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Prindle area, Washington, from Dalton Point, Oregon.
Image taken October 22, 2005.
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Prindle ...
Early Prindle ...
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Today's Prindle, in Skamania County, was once known as "Cruzatte" ("Cruzatt", "Cruzat"). In 1805 the Lewis and Clark Expedition named today's Wind River the "Cruzatte River", after one of their members Peter Cruzatte.
Prindle was the name of the first settler in the area, Ernest Hinsdale Prindle, who filed for 160 acres in 1898.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office (GLO) Records database (2015) shows Ernest H. Prindle being granted title to 160 acres of T1N R5E, parts of Section 1, on June 29, 1898 (1862 Homestead EntryOriginal).
Edmond S. Meany wrote in "Origin of Washington Geographic Names" (1923, University of Washington Press):
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"Cruzatte ... Lewis and Clark, 1803-1806, gave the name of one of their party to a river now known as Wind River. Near there a settlement, in Skamania County, received the name of "Cruzat," but it has since been changed to Prindle."
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"Prindle ... a town on the Columbia River, in the southwestern part of Skamania County. The place was formerly called Cruzatt in honor of Peter Cruzatte of the Lewis and Clark expedition, by which Wind River had been named "Cruzatte River" in 1805. The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Company changed the name of the station to honor Ernest Hinsdale Prindle, a pioneer land owner there. The first Prindle known in America was at New Milford, Connecticut, in 1654. There were 31 of the names of Prindle or Pringle in the Revolutionary War."
Robert Hitchman wrote in "Place Names of Washington" (1985, Washington State Historical Society):
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"Prindle ... Railroad point on north bank of Columbia River, 28 miles east of Vancouver, southwest Skamania County. This place was named by officials of St. Paul & Spokane Railway [note: in error?, Spokane, Portland & Seattle] for the first settler, Ernest Hinsdale Prindle. In 1806, the first name, Cruzatt, was applied by Lewis and Clark for one of their party, Peter Cruzatte."
The 1911 U.S. Geological Survey's 1:125,000 topo map for "Mount Hood and Vicinity" shows "Cruzatt".
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Prindle in 1941 ...
From "Washington: A Guide to the Evergreen State", 1941, by the Washington State Historical Society, Federal Works Agency, Works Projects Administration (WPA):
"... PRINDLE ... is a roadside stopping place composed of a store and a few scattered houses. The town was named for its first settler, a German sailor who planted an orchard and garden to supply the soldiers at Cascades in 1851. Many persons of Polish origin remained after constructgion of the Union Pacific R.R. in the seventies to form a community of small farms. Older residents still converse in Polish. Robert Prindle, son of the founder, is postmaster there. ..."
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Views ...
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Prindle School as seen from Washington State Highway 14.
View from moving car.
Image taken January 31, 2013.
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One-room school house built in 1912.
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- North Bank Road ... (Cruzatt)
- Prindle Park ...
- Views from Prindle ...
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North Bank Road ... (Cruzatt)
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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. -- (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.
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Prindle Park ...
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Prindle Park is located along Canyon River Road, northwest of the community of Prindle.
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Sign, Prindle Park, Skamania County, Washington.
Image taken August 26, 2015.
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Views from Prindle ...
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Multnomah Falls, Oregon, upper falls, from Prindle, Washington.
Image taken April 2, 2005.
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Multnomah Falls, Oregon, upper falls, from Prindle, Washington.
Image taken April 2, 2005.
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Mist Falls, Oregon, from Prindle, Washington.
Image taken April 2, 2005.
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From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...
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Clark, November 2, 1805 ...
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