Columbia Gorge history stands tall at center

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Columbia Gorge history stands tall at center

By JOHN SOWELL
Herald Oregon bureau

STEVENSON - In the early 20th century, nets became the most efficient traps for catching Northwest salmon on the lower Columbia River.

But at the end of the 19th Century, such nets were ridiculed as little better for snaring fish than a bib-overalled farm boy dangling a hook tied to a length of string.

Instead, massive fish wheels -patterned after the same principle used to propel paddlewheel boats - plucked 30 million tons of fish from the Columbia each year.

A full-sized replica of the McCord fish wheel once used on the south shore of Bradford Island near present-day Bonneville Dam is one of many attractions at the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center near here.

The center, built on a rise overlooking the Columbia River 19 miles west of Hood River, opened May 17 - the eve of the 15th anniversary of the last explosion of Mount St. Helens.

In 1989, Skamania County donated the 18-acre site of a former sawmill. The state of Washington provided $5 million and additional money came from private donations.

Already, 12,000 visitors, many of them from Oregon, have stopped to visit and view three stories of exhibits showcasing the history of the Columbia Gorge.

"That's twice or three times the number of visitors we projected for that time span," said Sharon Tiffany, the center's executive director. "We set up an operational budget based on 65,000 guests a year."

Operated by the Skamania County Historical Society, the 23,000- square-foot museum replaced cramped quarters inside the county's courthouse annex. The $10.5 million facility sat on the drawing board for about a quarter-century.

A planning committee was formed in 1981 after amateur archaeologist and writer Emory Strong donated his library and artifact collections to the society.

Visitors enter the center through a colonnade built to resemble a railroad trestle. Inside, water cascades down fabricated basalt cliffs; nearby, an Indian prepares to net sacred salmon from a wooden platform 25 feet above the raging river.

The building, much of its interior designed to resemble the early sawmills built near Stevenson, was constructed by the Portland architectural firm Fletcher Farr Ayotte.

Jean Jacques Andre from Victoria, British Columbia, prepared the 11,000 square feet of exhibits. He is best known for his work at the Royal Provincial Museum in his hometown.

The center uses Indian and pioneer artifacts, photographs and a film and slide show to tell the region's history.

The exhibits also include a Corliss steam engine once used to power a sawmill at Cascade Locks, Ore.

A sign taped to the steam engine shows center planners didn't lack a sense of humor.

"The plan to run this Corliss Steam Engine on hot air through a 6-inch pipeline from the Skamania County commissioners' meeting room has been abandoned due to the recent retirement of one of the main contributors," the sign proclaims.

"So for now, this ancient engine is run by an electric motor for display."

The McCord fish wheel was created by William Rankin McCord. He studied the first wheel built along the Columbia in 1881 by Thornton Williams, then decided he could improve on the idea.

With the help of Frank Warren, a prominent Portland fish packer, who drowned in the April 1912 sinking of the Titanic, McCord began construction of his wheel in December 1881.

Later, McCord and Williams sued each other, claiming copyright infringement. After two years of litigation, a judge declared the inventions were public property.

Oregon banned the big wheels in 1926, while Washington followed suit eight years later.

McCord's name lives on at McCord Creek, which flows through nearby John B. Yeon State Park in eastern Multnomah County.

The interpretive center received rave reviews from some recent visitors.

"We liked it," said Steve Graf of Vancouver, Wash., visiting last week with his wife and son. "It had some of the stuff from the (old) museum. I thought that was important."

Nicoletta Graf said she thought the center presented a fair interpretation of Native American life and the later European influence.

Victor Graf, 10, said he liked the fishing wheel the best. "It was really big," he said.

Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and students, $3 for children ages 6 to 12 and free for children 5 and under. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

The center is one mile west of Stevenson, on Washington Highway 14. Go north at the sign for "Skamania Lodge and interpretive center."

Allow three hours to reach the center from the Tri-Cities, motoring along Interstate 84 on the Oregon side and crossing to Washington at either Hood River or Cascade Locks. Bridges spanning the Columbia at those two cities require a 75-cent, one-way toll. There's no fee to cross the river at The Dalles.

For more information, call the interpretive center at 503-427-8211.

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