PlacesPages: Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum in Stevenson, Washington

I originally posted the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum PLACES page on my old website on December 18, 2009.

Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum on July 3, 2009

The Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum in Stevenson, Washington is dedicated to the preservation, conservation, and interpretation of the cultural and natural history of Skamania County and the Columbia River Gorge. The museum is operated by the Skamania County Historical Society. The museum was designed by Architect Fletcher Far Ayotte PC, built by Walsh Construction Company and dedicated on May 1, 1995. The historic photos displayed in the following posts were photographed from interpretive displays in the museum.

Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum on July 3, 2009

The Columbia River Gorge was sculpted by recurrent Ice Age floods when the river flowed hundreds of feet higher than present-day levels, scouring the landscape. It is the only near sea-level passage through the Cascade Mountains. Weather can vary dramatically between the east and west ends of the Gorge. The climate and landscape of the arid east end is drier with less trees and vegetation than the rainy west end.

Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum on July 3, 2009

In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France. The territory consisted of approximately 828,000 square miles, much of it unexplored. President Thomas Jefferson directed Captain Meriwether Lewis to organize, equip and lead an expedition up the Missouri River and across the continent to find the fabled Northwest Passage, a series of rivers forming a route across the western mountains to the Pacific Ocean and making possible direct trade with Asia. Lewis chose his trusted friend William Clark to join him as co-leader. In 1804-1806, Lewis and Clark led the Corps of Discovery, a party of soldiers, civilians and interpreters, on an epic journey through the newly purchased Louisiana Territory, over the Rocky Mountains, down the Columbia River to the shores of the Pacific Ocean and back, mapping the land and recording its resources and trading with Native American tribes.

The Lewis & Clark Expedition first encountered the Columbia River Gorge on its westward voyage in October 1805. After portaging the Great Falls of the Columbia River (Celilo Falls), the Expedition reached the Short and Long Narrows of the Columbia River. Lewis & Clark noticed dead trees submerged in the river throughout the Gorge. They correctly speculated the river was dammed sometime in the past, covering these trees with about 30 feet of water. Scientists believe the last massive landslide occurred in the Gorge at the Cascades of the Columbia about 50 years before the Lewis & Clark Expedition. On October 28, 1805, the Lewis & Clark Expedition first saw the California Condor, a now-endangered species that no longer inhabits the area. Also seen near the mouth of the Columbia. Lewis & Clark camped near here on October 30-31, 1805. William Clark observed "a remarkable high detached rock" on the Columbia River on October 31, 1805 and later named this feature Beacon Rock. The Expedition portaged the last set of Columbia River rapids on November 1, 1805. The "Great Shute" (Cascades of the Columbia), located a few miles downstream from here, is now underwater behind the Bonneville Dam.

The Lewis & Clark Expedition first met Chinookan tribes as they traveled through the Columbia River Gorge in autumn 1805. At that time, Chinookan society consisted of many bands living between the narrows of the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean. Chinookan people were seasoned traders who had long controlled commerce on the Columbia River. The Chinookan people already had experience trading with white men who had come up the river from the ocean. While camped near here, the explorers encountered several Upper Chinookan villages and found a well-worn path used to portage around the rapids.

Lewis & Clark met the Watála Indians in 1805-1806 including the Sha-ha-la, Clah-clel-lah and Wah-cleh-lah bands. Later pioneers called them the Cascade Indians because they lived along both sides of the river near the Cascades of the Columbia. Like other Chinookan tribes, their way of life was closely tied to the river and fishing. They also practiced the custom of head shaping, applying gentle pressure to infants' foreheads to flatten them.

The Expedition passed this way again in April 1806 during the return journey.

Congress recognized the Columbia River Gorge as a National Scenic Area in 1986.

Lewis & Clark Marker on July 3, 2009

This marker outside the museum was placed by the Washington State Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution on December 3, 1999. It features excepts from the journals of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark as they passed through this area in 1805 and 1806.

Outside the museum building are a number of large artifacts.

Court of the Cedars on July 3, 2009

Artist and woodsman Dudley Carter created these tree sculptures, collectively called the Court of the Cedars, in 1980 at the age of 90. The trees are all from this area, with one from within Skamania County. They are named "Forest Garland," "Primitive Woman" and "Mythical Beast" and represent the Native American heritage of the Pacific Northwest. They were originally located at the Clackamas Town Center mall in Portland, Oregon and were dedicated for the mall's sixth anniversary on March 15, 1987. They were removed from the mall in 2004 and erected here in 2005. They are on the Misner Patio, named in memory of Richard "Dick" Misner (1933-2003), whose favorite quote was by Thomas Edison: "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."

Broughton Flume on July 3, 2009

The Broughton Flume was the fastest and longest water flume in the world from 1923 to 1986. It transported cants (rough sawn lumber) from the upper mill in Willard to the lower mill on the Columbia River, a distance of 9 miles in 55 minutes with an elevation drop of one thousand feet. At the end of the day, the final piece of lumber carried a flag with a sign, "That's all." The final "That's all" was sent December 19, 1986. Portions of the flume can be seen from SR-14.

Broughton Flume on July 3, 2009

This small section of the flume was restored in 2005 by Don Yarnell, Underwood, WA. Donor: Broughton Mill.

WWII Bonneville Dam Pill Box on July 3, 2009

Several pill boxes like this one were placed around the Bonneville Dam around 1940.

WWII Bonneville Dam Pill Box on July 3, 2009

The Bonneville Dam was considered at high risk as a likely target for enemy saboteurs during World War II, since it powered the shipyards in Portland, Oregon.

WWII Bonneville Dam Pill Box on July 3, 2009