Roll on

World file photo The steamboat Selkirk noses in at the Entiat landing about 1905. It was part of the fleet of steamboats that connected Wenatchee with upriver points until construction of the railroad in 1914.

A historical look at the Columbia River’s local influence

If you had been standing on the banks of the Columbia River in the Wenatchee area some 100 years ago, the view would have been much different from today. The currents and the shoreline in those days mean dered in different locations than now.

Had you been here a thousand years ago, you would have watched the native tribes conducting their dai ly lives and on occasion, multi-tribal gatherings with thousands of participants in the present-day Wenatchee and East Wenatchee areas.

The Columbia River was the connector for traders and travelers, as well.

In 1811, David Thompson led a crew of explorers along the Wenatchee River to the Wenatchee River Delta, where it meets the Columbia River. The Thompson party encountered a hesitant group of horsemen of the Sinkowarsin tribe and after a lengthy session of pipe smoking, the Thompson crew followed the horsemen to their village near the Rock Island rapids. The visit went well and the explorers moved on in the evening with good wishes from the villagers.

The Rock Island rapids at that time were notorious for being rough and nearly impassable. The local tribes, however, found the location good for fishing. These days, the strong currents are controlled by the Rock Island Dam which began operating in 1933.

This is a photo of the Rock Island rapids taken prior to 1892. This was the future site of Rock Island Dam, completed in 1932.

Jaana Hatton photo The Horan area, once a dwelling and gathering place for native tribes, is now a wildlife sanctuary. Mule deer are commonplace in it, as are a variety of birds. It is a birding hotspot.

Jaana Hatton photo The once turbulent Rock Island Rapids are now contained by the Rock Island Dam. It was activated in 1933 and forever changed the currents’ force and flow for miles up and down the river.

Photo courtesy of the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center This photo was taken around 1900 and shows (l-r) Sam Miller and Mattie Freer, with Lucy and Hattie Freer (Mattie’s stepsisters), and Del Curry, a barber in front of the Miller Freer Trading Post building. Frank Freer’s house is to the left. 42 Foothills September / October 2020

One concern with the Rock Island Dam construction was the preservation of the hundreds of petroglyphs at the site. A local professional photographer, Harold Simmer, an amateur archaeologist, Harold Cundy and Dr. Thomas Grosvenor preserved as many as 140 of the petroglyphs in photographs and drawings. Some of these petroglyphs are currently on display at the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center.

Some locations could not be preserved when the dam was built; the river delta lost much of its landmass when the water rose higher. The confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia rivers, now known as the Horan Wetlands and Wildlife Area, looks nothing like before the dam. Since 1930, the confluence delta has submerged by 37%.

The Horan area was an important tribal dwelling location until the white settlers arrived. In 1841, Lt. Robert Johnson on the Wilkes Expedition noted natives growing potatoes in well-made cultivation areas. The east side of the confluence was a place for horse races and council meetings, where several tribes gathered.

The current Horan Natural Area became a trading post location in 1872 when Sam Miller took over the spot by the river.

In the early days of Wenatchee settle - ment, sternwheelers were the way to travel up and down the river. Before the bridges were built across the Columbia, ferries traveled between the east and west shores of the river.

The Burch family operated a steam ferry 1885-1889, carrying people and goods back and forth across the Colum- bia.

Capt. Alexander Griggs established a steamboat yard right in town, at the bottom of Fifth Street. The boat yard now long gone, life-sized statue of the captain seemingly walking down to the river currently commemorates the spot. Between 1896-1917, the boat yard constructed 15 stern-wheelers. Some of them were lost into the river’s currents. The Columbia River ferry at Wenatchee in 1911.

Jaana Hatton photo The statue of Capt. Alexan- der Griggs, the owner of the stern-wheeler boat company, seems to be briskly walking towards his place of work by the river. The boatyard functioned at the bottom of Fifth Street from 1896 to 1917.

This photo was taken in 1908 during the construction of the pipe of the Highline Canal on the original

Columbia River

Bridge. The span, here supporting a lone team of horses and a wagon, was the area’s main cross-river motor route until 1950.

Jaana Hatton photo Also known as the “Black Bridge,” this construction allowed people and goods to cross the river without the ferries. It now serves at the “0” point of the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail, used as a recreational route for bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

The first highway bridge across the Columbia River was erected in Wenatchee in 1906-08 at a cost of $171,000. It carried two 36-inch diameter pipes for irrigation water, served as a highway span and had room for a trolley line. The span was financed by J.J. Hill, the Wenatchee Canal Co. and owners of East Wenatchee land.

In order to live and prosper in the Wenatchee area, settlers needed irrigation for their crops. Irrigation lines were built over time. The Highline Canal, put to use in 1903, served Sunnyslope, the lower eleva tions as well as canyon mouth areas of Wenatchee.

The Pipeline Bridge, running between Wenatchee and East Wenatchee, was completed in 1908. Not only did it carry water across the river, but people as well. Soon the ferries were no longer needed.

Even more important than bridges was the railway, which reached Wenatchee in 1892. The ease of railroad transportation gradually won over the slow and hazardous river travel, and by 1915, the sternwheelers had served their purpose.

Besides the Rock Island Dam, 12 miles downstream from the city, there is another one controlling the water fluctuation in the Wenatchee area — the Rocky Reach Dam, seven miles upstream. It was opened for public use in 1961.

Jaana Hatton photo The water from the river benefits residents and cultivated areas even up on the hillsides with the help of the canal system. The largest section of it, the Highline Canal, was built in the early 1900s..

The Columbia River keeps on serving the Wenatchee area as a natural resource. The present-day expeditions are done by fishermen and kayakers on leisurely outings.

One thing remains unchanged: the eagles still find their food in the cur rents like they always have. F

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Deb Lewin, left, and Kari Suarez take an afternoon walk around the Wenatchee City cemetery in late May.