May 28th: We woke up to sunshine & 70-degree weather 🌞😊 … so, we gulped our coffee's ☕️ and ran with the inspiring vibes. Holland asked me what I'd like to do - and I said, "let's go see if the swans have signets; I've never seen a baby swan before"; so, that's what we did 🚘💞
Our Circular country drive, today: the purple tracking lines indicates new territory, to me.
Holland tuned the cab radio to the local Rocket 107.1 "old school rock & roll for my Baby" broadcast from Castle Rock, and we were off. We drove up Barnes Drive to Cee Gee's Truck Stop & realized we'd missed the road we were looking for … but I was happily surprised when Holland turned left, then hung a right - and took me down a road I've never been on before. In all my drives throughout the years to this neck of the woods (with Bob & without Bob), I have never been on the road I was on this afternoon.
I was excited to see new territory 👏👀
And it did not disappoint. Some people like flash & dash … I prefer scenic country backroads 🚘👓📸
We drove Barnes Drive Rd., & turned left at Cee Gee's Truck Stop.
There he is - my majestic call-of-the-wild, Mt. Rainier; seen from Mandy Road. I will only visit him now in memories 🎞️🧠
An old homestead house; sad to see it so neglected - Holland stopped in the middle of the road, so I could grab this picture. He never stops in the middle of the road, so I knew I was getting princess treatment this Day 😘
A beautiful Painted Pony horse - well taken care of, obviously loved; again, Holland stopped in the middle of the road so I could get a closer look. He even whistled to get the horse to lift it's handsome head … but the whistle was ignored. The horse is too used to people. And it was lunch time, so he just kept munching 😂🤣
Cowlitz River Boat Launch; Holland has fished here, many times. When I drove the freeway overhead, back & forth to Chehalis & Centralia, (which was pretty seldom) - I always wondered what this little turnout was for, and how to get there … now, I know.
Then, Holland suggested a burger from Mrs. Beesley's - so, under the overpass we went, to Mrs. Beesley's Burgers, along the freeway.
We grabbed a burger at Mrs. Beesley's, doubled back to our original intent via a short "hop & a skip" jump-road at the Mandy & Herriford junction - to Tadpole Flats, on the Jackson Highway. I had driven Jackson Highway numerous times throughout the decades - but I'd never been on that short jump-road: I always wondered where it went, but I was never on it, until today.
Neither of us have been here, at this burger bar, in decades; Mrs. Beesley's Burgers, 393 Cowlitz Ridge Rd, Toledo, WA
Interior of Mrs. Beesley's Burgers.
The place was filled to overflowing with kitschy items.
A risqué advertisement tin - possibly form the 1940's.
My 1st motorcycle ride was on my cousin Joe's Indian - I was 7 years old & totally hooked on motorcycles from that day, & on.
I cannot lie … LOL
I laughed when I read this, thinking, "Sorry, but my personal Bigfoot is outside in Betsy, waiting for his 'burger" 😉
We got our burgers to go & planned to eat them at the Old Olequa Crossing riverside.
We took a jump road at the Mandy & Herriford junction - came out at Tadpole Flats: the purple tracking lines indicates new territory, to me.
The places Holland was showing me this afternoon 🌞🚘 were secret wonderings revealed 👀 Old news to him, but happy informative surprises 👓📸 to me 😊👏
Cowlitz Landing area. All of the purple circled area is new territory to me - both in travel & in historic information.
{{The Cowlitz Landing
~By Curt Cunningham
The Cowlitz Landing was at the end of the long and grueling canoe ride up the Cowlitz River, which could take 2 to 4 days to complete. The landing was located about a mile downstream from Toledo. From the landing, the Cowlitz Trail was then used as the overland route to the Chehalis River and further north to Tenino where the trail forked. The left fork was the Cowlitz Trail continuing north to the Puget Sound and the right fork was the trail that led to the Nisqually River, the Puyallup River and the Naches Trail.
Cowlitz Trail
The Hudson's Bay Company
The first Europeans to record a trip up the Cowlitz River was in 1811, when trappers Tom McKay, and Ovide de Montigny hired some Cowlitz canoemen to take them up the river to see what was out there. Gabriel Franchere described their journey in his journal that was published in 1851. The following is a paragraph is from his journal;
“We arrived at a large village that we had passed the evening before and we landed to obtain information respecting a considerable stream, which here discharges into the Columbia. The river comes from the north, and is called Coweliske by the natives. McKay, along with de Montigny and two Indians, in a small canoe, traveled up the river to examine its course, a certain distance up."
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) established a permanent settlement in the State of Washington when Fort Vancouver was completed in 1821, but after 8 years, the fort moved west to be closer to the Columbia River. Before that time, there was no company presence north of the great river. The first known record of the Cowlitz Trail, which was known to the HBC people as the Cowlitz Portage, was in 1824, when HBC employee James McMillan traveled north to the Puget Sound from Fort Vancouver.
In 1827, Fort Langley was constructed near the mouth of the Fraser River about 300 miles north of Fort Vancouver. To supply this new post, the HBC wanted an inland route between them. This was because ships were very expensive to operate and they were not always available, and they couldn’t be used during the winter season when the Fraser River was frozen over.
Sir George Simpson, the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, wrote in 1841; "When I descended the Cowlitz in 1828, there was a large population along its banks; but since then the intermittent fever, which commenced its ravages in the following year, had left but few to mourn for those that fell. During the whole of our day's course, till we came upon a small camp in the evening, the shores were silent and solitary, the deserted villages forming melancholy monuments of the generation that had passed away." (Simpson was describing the after effects of the ague fever that swept through the region in the 1820's and decimated about 90% of the native population. (Some theorize that the sickness was caused by Malaria)
The first leg of the journey from Fort Vancouver was by canoe down the Columbia to the mouth of the Cowlitz River. Here the travelers would camp for the night. The next day it was again by canoe up the Cowlitz to the mouth of the Toutle River. The confluence of the Cowlitz and Toutle rivers was known back then as the "forks of the Cowlitz" or "Clark's Landing," and usually took a couple of days to reach. In the mid to late 1850's a crude log cabin was established there for the weary travelers that became known as Hard Bread's Hotel.
It would take another day or two to reach the landing depending on the weather, river current and obstacles that they would encounter. The Cowlitz Landing was the head of navigation on the river. After reaching the shore, the supplies were then taken from the canoes and re-loaded onto pack horses for the 60 mile trip on the Cowlitz Trail to Puget Sound. The Cowlitz Landing became an important staging area and resting place for the HBC's employees as they were traveling between these forts. This trail would evolve into a section of the Pacific Highway 100 years later.
In 1833, Fort Nisqually was established on the bluffs overlooking Puget Sound about 2.5 miles northeast of the Nisqually River. Not long after, traffic increased on the portage route. At Tenino, instead of following the Cowlitz Trail to Budd's Inlet, the HBC employees took the trail that ran due east to the Deschutes River. After fording the river, the trail forked again and the employees took the left fork that ran northwest through Eaton's Prairie, which is now called Western Junction. From Eaton's prairie, the trail turned northward over the hill to Spurgeon Creek. After fording the creek the trail continued NW to the crossing of the Nisqually River. The crossing of the Nisqually was near the Red Wind Casino. After crossing the river the trail continued NW toward the fort.
In 1837, Simon Plamondon retired from the HBC after 16 years of service. Plamondon first arrived at Washougal in 1813 and was hired by the HBC in 1816. HBC Governor Dr. John McLoughlin had requested that Plamondon settle a few miles north of the Cowlitz Landing to farm for himself. Plamondon accepted the offer.
In 1838, the HBC established the Cowlitz Farms east of Plamondon's property and large scale farming began. At it's peak, the farm encompassed 4,000 acres. Plamondon was made the superintendent of the farms and the Cowlitz Landing became known as "Plamondon's Landing" from 1838 to 1849.
The Wilkes Expedition
In 1824, President James Monroe asked Congress for an appropriation to explore the Pacific Northwest. In 1818, the United States and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Ghent. This was an agreement to jointly control the Oregon Territory. This arraignment was to expire in 1827, but was extended because they could not come to an agreement on how to divide the land. The extension lasted until 1846. When the Oregon Treaty was signed.
In 1836, Congress finally authorized the expedition, but a commander could not be found, which would take 2 more years. It was in March of 1838 when Naval Lieutenant Charles Wilkes was appointed to command a flotilla of 6 sailing vessels with over 500 military and civilian personnel that would sail around South America to the Oregon Territory. The exploring party set out from Virginia on August 18. 1838 and arrived at the mouth of the Columbia River on April 28, 1841. Because of the hazardous conditions in crossing the bar, they decided not to go up the river to Fort Vancouver, and instead, sailed north to Puget Sound, and landed at Port Nisqually. From here, Wilkes and his party explored the region. Wilkes then traveled down the Cowlitz trail to the Cowlitz Farm. After a brief visit with Plamondon, Wilkes traveled down to the landing where he hired Cowlitz canoemen to take him down the river to the HBC's post at Fort Vancouver.
On June 17, 1841 Wilkes began the journey back north to Fort Nisqually. The following is taken from his journal; "The day before I left the fort, Mr. Ogden informed me that he had made arrangements to take me as far as the Cowlitz farm in his boat, on my way to Nisqually, and desired that I would allow Mr. Drayton to accompany him up the river as far as Walla Walla."
"To both of these arrangements I readily assented. About 10 o'clock, we were all summoned to the great dining hall by Mr. McLoughlin to take the parting cup, customary in this country. When all were assembled, wine was poured out, and we drank to each other's welfare, prosperity, etc. This was truly a cup of good fellowship and kind feeling. This hanging to old Scotch custom, in the way it was done here was pleasant, and carries with it pleasing recollections, especially when there is that warmth of feeling with it, that there was on this occasion."
"After this was over, we formed quite a cavalcade to the riverside, which was now swollen to the top of its banks, and rushing by with irresistible force. On reaching the river, we found one of Mr. Ogden's boats manned by fourteen voyagers all gaily dressed in their ribands and plumes, the former tied in large bunches of divers colors, with numerous ends floating in the breeze. The boat was somewhat of the model of our whaleboats, only much larger, and of the kind built expressly to accommodate the trade; they are clinker-built, and all the timbers are flat. These boats are so light that they are easily carried across the portages. They use the gum of the pine to cover them instead of pitch."
"After having a hearty shake of the hand, Captain Barney, Mr. Ogden and myself embarked. The signal being given, we shoved off, and the voyageurs at once struck up one of their boat songs. After paddling up the stream for some distance, we made a graceful sweep to reach the center, and passed by the spectators with great animation. The boat and voyageurs seemed a fit object to grace the wide flowing river."
"On we merrily went, while each voyageur in succession took up the song, and all joined in the chorus. In 2 1/2 hours we reached the mouth of the Cowlitz, a distance of thirty-five miles. On the second day, our voyageurs doffed their finery, and their hats were carefully covered with oil skins. They thus appeared more prepared for hard work."
"On the 19th, we reached our destination. On our approach, although there were no spectators, except a few Indians, to be expected, the voyageurs again mounted their finery, and gaily chanted their boat song. Mr. Ogden had been one of the first who traveled over this part of the country, and he informed me that he had seen the whole country inundated by the rise of the river. This, however, can but rarely occur, and could only be the result of a sudden melting of the snows when accompanied by violent rain storms."
The Emigrants Begin to Arrive
By the mid 1840's, emigrants from the eastern U.S. began to arrive at Fort Vancouver and many wanted to make their homes in the Puget Sound region. The Hudson's Bay people, wanting the international border to be the Columbia River, would discourage any Americans from settling in "North Oregon" as it was called then. The area was mostly unknown and Americans were out numbered 10 to 1 by the English and even more by the Nisqually. To make matters worse, the trip north was more dangerous and expensive than it was to go south to the Willamette Valley. This made it easy for the HBC to persuade the American settlers to go south.
The Cowlitz Landing was once a village inhabited by the Cowlitz Tribe and the first known recorded resident was "Indian George," who was living just north of the landing in 1849. George was an expert canoe maker and lived with his wife and three daughters.
Cowlitz Indian Village as depicted at the Tribal Center
In 1850, Edward Dunlop Warbass was one of the first American emigrants to take a donation land claim at the Cowlitz Landing. In 1851, Warbass was appointed the first U.S. postmaster north of the Columbia. He made a monthly trip carrying the mail between Fort Steilacoom and Fort Vancouver.
Also in 1850, Fred A. Clark, and Horace H. Pinto arrived and took claims near Warbass. That same year, Joseph Tebeau a French-Canadian, who had just retired from the HBC, started a homestead at what would eventually become downtown Toledo. His cabin was near the river on Cowlitz Street. In 1854, Christopher Pagett bought Tebeau’s property and filed for a donation land claim. In 1873, he sold the property to Augustus Rochon.
The Cowlitz Convention
By 1851, most if not all the American settlers who were living in North Oregon had felt they were not being fairly represented by the Oregon Territorial Government. At a meeting of the citizens of Lewis county, assembled at Olympia, on the afternoon of July 4, 1851, on motion of I. B. Chapman, Captain C. Crosby was called to the chair, and A. M. Poe appointed secretary. Captain Crosby, Colonel Ebey, Mr. Chapman and Major Goldsborough, addressed the meeting on the situation and wants of the Northern Oregon Territory, and on motion from Goldsborough, a committee of 7 was appointed by the chairman to report resolutions expressive of the feelings and views of the meeting. The chair then appointed the following committee; I. B. Chapman, Henry Wilson, Michael T. Simmons, Thomas M. Chambers, J. N. Ebey, H. A. Goldsborough and Sam B. Crocker.
The committee brought in the following report; "That having deliberated on the condition of the northern portion of Oregon, its wants and its geographical features and advantages as compared with the southern portion, and fully impresses with the great importance of the subject to all the inhabitants north of the Columbia River, they would suggest, and do hereby recommend that a general convention of delegates from every precinct in Clark, Lewis and Pacific counties, assemble at the house of Edward D. Warbass, on the Cowlitz River, on Friday August 29, 1851, to take into careful consideration, the present peculiar position of the northern portion of the Territory, its wants the best method of supplying those wants, and the propriety of an early appeal to Congress for a division of the Territory, together with such other matters as may be of immediate interest to themselves and constituencies."
The resolutions were passed unanimously, and the meeting was adjourned.
The meeting at Warbass' home on the 29th, resulted in a petition to begin the process of separation between the territory north and south of the Columbia. It would take two more years and two more conventions, one held at John R. Jackson's place known as the Highlands, and another at Monticello, before the creation of Washington Territory would be finalized by President Fillmore on March 2, 1853.
The Great Migration Westward
By 1852, the Willamette Valley was filling up fast and all of the best land had been taken. The new arrivals were now beginning to turn their sights to the north. Travel to the Cowlitz Landing would be a 3 to 4 day trip from Vancouver or Portland. The settler would need to hire a canoemen to take them 45 miles downstream to the town of Rainier, which is located on the Oregon side of the Columbia. From there it was 3 miles in a canoe to reach Monticello. Leaving Monticello, it was 19 excruciating miles upstream to the "Forks of the Cowlitz River." In 1854 the canoes on the Columbia were replaced with steamers as far as Monticello.
After a nights rest, it was another 12 more painful miles to the landing. If the weather was bad or if there were any mishaps or obstacles, the trip would be much longer and even less enjoyable than it already was. At the landing, travelers could rent horses from Fred Clark or Joseph Tebeau for the overland trip to Tumwater. Many settlers used their oxen that were driven up the trail that ran alongside the river.
The settlers who had livestock had to have them ferried or they swam across the Columbia to Vancouver. Some would stay with the animals and the rest of the family and their belongings would be loaded into the canoes. After the family was sent off, the animals were driven up the rough trail from Fort Vancouver that ran on the west side of the Columbia and Cowlitz rivers. The livestock would arrive at about the same time as the canoes. They would then make sleds to carry their belongings, which the oxen would drag behind them.
The Hudson’s Bay Company used this trail in 1841 as they were relocating the company's cattle from California, Oregon and Fort Vancouver, to the pasture lands of the Nisqually and Cowlitz farms. They would also use this trail periodically when transferring livestock. This trail would evolve over the years to become a section of the Pacific Highway between Woodland and Toledo.
After the departure from the Cowlitz Landing, it was 10 miles to the first stop on the trail, which was known as the "Highlands." It was the residence of John R. Jackson who was very hospitable and assisted many a weary traveler. The next day after a hearty breakfast served by the Jackson's, it was 15 miles to the next stop called the "Skookum House," which was owned by Judge Sidney Ford on Ford's Prairie. The Skookum House was just north of Centralia. Here the traveler would enjoy the fine hospitality of Uncle Sid.
The Jackson Cabin is at Mary's Corner-WA. It's a very small house with an open downstairs area and an open loft. The Lewis County Court meeting were held here from 1851 to 1858. When Bob & I first stopped here, it was not as well upkept as it is, now. We later found, through family history recordings, that this part of WA State History is also part of Bob's family history - on his mother's side.
John Jackson's wife, Matilda, is noted in my first husband Bob's family lineage; we would stop by here and visit the cabin when we drove Jackson Highway to Chehalis. The cabin is located at #4277 Jackson Highway, Winlock, WA … and the Park named after Matilda is just up the street, across the highway, at #4186 Jackson Hwy, Chehalis, WA. I visited both following Bob's physical death & posted about this on my previous Blog. I will have to find that link; and post it later - I don't have the time to run it down, today. Pics shown here are internet pics.
After a good nights sleep, the last leg of the journey to Tumwater was 30 miles, and the settlers would make camp somewhere between Grand Mound and Bush Prairie, where they would be attended to by either Leonard Durgin, J. W. Goodell or George Bush.
The trip from Portland if everything went as planned was a total of 4 days and 129 miles to Tumwater and Olympia. To reach Steilacoom, it was another 25 miles by canoe through Balch's Passage. Seattle was a 55 miles farther away and could only be reached by canoe or boat.
Hard Bread's Hotel
The "Forks of the Cowlitz" was usually reached the first or second day and was a popular resting place. On July 29, 1852, James Gardiner, a widower, settled at the "forks" known today as the mouth of the Toutle River, and took over the abandoned Clark farm with his 2 sons, William A. Gardiner and James Alexander Gardiner. Before Gardiner arrived, the place was known as "Clark's Landing." Not long after, Gardiner converted the cabin into a crude hotel to serve the throngs of emigrants that were now coming up the river.
The only food that the hotel offered was boiled salmon, potatoes and blackstrap molasses, which was served with crackers that were so hard, they could kill a man if shot from a rifle. The hotel became notorious for the hard bread, and was known as "Hard Bread's Hotel," and they called Gardiner "Old Hard Bread." Rumors began to spread saying that Hard Bread's Hotel was a rough and rowdy place. Gardiner was a bachelor, and the establishment was known as a bachelor's hall. This may have been the reason for the rumors.
It wasn't long before these rumors reached Portland. The stories told by travelers would horrify the women settlers, and many families traveling up the river would avoid the place like the plague. (As with all rumors, most of the tales were exaggerated or downright false.)
In February of 1854, Reverend George F. Whitworth, one of the organizers in the establishment of the First Presbyterian Church in Portland, spoke about his night at Jackson's Inn near Castle Rock and Hard Bread's while on a trip to Olympia; "Late in February I departed for Puget Sound, going from here to Monticello by steamboat. Three days by canoe brought me and my Indian companion to Cowlitz Landing, the head of canoe navigation on the Cowlitz River."
"The first night's stop on the trip up the river was made at "Jackson's," where the travelers slept in a bed that was built to accommodate as many as 15 persons, being as wide as the room in which it was built, the sleepers lying across the shelf-like bunk that served as a bed. The second night's stop was made at Hard Bread's Hotel, a settler whose name was Gardner, but who was better known as "Mr. Hardbread," furnishing the conveniences his hostelry afforded."
"Mr. Hardbread received his name from the fact that he was never known to have bread other than sea biscuit to offer his guests. Salmon, black-strap and potatoes were the other delicacies afforded by Mr. Hardbread's table. With a small valise in one hand and my Bible in the other, I walked 45 miles through broken country to Olympia, where I arrived none the worse for the trip."
In the book, Pioneer Reminiscences of Puget Sound, written in 1905 by Ezra Meeker. He tells about his journey up the Cowlitz River and arriving at Hard Bread's Hotel with his family in 1853; "The wife, baby, bedding, ox yoke, and log chain, were sent up the Cowlitz in a canoe, while Buck and Dandy, and I renewed our acquaintance by taking to the trail where we had our parting bivouac."
"We had camped together many a night on the plains, and slept together literally, not figuratively. I used to crowd up close under Buck's back while napping on watch, for the double purpose of warmth and signal—warmth while at rest, signal if the ox moved. On this occasion I was illy prepared for a cool night camp, having neither blanket, nor coat, as I had expected to reach "Hard Bread's" Hotel, where the people in the canoe would stop over night."
"But I could not make it and so again laid on the trail to renew the journey bright and early the next morning. Hard Bread's is an odd name for a hotel, you will say; so it is, but the name grew out of the fact that Gardiner, the old widower that kept "bachelor's hall" at the mouth of Toutle River (opposite Pumphrey's place, on the left bank of the Cowlitz), fed his customers on hard tack three times a day, if perchance any one was unfortunate enough to be compelled to take three meals at his place."
"I found the little wife had not fared any better than I had on the trail, and in fact, not so well, for the floor of the cabin was a good deal harder than the sand spit where I had passed the night, with plenty of pure, fresh air, while she, in a closed cabin, in the same room with many others, could neither boast of fresh air, nor freedom from creeping things that make life miserable. With her shoes for a pillow, a shawl for covering, small wonder the report came "I did not sleep a wink, last night."
"Judge Olney and wife were passengers in the same canoe and guests at the same house with the wife, as also Frank Clark, who afterwards played a prominent part at the bar, and in the political affairs of Pierce County in particular, and incidentally of the whole Territory. We soon arrived at the Cowlitz landing, and at the end of the canoe journey, so, striking the tent that had served us so well on the plains, and with a cheerful camp fire blazing for cooking, speedily forgot the experience of the trail, the cramped passage in the canoe, the hard bread, dirt and all, while enjoying the savory meal, the like of which only the expert hands of the ladies of the plains could prepare."
"But now we had fifty miles of land to travel before us, and over such a road! Words cannot describe that road, and so I will not try. One must have traveled it to fully comprehend what it meant. However, we had one consolation, and that was, it would be worse in winter than at that time. We had no wagon. Our wagon had been left at the Dalles, and we never saw nor heard of it again. Our cows were gone, given for provender to save the lives of the oxen during the deep December snow, and so when we took account of stock, we had Buck and Dandy, the baby, and a tent, an ox yoke and chain, enough clothing and bedding to keep us comfortable, with but very little food and no money, that had all been expended on the canoe passage."
On September 29, 1856, Gardiner sold his half his property to William Pumphrey and the other half to his son William, who continued to run the hotel for a few more years. James Gardiner, aka "Old Hard Bread" passed away in 1858. The hotel most likely closed down when the Military Road was completed and the steamers began to ply the river. By the mid 1860's, settlers had arrived in the area and established farms. The place then became known as the Gardiner Settlement.
Life at the Landing in 1852
The following article is from the Olympia Columbian and best describes life at the Cowlitz Landing in 1852 when the river was lined with settlers slowly making their way upstream to the Sound.
Matters and Things at the Cowlitz
Cowlitz Landing
May 2, 1852
This being the head of navigation on this truly formidable river, it is here the weary emigrant leaves his water conveyance, sets up his wagon, yokes his team, and, whistling to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne," takes up his line of march, with his wife and children, filled with confident hope and joyful anticipation of a "home," a happy and prosperous home on the "Sound."
Indeed such has been the rush of immigration, that for the last few weeks this has been quite a thronged busy place, large numbers of families arriving every few days, having made the passage up the river in skiffs, large bateaus and canoes. There are some very large bateaus running on the river, capable of accommodating 8 or 10 families and their "plunder," including wagon, yokes, chains, etc.
A bateau manned by 8 or 9 expert Cowlitz canoemen will bring up such a load in about 3 days. The number of families which have arrived at this point during the last 3 weeks en route for the Sound, cannot have been less than fifty, and what will not be the least interesting to very many of our population, these families contain a handsome representation of female youth, of fine intelligence, well adapted to grace the parlor of the school room; sensible souls, who know how and have the fortitude to say no, and would not dislike to say "yes," providing such a word would be deemed neat and proper.
This addition to our population, lovely as the opening rose, are calculated to produce quite a fluttering among a certain class of bachelors, I mean of course that class of whom there is yet hope, whose day of probation did not expire on that doleful day in the month of December 51' whose sap has not only been wholly dried up from the roots, and like dry and barren sticks are only fit for their own place, the land of owls and bats!
A good many cattle have been brought up the trail, and many more it is anticipated are on the way. Of this trail much bitter complaint is found, and not without reason. It is bad, very bad. And why has it not been improved? A few hundred dollars judiciously expended would make it a very comfortable way. And is there not energy and public spirit enough in our citizens to set about so desirable a work?
It becomes all who have an interest in this new territory to be zealous in removing every impediment in the way of the emigrant struggling to make it his home. We had quite a row last night among our Indian neighbors. One had his head severely hacked with a hatchet, two were badly burned and another had his entrails let out with a knife. The latter has since died. The prime mover in this affair of course was the demon rum. We have laws against the sale of intoxicating liquors to the Indians, they are wholesome and salutary, shall they be enforced?
The Cowlitz Landing 1850's - 1870's
In 1852, Fred Clark opened the Cowlitz Hotel and Ed Warbass, who already had a store at Monticello, opened a new store at the landing. Warbass was in partnership with Alfred Townsend. Townsend had the contract for the mail and had it sent up the river in canoes to the landing, where Judge Yantis had it taken by horseback to Olympia. Warbass and Townsend also contracted with the Cowlitz canoemen to take passengers up the river. At the landing, Joseph Tebeau and Fred Clarke rented horses for the overland trip to Olympia.
By 1853, the Cowlitz Landing had; 2 hotels, 2 general stores, a sawmill and a grist mill, plus a small wharf for the landing of the canoes and the larger bateau. That summer, partners Henry V. Colter and Captain John G. Parker, who had a general store in Olympia, began running an express between Monticello and Olympia. They would bring packages and newspapers in from Monticello faster than the regular mail. Customers in Olympia could rent horses from Joseph Tebeau by placing the order at Parker and Colter's store. Captain Parker would transport express freight and passengers to all points on the Puget Sound on his sailing vessel.
On July 2, 1853, In addition to renting horses from his farm and running a hotel, Fred Clark began to transport passengers and freight from Monticello and Rainier up the river to the landing. In December, he sold the hotel to Christopher Pagett and his partner Mr. Carter, who also had a general store at the landing. Pagett and Carter had J. W. Goodell operate the Hotel. Clark continued to rent horses that were kept at his farm near the landing and at Judge Yantis' farm in Olympia.
On July 4, 1853, a large celebration was held at the Cowlitz Landing. The festivities began when the organizers, who had no guns, put powder into 13 large fir logs and set them off at sunrise. The people gathered quite early and raised a Liberty pole. At 12 noon, a procession of 30 couples formed and marched with music, to the dinner table on the bank of the river. The table was canopied with boughs and spread with an abundance of good cheer.
After a half hour intermission the procession again formed and marched to the grove with music playing. Halting at the speakers stand, the first part made up of the younger class of the people, opened file and took to the seats, the green turf, piles of boughs or in the trees. After the music, the President, John R. Jackson, introduced the reader Mr. R. S. Robinson, who read the declaration of Independence. The Rev. J. W. Goodell, orator of the day, was introduced and delivered his address.
After a short intermission the toasts were read as the patrons cheered. After the oration, Dr. Pasquirer addressed the audience in French, reminding them of the honor and thanks due to Lafayette for aid in the struggle for Independence. Many French citizens from the Cowlitz settlement were present and joined heartily in the celebration. The presence of ladies from the country around added much to the pleasure and good order of the day. The party at the toast table had a merry time and broke up in good season for the people to reach their homes that evening.
On October 15, 1853, partners Antonio Rabbeson and Judge Yantis who had recently placed new stages on the road between the landing and Olympia, advertised that they could make the trip in 12 hours. The stages departed from Olympia every Tuesday at 7am and on the return trip, they would depart after the arrival of the mail boat from Rainier. Tickets could be purchased from the Columbian Hotel in Olympia and at Ed Warbass' store on the Cowlitz.
On September 21, 1853, Horace Pinto placed an ad in the newspaper telling patrons that the partnership between Ed Warbass and himself was dissolved. Warbass had been collecting debts without Pinto's consent and he warned the debtors that paid him, that they would still be liable for any debts to him.
On June 30, 1854, William Simmons started transporting passengers and freight from Rainier and Monticello. Simmons had hired an expert crew of Cowlitz canoemen and he went along with them to ensure things went smoothly. He set his rates to "suit the times."
On July 8, 1854, former Adams & Company express rider A. B. Stuart began his own express company called "Stuarts's Express." He ran semi-monthly runs between Olympia and the P. M. S. S. steamers that called at Monticello, Rainier and St. Helens. At Portland he made connections with the Adams and Company express from San Francisco. Stuart had an office in Parker's store in Olympia and another at the Adams and Company's station in Portland.
On December 30, 1854, William B. Goodell began a transport business at the Cowlitz Landing and ran a line of stages and rental horses for passengers and freight. The horses were kept at Olympia, Grand Mound and the Cowlitz Landing. The company promoted the service as a way passengers "could be saved the expense of horse keeping on the way," as fresh horses would be available along the route, which made the journey more agreeable.
The stages departed Olympia on Tuesdays and Fridays of each week at midnight and arrived that same evening. Horses at the landing were rented from Goodell at Strong's Hotel. During the winter, passengers would be transported down the Chehalis River in canoes from Saunders' bottom (Chehalis) to the Skookum Chuck, (Centralia) avoiding the most disagreeable portion of the road. The stages in Olympia started from Parker's store, and the rates were; From Olympia to Grand Mound was $3.50. From Grand Mound to the Cowlitz was $6.50.
The post office at the Cowlitz Landing was established in the summer of 1854. The postmaster was Ed Warbass and the office was located inside his store. On August 8, 1855, Henry Winsor was awarded a contract to carry the mail between Olympia and Seattle for $1,000 per year.
In 1854, the Naches Military road was opened between Fort Steilacoom and Fort Walla Walla. This road was by no means a good road, and because of the steep hills and endless fords across the Naches River, the road was never used extensively. Even though it was a terrible road, it did give the settlers another way to reach Puget Sound. The following paragraph was printed on August 16, 1854 describing the new road;
"Two years ago, the only accessible means of gaining a transit to this Territory was up the Cowlitz River in bateau and canoes, and a family of six or under, would be compelled to pay at least $100 for their migration northward, to drive their stock up a trail, and probably to enter our Territory without a dollar. Now a highway is opened between the Sound and the Walla Walla country."
The Naches Trail never brought many settlers to the Puget Sound due to the roughness of the road. Settlers would continue to use the Cowlitz Corridor to reach the Sound Country. There would not be a viable road for wagons across the Cascade Mountains until the 1880's.
During the War of 1855, the landing was tense, but remained quiet. The was never any hostility in the region although the Hudson's Bay Company had built a blockhouse there in the late 1840's, which was never used for defense. After the war in 1856, Warbass, who had become a Captain in the volunteer militia, sold his property at the landing and moved north to Whatcom. This was when Fort Bellingham was established, under command of Capt. George E. Pickett. Warbass was appointed post trader there by John B. Floyd, the secretary of war.
On February 2, 1857, the government placed ads for bids to construct a military road from the Cowlitz Landing to Ford's Prairie. The roadway was to be 25 feet wide with all stumps and roots removed within 12 feet of the roadway. Corduroy was used on the low and marshy ground between Skookum Chuck and Newaukum. The first section constructed, was 15 miles from the landing to the Newaukum River, where a bridge was built replacing Moore's ferry. The second section was 12 miles between the Newaukum River bridge and the Skookumchuck River bridge at the southern edge of Ford's Prairie. This when the old Cowlitz Trail was moved to its present location on the Pacific Highway through the town of Forest, south of Chehalis.
On March 19, 1858, Henry Winsor began to carry the mail between Rainier, Oregon and Olympia. His company also offered horses, mules and wagons for rent, and he ran a stage between Monticello and Olympia on the Military Road. Winsor had offices at Olympia, Monticello and the Cowlitz Landing. Travelers passing up the Cowlitz River, had a choice of renting a horse, mule or canoe for the journey overland. Coach rates were; from Rainier to Olympia was $16.00 and from Olympia to Rainier was $15.00.
On May 14, 1858, the Postmaster General awarded mail contracts to C. Wallace and Rice Tilley. They carried the mail between Rainier and Steilacoom. Between Oak Point and Grand Mound, the mail was carried by Conrad Snyder. From the Cowlitz Landing to Boisfort, Henry Winsor carried the mail, and from Olympia to Fort Montgomery on the Nisqually Plains, was John Shelton.
On October 26, 1860, Henry Winsor was awarded a U. S. mail contract to carry the daily mail between Monticello and Olympia. Captain R. Hoyt of Portland was awarded the contract between Portland and Monticello. This was the first daily mail service north of the Columbia. Now instead of waiting weeks to receive the mail by horseback, it was now delivered to Olympia every day.
Major changes to transportation through the Cowlitz Corridor began in 1861, when the Military Road between Fort Vancouver and Fort Steilacoom was completed. This was also the same year that steamers began to run on the river between Monticello and the Cowlitz Landing. Stages were now running daily from Monticello and the Cowlitz Landing to Puget Sound transporting passengers mail and freight.
In 1861, the steamer Bell became the first to navigate the river north to the landing. At first, it was a once a week service, and at it's peak, there were 3 sailings each week. By the 1870's, the Kellogg Company became the largest steamboat company to operate on the Cowlitz. In 1878, the 100 foot long steamer Toledo was put into service and it plied the river for 13 years before it was retired.
In 1868, Butler & Buchanan started a stage line between the Cowlitz Landing and Olympia. On April 3, 1869, Isidore Bernier started to run stages between the Cowlitz Landing and Olympia.
On May 2, 1870 Joseph Ricard and M. Plamondon started a canoe-line from the Cowlitz landing to Monticello. The canoes started from the landing every Monday and Friday at 7am The return trip started from Monticello every Monday and Friday, after the arrival of the steamboat from Portland. They would reach the Cowlitz landing the next day. Fare from the landing to Monticello was $3 , and from Pumphrey's landing it was $2. The returning fare was the same price. each passenger was allowed 20lbs of cargo, and half a cent was charged for every additional pound on the way downstream, and an additional penny for cargo going up the river.
Trains began to run between Kalama and Olequa on January 10, 1872. Passengers going north would be transferred to waiting stages at Pumphrey's Hotel at Olequa for the remainder of the trip to Olympia. The trip from Kalama to Olequa took just an hour and a half. This would be the beginning of the end for the steamers, canoe operators and stage lines. Until the advent of the motorcar, stages would continue to be used to transport people and mail from the train stations along the line to the outlying settlements. The steamers would continue to haul passengers and cargo between Freeport and Toledo until 1918.
In 1871, women's rights activist Abigail Scott Duniway traveled to Olympia from Portland with her guest women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony. They came to speak to the Legislature concerning women's right to vote. On November 3, 1881, Duniway again traveled to Olympia to talk to the Legislature about the issue. In the Portland paper The New Northwest, Duniway wrote about her trip;
"Ten years ago there was no railroad leading to Olympia, and we cannot forget the horrible staging between the Cowlitz Landing and this classic town. Now, the stages, are removed to the farther frontier, the mud is covered, by railway ties, the gulches are spanned by trestle-work, and the rivers are crossed by railroad bridges. Three hours are now occupied in compassing the distance that once required twenty-four."
"Nothing is natural but the rain, and that is as familiar to our senses as of yore, save that we are not exposed to its ravages now as we sit comfortably in the rail way coach and gaze in sympathy upon the, trembling kine that arch their backs behind the sodden trees, and shiver as it pelts their hairy hides."
Toledo is Established
In 1873 Augustine Rochon moved back to the Cowlitz Landing from New York where he had been living since 1849, and purchased Joseph Tebeau's property. This is where where Toledo will be established. Rochon first arrived on the Cowlitz in 1838 with Rev. Francois Blanchet and Rev. Modeste Demers and he helped build the first church on the Cowlitz Prairie. In 1841 Rochon left the Cowlitz and moved to St. Paul, Oregon where he worked as a millwright. In 1842 he married a woman named Celeste who was from the household of Governor John McLoughlin. In 1849 the Rochon's moved to New York where they stayed until they came back in 1872.
In 1881, Captain Oren Kellogg, purchased an acre of riverfront land from Rochon. Around that time, Captain Kellogg told Augustine's wife Celeste that she could have the honor of naming the new town. Mrs. Rochon thought about it for a moment and then looked out the window and saw the riverboat Toledo coming up the river and decided that "Toledo" should be the name for the town.
On July 4, 1883, W. E. Colby started a ferry service across the Cowlitz River about a mile upstream from the landing. This service continued until the wooden bridge was built there in 1892. Toledo grew fast during the 1880's and by 1890, there were a couple of hotels, a blacksmith shop, a doctor, a drug store, several saloons, 2 general stores, a tin shop, a millinery shop, several saw mills, a sash and door factory, a distillery, cigar factory, soap factory, and a furniture factory. The Toledo post office was established on November 30, 1880, and the Toledo cemetery was established in 1883.
https://www.pacific-hwy.net/cowlitz1.htm }}
Traveling down Imboden Road on our way to the riverside, I glanced out my side window and saw a little brown rabbit with a white tail 🐇 actually keeping pace with Betsy's tires! That little heart must have been pumping. I didn't rabbits could be so fast 😳 When it finally darted into some roadside bushes, I looked up and saw through the windshield, a fast paced little gray squirrel dart across the road in front of us. We also saw some pretty large goats 🐐 behind a pig-wire fence. But we never did see the swans, because the field was as dry as a bone - the little pond had evaporated & the swans have flown 😌
We drove out Meikler Road, to the Olequa Crossing boat ramp … where we ate our burgers 🚘🍔🎶📸 while watching the river, watch Steller Jays nibble on a snack some fisherman had laid out for them, and enjoy a sunny day out-of-house 🌞👩❤️💋👨
I had posted in April about my first visit to this boat ramp, but I will repost the historical information for people who are new to my Blog & may not have read the earlier posting. My husband spent some of his childhood in Vader at his grandparent's place - and spent most of his adult years fishing the local water tributaries, when he was back here between jobs.
This place is one of those places he would fish; this place also has direct waterway ties to the family property in Vader. This stretch of water is vert familiar to my husband:
We took the long way (red tracking line), around Rodgers Rd. & Imboden Rd. to Old Olequa Crossing Boat Ramp.
Steller Jay; Olequa Creek Boat Ramp, out Meikler Rd, Castle Rock-WA
This waterway feeds into the Redmill Ranch's well system.
This is all that is left of the old Olequa Crossing Bridge that crossed, here; leading to Vader.
{{History of Olequa = O (long o) - lah - quwa
~By Curt Cunningham
Olequa Creek and its First Inhabitants
Olequa is the name of a creek that flows into the Cowlitz river about 6 miles southwest of Toledo. Olequa is a variation of the name "Aloquois." On the 1858 township map of Section 10 north, 2 west, created by Surveyor General James Tilton, Olequa creek is spelled "Aloquois." Some have called it Iroquois creek, which I believe is a misspelling of the name "Aloquois." Olequa sounds very similar to Aloquois, and it was common in those days to have multiple variations of Indian words written in English.
There used to be a large Cowlitz village at the mouth of Olequa creek called "Kamtsi," which was a busy place during the salmon spawning season. Kamtsi translates to; "where the salmon run to." Since then many people from the Cowlitz tribe continued to live in and around Olequa. In 1910, there were about 100 members of the Cowlitz tribe living in the vicinity. The largest Cowlitz settlements in 1910 were at; Olequa, Toledo and Randle.
The Military Road
The first emigrant from the east to arrive at Olequa was in 1851, when William H. Pumphrey, who settled at the mouth of the creek. By 1860, Pumphrey had built a hotel with a saloon to serve the local residents and the traffic going between Portland and Puget Sound. His hotel was the second stop on the way north. When the river was low, Pumphrey's was the head of navigation for the traffic on the river. The place then became known as Pumphrey's Landing.
In the late 1860's the Oregon Steamboat & Navigation Co. ran steamers to Pumphrey's Landing to connect with the stages traveling the Military Road to Puget Sound. From 1871 to 1875, the steamer Wenat ran a passenger service between Monticello and Pumphrey's Landing. The opposition boat Vancouver would make the trip at various times during those years.
The small village that sprang up at Pumphrey's Landing became known as Olequa in the spring of 1871. On May 20, 1871 a traveler wrote about their stagecoach ride from Olympia to Portland; "From Olympia to Skookum Chuck (Centralia) is very fair generally, not less than six miles an hour being made by the stage teams with full loads of passengers. Between there and Pumphrey's, it is horrible beyond description, occupying full six hours to make the seventeen miles to McDonald's (Napavine) where the passengers, remain overnight, and five hours to make the next fourteen miles to Pumphrey's on the following day."
During the Winter of 1872, the road between Pumphrey's and Olympia had become so so bad that the mud wagons could not get through and they were taken off the run until the road improved. Anyone going between Portland and Olympia had to ride a horse. The mail was also carried on horseback.
By the 1880's, the new Westside Highway was completed along the west side of the Cowlitz river replacing the Military Road. Sections of the old road over the mountains continued to be used by the locals until about 1915, when it became impassible for autos and wagons because of the downed trees and overgrowth. Today small sections of the old road between the Jackson Inn and Pumphrey's hotel, is used by local residents and the power line across Pumphrey's Mountain follows close to the old path.
The Northern Pacific
On December 25, 1871 stage owner George Coggan said that there were 20 buildings being built and a thriving town called Olequa was springing up at Pumphrey's Landing. Pumphrey's would become the terminus of the railroad for the next 9 months. The Northern Pacific railroad had just reached a point about 4 miles from Pumphrey's and the crews built a temporary steamer landing. The trains would run to the end of the line and the passengers would board a steamer for a 4 mile trip up the river to Pumphrey's landing. Stage coaches would be waiting at the hotel to take the passengers for a ride over the Military Road to Olympia.
During the summer of 1872 Olequa was getting to be quite a commercial place. There was now a sawmill and several stores. The railroad bridge was about to begin construction, they were just waiting for the water level of the river to drop a bit before they put up the bridge. Rumors began to spread that the construction of the railroad would make Bill Pumphrey one of the richest men of the Territory.
On July 20, 1872, the rails were almost to the river and train passengers now stayed over night at Kalama going both ways. Travelers going between Portland and Olympia could now ride in a comfortable passenger car, for twenty-five miles, from Kalama or Pumphrey's. This was a great luxury to those who have had to take the trip over the rugged mountains through mud and rain. The railroad reached the Cowlitz river opposite the mouth of Olequa creek in August of 1872. The bridge over the Cowlitz river at Olequa was completed during September of 1872 and the line reached Tenino that November.
The railroad helped bring more people into the area, and the post office at Pumphrey's was re-established that year. (On October 30, 1867, the first post office was established and was named Pumphrey's Landing. The post office remained open for only a year and closed on July 16, 1868. This was most likely because there was not enough residents to sustain it.) On December 18, 1875, the Pumphrey's Landing post office was renamed Olequa with Samuel D. Laughlin the postmaster.
On May 4, 1882, a traveler wrote about their trip from Tacoma to Kalama; "The Pumphrey farm, at Olequa, marks the descent into the Cowlitz, and is a place of which its owner may well be proud. It is located on high ground, and far above overflows, yet the soil is of the best, and the cultivation quite thorough. All through the valley magnificent places can be seen, and in some parts the settlements are close enough to give the appearance of country towns. The Cowlitz farmer has much to make him contented and happy, and his measure would be full to overflowing were it not for the overflows of the river."
"There is an appearance of thrift and plenty from one end of the road to the other. The towns at the stations have all grown up since the advent of the railroad, and their newness is quite apparent. They have already passed the older towns of the country adjacent. Evidence of an increase in population can be seen on every hand. New houses are building, new homes making, and new farms being carved out of the forest. The railroad itself is a fine piece of work, being in good condition, riding easily, and the trains making fast time over it. Good as the country is through which the road passes, it is not, in an agricultural sense, as good as is the country generally adjacent. The railroad was built with no reference to that object, but on the contrary was made to avoid the lower, more indirect, lengthy and costly route that would have been necessary in running through the heart of the agricultural region."
A Rough Place
Olequa was a rough place in the late 1800's where fights, murders and robberies were commonplace. Alcohol played a big part in many unfortunate events that resulted in death. One drunken logger passed out on the mainline and was run over by a train. Another drunken man was shot after he yelled at and scared away a farmers dog. In 1883 a poker game at the logging camp ended up with all the drunken players killing each other after they were accused of cheating. One poor resident of Olequa had her clothes catch fire while doing chores and the burns ended up taking her life.
On January 4, 1880 William Pumphrey and Jack Vincent got into a fight in the Olequa saloon. The yelling quickly turned into a fist fight and during the row Vincent pulled out a knife and stabbed Pumphrey in the abdomen and in other places on his body inflicting serious injury. Dr. Whitehouse was called to attend Pumphrey's wounds.
On June 30, 1909 Edward Bertrand proprietor of the Olequa hotel was shot and wounded by Alexander Dean, a logger from Vader. Dean was put under arrest pending the outcome of Bertrand's injury. Dean accused Bertrand of being drunk and provoked a fight which led to the shooting. Bertrand remembered nothing of the incident.
On the night of June 21, 1912 Roy McNier was fatally shot by a watchman while attempting to burglarize George Bertrand's store at Olequa. The store had been burglarized 4 times previously and as a precaution Bertrand hired 2 security guards to watch his store. The burglary was attempted when a freight train was passing, in order that the noise of the passing train would hide the noise of the break in. When McNier broke through the door he was seized by by one of the watchmen, but after a short struggle was able to break free. He was shot in the left side as he attempted to make an escape. He was put on the train for Portland but died on the way. Before he died, he confessed to the sheriff that he was the one who burglarized Bertrand previously. He said he was from Montour, Iowa.
On September 10, 1913, someone sold liquor to the boys at a public dance at Olequa. After a few hours of dancing and socializing a fight erupted that turned into a free-for-all that ended the dance.
The Union Pacific
In the spring of 1890, the Portland Railway Extension Company, was established. This company was owned by the Union Pacific. They planned to build 3,000 miles of new road in the Northwest. The company was going to build a line from Vancouver to Seattle. The right-of-way was to run up the east side of the Columbia and then cross over the Cowlitz river at Longview and run north to Olequa, then to Evaline where it would have crossed the Northern Pacific tracks and then continue down the hill west of Napavine to Chehalis. William Pumphrey seeing a financial opportunity, platted out a town next to the right-of-way and called it West Olequa. This town was to be located at today's intersection of the Westside Highway and the Olequa Heights Road. The town, like the railroad, would never be built.
This was because of the Panic of 1893 which caused the Union Pacific to go bankrupt. In 1909 the Union Pacific and Northern Pacific signed a 100 year agreement to share the tracks between Vancouver and Seattle. The agreement was extended in 2009 and Union Pacific trains continue bring in corn and soybeans to Pier 86 in Seattle over the now Burlington Northern track.
Olequa Hops
In the 1880's and 1890's hop farming was one of the main industries in Olequa. Many Cowlitz people were hired as hop pickers. E. R. Patterson who was known as the "Hop King" had a large hop farm at Olequa and was considered to be the largest individual hop grower in Washington.
On October 20, 1893, Patterson reported an extra large yield of a fine quality. He had employed 800 hop pickers, though he said they weren't making very good money as the work wasn't steady due to the lack of drying facilities. Patterson paid his workers $1 per box, and furnished free lodgings and potatoes as he grew 40 acres of spuds and invited his pickers to take what they wanted during the picking season. There were 3 general stores, a meat market, barber shop and a photograph gallery that were temporarily located near the hop fields that made the place look like a booming little town.
On December 24, 1897 the Chehalis Bee reported that A. U. Alexander, agent for Balfour, Guthrie & Co., purchased from Patterson, 801 bales of hops, for 12 cents a pound. This firm also purchased 101 bales from H. J. Betty of Toledo, at 12 cents a pound. The Patterson and Betty crops and some other lots that were bought in Chehalis were shipped direct to London by Balfour, Guthrie & Co. They made a special train consisting of 16 to 17 cars. The total value of the hops was about $35,000. In today's dollars the purchase would amount to $1,126,131.33. The train departed Chehalis with a banner, "Chehalis hops, shipped to London by Balfour, Guthrie & Co." The hops were graded on the London market as "Choice Chehalis."
In 1905 Patterson had 75 acres of hops and controlled George Bertrand's 20 acres. They were short of pickers that season and were estimating a loss of about 20% due the the shortage of help. The yards were equipped with modern improvements for crop handling. The yield that year was a little large than last year and was of much better quality.
The 1906 Flood
On November 18, 1906, the Cowlitz river flooded and the torrent washed away most of the Olequa bridge. The train coming from Portland was stranded between Castle Rock and Olequa and the passengers had to be rescued. All the trains coming from Tacoma had to stop at Olequa and the passengers were then transferred onto steamers that took them to Castle Rock where they boarded another train for the remainder of the trip to Portland and vice versa. There were also many travelers who took the train from Tacoma to South Bend, where they boarded a steamer that took them to Astoria. From there, they hopped on another train to Portland.
The Road from Portland to Seattle
Before the Pacific Highway was built, travelers would take the best route available on their way between Portland and Puget Sound. They had to rely on the newspapers or from anyone along the route who would be willing to give their best guess. The best route north from Portland in the early 1900's crossed the river at Kelso to the Westside Highway north to Olequa. Back then the Westside highway was known as the "Logging Road Highway." At Olequa, the traveler would have 3 routes to chose from. 1) was to cross the river at Olequa and follow the road on the south side of the river to Toledo. 2) was to take the road on the north side of the river to Toledo. 3) was to travel from Olequa to Vader and then northward to Winlock, Napavine and Chehalis.
In 1907, C. J. Franklin who was a descendant of Benjamin, along with his wife, decided to take a trip in their new Oldsmobile "43" from Portland to Seattle to visit friends. From Portland, the two explorers took the ferry over to Vancouver and from there, drove to Kelso where they crossed the Allen Street bridge and took the Westside Highway north to Winlock. In 1907, the road was much the same route as the 1915 tourist would follow. The worst going of their entire trip was between Kelso and Winlock.
It was along this patch of road, that held up one of the cars that came through on an around-the-world trip that same year. The French car was stranded in the mud for 3 days while enough horses could be assembled to pull it out. The driver said that it was the worst stretch of highway he had met on his entire trip around the world, except for the passes in the Alps.
Franklin then said, "So you can imagine what an inexperienced driver like myself was up against. A large share of the roads in those clays were of the corduroy variety with lots of the corduroy out of it. But there were 2 miles of swamp between Kelso and Winlock that wouldn't even hold logs. Twelve-inch planks had been slapped down on either side of the road to invite traction."
"I knew mighty well that if our wheels left the planks that we would be in the swamp up to our necks and that the little car would pass on to the happy hunting ground. So I directed my wife to drive the car while I walked along to guide the wheels and prevent a dire catastrophe. Finally we did reach Winlock after dark. There were no good hotel accommodations at Winlock, so we put up at a hospital, and pushed the heroic little Olds into a stable, there being no garages in those days. There happened to be no patients at the hospital so we cut loose and had a glorious time, even though we should have been taking the rest cure after earning the right to be waited on like invalids."
It took the Franklin's 3 days to reach Seattle. Today the trip on the freeway would take about 4 hours in good traffic.
During the summer of 1909, the Portland Automobile Club had written a letter to the Alaska Yukon & Pacific Expo asking that they set aside a day in August for the Automobile Club. They planned to have a caravan of over 200 autos travel from Portland to Seattle to attend the fair. The club president E. Henry Wemme advised travelers to cross the bridge at Kelso and take the Westside Highway to Toledo. The president said not to take the ferry at Olequa.
The Pacific Highway Crossing of the Cowlitz River - Olequa or Toledo?
In 1910, the Northern Pacific was in the process of realigning the mainline between Vancouver and Tacoma for the laying of double tracks. The bridge at Olequa was to be abandoned along with much of the right-of-way between Tenino and Vancouver. The railroad let the state know that the abandoned right-of-way along with the Olequa bridge would be available for a north-south state trunk road.
Olequa rails.
When the Pacific Highway was created in 1913, the state only designated the main towns that the highway was to pass through. The route between these towns would be determined later. From Chehalis southward, there were 2 competing routes that the state had to chose from. They were; the Chehalis-Olequa route or the Chehalis-Toledo route.
On May 30, 1913, the state highway board inspected the proposed "west-side" short cut of the Pacific Highway, which would lead through the towns of Napavine, Eveline, Winlock, Vader and Olequa. At Olequa the inspectors met a committee of businessmen from those towns and were escorted back to Chehalis for a meeting on the proposed route. The west-side interests knew it would help the towns and their businesses prosper if they could secure the highway. Likewise it would spell disaster to business if the highway bypassed them.
On July 30, 1913, Governor Lister and Commissioners E. E. Teachnor and T. J. Long along with County Engineer Ward, took a trip over the proposed Chehalis-Olequa route of the Pacific Highway. This proposed route followed closely to the railroad tracks running through Napavine, Eveline, Winlock, Vader and Olequa. They left Olequa shortly after noon and arrived in Chehalis at about 4:30pm. Short stops were made at Vader, Winlock and Napavine, where the governor made short addresses on the importance of good roads. The party had lunch in Winlock and afterwards, they returned to Chehalis to view the new Lincoln creek bridge. Later that evening, they had dinner at Centralia and afterwards the Governor was taken back to Olympia.
On August 22, 1913, a rumor was going around that Winlock was to get the highway instead of Toledo. It was stated on good authority that the Cowlitz river was to be crossed at Olequa instead of Toledo. Another rumor floating around was that the route along the Cowlitz river would be abandoned and that the highway would go southward from Chehalis to the Cowlitz prairie store, and then over Pike's hill to Winlock and then south to Olequa.
On August 26, 1913, state engineers were making their final surveys of the proposed route of the Pacific Highway between Chehalis and Castle Rock. The report now showed 3 possible routes available. 1) the south side of the Cowlitz river from Toledo, leading to the Cowlitz bend, 2) the route down the north side of the Cowlitz river from Toledo to Vader and crossing the Cowlitz at Olequa. This route, would use the abandoned piers of the old railroad bridge and part of the abandoned right-of-way, 3) the route down the north side of the Cowlitz from Toledo and crossing the river on Kline's ferry near the Ferrier place that was located about a half mile west of the freeway bridges. The state ended up choosing the first option of crossing at Toledo and then along the south bank of the Cowlitz river to the bend.
The Pacific Highway Detour through Napavine and Winlock
On April 17, 1915, work on the Pacific Highway was to commence and the state highway dept had arranged for a clear open route around the construction for the summer tourist season. This would require that alternate routes that were plainly marked to be used. These detours would make the route between Seattle and Portland 199.9 miles long. The highway dept. proposed that a bulletin board system be established to spread information regarding the road conditions with the cooperation of garages and auto clubs.
At the beginning of May in 1915, paving work began at a point about 4 miles southeast of Chehalis and in the vicinity of Toledo. This made the regular route of the Pacific Highway to be blocked for most of that summer. The detour was described in the Oregonian on May 9, 1915;
"Leave Chehalis going southeast on Market street, and follow pavement to its present terminus about 4 miles from Chehalis. Turn to the west, go one mile, then due south three miles to Napavine and cross the railway tracks and then parallel the west side of the track for one mile, then cross back to the east side of the track for a little over one mile, and then cross back to west side, and follow the road on the west of tracks through Eveline and on to Winlock."
"Cross the tracks to the east side in Winlock and follow, plank road along the track for one mile as it becomes a dirt road for two miles to the grade crossing to the west side of the track, then over a dirt road for 4 miles into Vader. Cross the track in Vader, then at forks of road east of town, take the south branch 2 miles to the Olequa ferry over the Cowlitz river. This ferry has bad approaches but can be used by automobiles exercising care. On the east side of the river there is but the one road to Castle Rock, which is well marked, but is narrow and has many bad grades with short and steep pitches. The surface of the road is fair. Most of the road, described from Chehalis to Castle Rock was a dry weather road and was the shortest route available between these points."
On May 17, 1915, the detour roads from Centralia to Winlock, by way of Napavine, were in good order. South of Winlock the highway, which leads over Pike's hill to Toledo, was impassable, and travelers were compelled to take the road through Vader.
On June 4, 1916, the Oregonian published an article by Chester Moores on his trip up the Pacific Highway from Portland. The following is a clip from that article when Chester arrived at Castle Rock;
"Before starting we were informed that the road via Winlock was shorter and better, (it was) but so many conflicting reports were received later that the writer, for one, is still in doubt as to which route is the one to be preferred. The Toledo way was followed quite generally by motorists last year and the garage chieftain at Castle Rock told us on our way home that we went the longer and poorer way by going through Winlock. The Toledo road offers several miles of pavement this side of Chehalis, which the Winlock route cannot boast of, but it is said that some rather uncertain corduroy lies along the Toledo route."
"There you have it. One native, clothed with apparent authority, will tell you one thing and the next fellow you meet will have a version that contradicts it exactly. Tis always so in matters of highway touring, the story usually switching with the viewpoint. Anyhow we took the road to the left at the bunch of signboards and found in less than a quarter of a mile that we were to have the pleasure and novelty of floating across the Cowlitz river on a community ferry that had been dubbed with the name Olequa in honor of a hamlet that lay just ahead. Between the hours of 6am and 7pm it costs nothing to ride on this ferry and the service is good. After hours a charge of 25 cents is made for every automobile."
"The man in charge of the ferry told us. Just as he will probably tell you, that the road ahead was shorter by 7 seven miles and "smoother" than the optional road by way of Toledo. Perhaps his job depends upon traffic, or more probably the fellow at Castle Rock was fibbing, (he was) but anyhow all of the road leading on to the Pacific Highway intersection just this side of Chehalis was not blissful, although it certainly averaged up into something pretty good. Some 3 miles beyond the ferry we passed through a little town that had a hotel with the sign "Little Falls" painted across the side. We asked one of the official town whittlers and he assured us the town also bore that name, but we learned later that this town is and always has been named Vader." (The post office was originally named Little Falls)
"All of which amounts to another warning that automobile tourists must not stake their lives on the information that they are apt to receive along any roadway, at Vader or elsewhere. Most of the road leading on through Winlock and Napavine was a fair proposition, although some of the corduroy along the short run from the Veness mill into Winlock was quite enough to tax a preacher's vow. We learned from no less an official than the town marshal, however, that this corduroy is to be yanked and replaced with pavement in keeping with the spirit of many Washington towns smaller than some Oregon towns that hardly dare pave their main streets."
"The Reo speedometer, which, as should have been explained earlier in this narrative, is not accurate because the gear ratio of the car was changed after the speed and distance recorder was put to work, marked the distance from the Olequa Ferry to Chehalis as 30 miles, which very nearly jibes with the Goodrich tour book. After taking the Winlock detour, or whatever it should be called, you will meet the Pacific Highway again on the pavement 2 miles this side of the heart of Chehalis."
On July 30 1916, the Oregonian described the Pacific Highway as going from Chehalis via Napavine, Winlock and the Olequa ferry. They said that the entire distance to a point 15 miles out of Vancouver, that the Pacific Highway might properly be called the "Terrific Highway" as it is very rough, narrow and terrifying in many places. Others called it a hog trail.
Pacific Highway Construction
The Olequa Ferry in 1915
On August 9, 1916, the Pacific Highway was detoured onto the ferry crossing at Olequa and then along the north side of the river to Toledo.
About a mile north of Toledo the cars were detoured again onto the road over Pike's hill to Winlock. The detour continued through the town of Winlock and north to Napavine. From Napavine cars took the road to the right and continued northeast to the Pacific Highway a half mile south of Forest. From there it was north on the Pacific Highway into Chehalis.
The Olequa detour was used during the construction work north of Toledo. That fall, the river flooded and washed away a section of the Toledo bridge. The Olequa detour through Winlock would be needed until the bridge was repaired and reopened in August of 1919.
On December 29, 1918, the old wooden bridge across Olequa Creek collapsed under the weight of a heavy truck. During the spring of 1919, a new 100 foot bridge was constructed. This bridge was removed in the 1950's when the Westside Highway was improved and realigned.
During April of 1920, the Pacific Highway was impassible from Castle Rock to Toledo due to the deep mud. Some motorists tried to avoid the mud by turning west across the Cowlitz bridge at Castle Rock, then over the "Logging Road Highway" for some 5 miles to Olequa, Winlock and then into Chehalis. But this detour was as bad as the main highway if not worse, and it was washed out in places. The only way to get to Seattle from Portland that spring was by train. By May 15th, the road had dried out and cars were again routed over the bridge at Castle Rock and the Westside road to Olequa, and Winlock.
On April 25, 1920, the Oregonian ran an article about the condition of the highway. Motorists were detoured off the Pacific Highway at Castle Rock where they crossed the bridge and continued north on the "Logging Road Highway." After reaching Olequa, the traveler would take the ferry back over the river, and after a few miles cross back over the river a third time on the newly constructed bridge at Toledo.
The following is a report of the road conditions the spring of 1920. "From Kelso to Castle Rock, the road was rough and muddy, especially so at Ostrander where it was badly rutted and full of chuckholes. At Ostrander, we were then told we could not get through with our car, as it did not have enough road clearance. It was the first time I ever had cold feet. They advised me not to try it and gave me all kinds of encouragement which made me wish I had an airship, but I finally decided to try it. We pulled around the first car and a short way down the road met the other unfortunates; a Dodge, a "Study" light six, Ford, Hupmobile, Buick and a Chevrolet. I don't know how we got through."
"The good Lord or someone else must have guided us, for we passed by this lineup with the running boards under mud, dropping the front wheels into chuck holes until the tips of the front fenders plowed into the mud and pushed the mud through the radiator. I was afraid I would have an accident as the holes had chucks of wood, broken planks and limbs of trees in them that someone had put there to help fill them up.
"We went along in low gear, got through and never stopped turning a wheel, neither did we have an accident. Arriving at Olequa, crossed the river and proceeded. But no cars are getting through now on their own power. They are lucky to get through behind a team of horses."
The Railroad Bridge that Became and Auto Bridge
On July 28, 1925, The Union Bridge Company was awarded a contract to construct a steel bridge across the Cowlitz river at Olequa. The stone piers which were formally used by the Northern Pacific, were purchased by Cowlitz county and the piers were cut down 7 feet and capped with concrete to carry the bridge structure. The Northern Pacific had offered to give the piers and right-of-way to the state back in 1910 for the Pacific Highway, but at the time, the Legislators from Puget Sound were afraid to lose business to Portland if a north-south trunk highway was built. When they finally decided to build the highway, they ended up choosing the Toledo route.
The bridge was 465 feet long and 18 feet wide, with an approach of 500 feet on the east side. The bridge replaced the cable ferry which could not operate during the high water and was not always available at night. This toll bridge was operated by the Olequa Bridge Company, which was owned by George Bertrand and Gene Huntington. Work on the bridge began in October of 1925 and was completed by November of that year.
The Olequa Bridge in 1927
All that remains of the Olequa Bridge @ Olequa Crossing~2026
The shipments of steel came to Vader on the railroad and was hauled down to Olequa. This was because the bridge across Olequa Creek could not handle the weight of the heavy trucks. Part of the Shepardson farm was condemned for the right-of-way on the east side and it was necessary to build a low fill across the field to bring the road above the high water mark. The toll bridge was built using private capital and was open at all hours of the day and night.
The Final Days of Olequa
The town of Olequa never really prospered and the post office had shut down in 1912, and on April 19, 1927, the plat of West Olequa was vacated. By the 1930's, the railroad station like the post office were now gone and all that was left was the George Bertrand store that he opened in 1900 at age 42 and operated it for 50 years when he shut its doors in 1950. He was the oldest active merchant in the State of Washington. George Bertrand would pass away at age 94 in 1952.
Travelers were now using the new Pacific Highway out of Toledo and traffic over the Olequa bridge began to fade. The old railroad bridge that became a highway bridge was removed sometime in the mid 1950's or 1960's.
Today, nothing remains of the little town of Olequa and the old Pumphrey's Landing except for the old concrete piers that once carried trains and later automobiles across the Cowlitz river.
https://www.pacific-hwy.net/olequa.htm }}
It was a very nice loop country drive, that showed me some back country acreage I'd never passed through before - backroads hopscotching along Rodgers Road, Mandy Road [highlighted in purple - was a new road for me, this afternoon], Imboden Road, & Meikler Road; hoping to see the swans & ending with a riverside hamburger picnic of sorts. It was a drive and a quick lunch Holland had done many, many times throughout his life before his accident; I'm glad he shared it with me, today 🚘💞👓📸😘
Olequa Creek Boat Ramp to Home is about 8 minutes.
Back home again, he went online 🌐🎧💻 to research things that need done before we pack up here 🚘🧳 (he wants to be on the road before Fall, to make sure we make it over the Passes 🗺️🏔️) & places to go after we leave here.
Building a marriage (an empire).
Setting up a Home.
Right now, it's a juggling toss-up between Florida 🏖️, Texas 🤠, or back to Quartzsite-AZ 📍
I'm okay with any of those places. Florida would be nice, as neither of us have ever been there before. A little further into Texas would be a new experience for me, a one I'm eager to engage in. But, Quartzsite will probably be the reality - and that's okay, too. We like it & we're familiar with the region.
And I, tuned into a couple podcasts 💻🎧🎙️ for some light-hearted newsy updates; while working on some simple, quick & easy, holiday frills to brighten up Independence's interior spaces - nothing fancy, just simple holiday themed things to cheer our small castle space ✂️🧶
Building a marriage (an empire).
Setting up a Home.
Creatively crafting.
I will finish this design tomorrow; 'MOD Holiday Swags'
