Line Railroad Bridge, Washington side, as seen from Celilo Park. Image taken October 2, 2006.


"The Golden Age of Postcards" ...

The early 1900s was the "Golden Age of Postcards", with the "Penny Postcard" being a popular way to send greetings to family and friends. Today the Penny Postcards have become a snapshot of history.


From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...

Clark, ...
 



Columbia PlateauReturn 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:   

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/oregon_trunk_line.html
September 2008