The Columbia River - Herman Creek, Oregon

Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later"
"Herman Creek, Oregon"

Includes ... Herman Creek ... Herman Lake ... Government Cove ... Herman Creek Trail ...

Image, 2009, Herman Creek, Oregon, click to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Herman Creek, Oregon. View looking upstream, from NW Forest Lane. Image taken April 4, 2009.

Herman Creek ...

Herman Creek, Oregon, is located at Columbia River Mile (RM) 150.5, and flows through the east end of the community of Cascade Locks. Herman Creek is just downstream of Government Cove and the now-vanished community of Wyeth. Herman Creek was named after an early settler James H. Herman.

Early Herman Creek ...

The 1860 cadastral survey (tax survey) for T2N R8E, shows the home of "J. Herman" located in the upper part of the SW quarter of Section 5. The creek is labeled "Herman's Creek", and in the NE quarter of Section 5 is "Herman's Lake". "Herman's Creek" is shown having two mouths not too far apart(now under the waters of the Bonneville Reservoir). A "J.W. Allen" is listed as owning 29.86 acres in the SE quarter of Section 6, where the western mouth of Herman Creek meets the Columbia River. The outlet for "Herman's Lake" is slightly upstream of the eastern-most mouth of "Herman's Creek". "Herman's Lake" has a large island located in the center of it, taking up most of the lake. "Herman's Lake" today is a part of Government Cove.

The Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office (GLO) Records database shows James H. Herrman being granted title to 318.8 acres for parts of T2N R8E, Section 5, on July 21, 1875 (1850 Oregon-Donation Act).

According to McArthur and McArthur in "Oregon Geographic Names" (2003), the U.S. Board of Geographic Names made "Herman Creek" official in 1915, after research by Henry Biddle of Portland discovered "Herman" was the correct spelling rather than "Hermann", as often seen in use. (Note the GLO database spells the name as "Herrman".)

Herman Lake ...

At one time Herman Lake existed just east of Herman Creek. The lake is now part of Government Cove.

Herman Creek Trail ...

The Herman Creek Trail is an 8.4 miles U.S. Forest Service trail which rises to 1,700 feet. Loops connect with the Pacific Crest Trail. According to the U.S. Forest Service, the Herman Creek Trail contains the largest surviving forest of old growth Douglas fir, cedar, and hemlock in the Columbia River Gorge.

From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...

Clark, ...

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^*River Miles [RM] are approximate, in statute miles, and were determined from USGS topo maps, obtained from NOAA nautical charts, or obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website, 2003

Sources: McArthur, L.A., and McArthur, L.L., 2003, Oregon Geographic Names, Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland; U.S. Bureau of Land Management website, 2009; U.S. Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office Records website, 2009; U.S. Forest Service Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area website, 2009; U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) website, 2009.

All Lewis and Clark quotations from Gary Moulton editions of the Lewis and Clark Journals, University of Nebraska Press, all attempts have been made to type the quotations exactly as in the Moulton editions, however typing errors introduced by this web author cannot be ruled out; location interpretation from variety of sources, including this website author.