Hood River, Oregon

I originally posted the Hood River, Oregon PLACES page on my old website on December 18, 2009.

Hood River, Oregon is one of the few towns within the Columbia River Gorge. It's location makes it an important spot for tourism and recreation, especially windsurfing due to the strong winds in this part of the gorge. Hood River also has a lot of historical significance.

History

Nathaniel Coe came to Oregon with his family to establish a new mail route. Later he left government service and filed a land claim in the Hood River Valley. Nathaniel's wife Mary helped prepare a bushel of apples in exchange for their seeds. After the family built a home they planted the seeds around 1854. Within 25 years, the first commercial orchards were operating in the Hood River Valley. Today, the Hood River Valley produces 185,000 tons of apples, pears and cherries every year. Though best known for apples like the Newtown Pippin, pears account for 75% of the Hood River Valley's fruit crop. The Hood River Valley produces over 30% of all winter pears and 11% of all Bartlett pears grown in the United States.

The city of Hood River takes its name from the river which flows into the Columbia River here. The Native Americans called this area Waucoma, meaning land of the cottonwood tree. Lewis & Clark discovered the river on October 29, 1805, and they named it the Labeasche River, after a French-Canadian member of the expedition named Francis Labiche. Later it was called the Dog River, after a starving group of pioneer travelers desperately resorted to eating dog meat here to survive. Mrs. Coe popularized the name Hood River, an appropriate name as the river originates on Mount Hood, itself named on October 29, 1792 for British Admiral Samuel Hood by British Lieutenant William Broughton, a member of George Vancouver's worldwide expedition. The name Hood River appeared on maps as early as 1856.

The Hood River post office was established on September 20, 1858. The railroad between Portland and The Dalles opened in 1882. The City of Hood River was incorporated in July 1895. Hood River is the seat of Hood River County, which was separated from Wasco County on June 23, 1908. The Columbia River Highway opened from Portland to Hood River in 1916, and reached The Dalles in 1922.

Map of Hood River

Inset

1: Masonic Lodge No. 105 A.F. & A.M.
2: Brosius Building
3: Hotel Waucoma
4: Ezra L. Smith Building
5: Keir Medical Building
6: Davidson Building
7: Odd Fellows Hall
8: Hood River Banking & Trust Company
9: Spaulding Laundry
10: Eliot Building
11: Blowers Building
12: Hall Building
13: First National Bank of Hood River
14: Heilbronner Block
15: Otten Building
16: Hood River Depot
17: First Congregational Church
18: Hood River County Library
19: Sproat Building
20: Hood River Hotel
21: LaFrance Building
22: Hood River Garage
23: Highway Auto Company
24: City Hall
25: DeWitt Motors
26: Snyder Building
27: Butler Bank
28: Hood River Bridge
29: Kelly Brothers Hardware
30: Yasui Brothers Mercantile
31: United States Post Office
32: Elks Lodge
33: Hood River County Court House
34: Richard Lance III Memorial
35: Hood River County History Museum
36: Overlook Memorial Park

All of the historical photos displayed in the following posts were photographed from interpretive signs displayed around town. The original photos are from the Hood River County Historical Museum (HRCHM) unless noted otherwise.

Hood River Links:
City of Hood River
Hood River County Historical Museum
Salem Public Library's Historic Photograph Collections
University of Oregon Libraries Digital Collections
Columbia Gorge Discovery Center
Oregon State University Library Digital Collections

Continue to 1: Masonic Lodge No. 105 A.F. & A.M.…