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Maryhill Museum and the Columbia Hills, Washington, as seen from Interstate 84, Oregon.
Image taken September 24, 2005.
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Maryhill ...
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The first community in the Maryhill area was called "Columbus" or "Columbus Landing" until the name-change in 1909 to "Maryhill". This community was primarily a wood-hauling town where stern-wheelers stopped to take on fuel. Wood was cut on the north slopes of the Columbia Hills and hauled to the Columbia River shoreline by wagons pulled by oxen. Early maps show this community as "Columbus P.O." or "Columbus".
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"... The town of Maryhill, originally named Columbus, was first settled in 1862 by Amos Stark. Others followed Stark in the ensuing years to herd cattle or supply cordwood for the steamers along the Columbia River. In a short time, the town became the major fueling point along the river for steamers of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. The trade between the cordwood dealers and the steamers transformed the river town into a busy place. By 1862, fifteen families had settled in Columbus and the town became known as "the only place with any business pretensions in the county." ..."
["RootsWeb.com" Website, 2006, Klickitat County, The Goldendale Sentinel", August 8, 1991]
The first ferry to make regular crossings of the Columbia was established in 1868 by William Hicenbotham.
In 1908 entrepreneur Samuel Hill bought 7,000 acres on the Washington banks of the Columbia River at the location of the Stonehenge Memorial, where he planned to build a Quaker farming community (The Maryhill Museum website 2004 says both "6,000 acres" and "over 6,000 acres"). Hill surveyed in a 34-block townsite and built a church, hotel, store, offices, garage, and shops, plus ten miles of paved roads, the first in rural Washington. Samuel Hill's townsite was never occupied and eventually destroyed by fire.
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Samuel Hill ...
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Samuel Hill was a prominent Oregon and Washington entepreneur, a promotor of improving nation-wide road systems, and who helped develop the Historic Columbia River Highway.
Hill not only built the Maryhill Museum and the Stonehenge Memorial, but also he built the Blaine Peace Arch, located along Interstate 5 where it crosses into Canada.
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Sam Hill Country sign, Maryhill, Washington
Image taken April 24, 2004.
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Maryhill Museum ...
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Maryhill Museum, Washington.
Image taken July 5, 2003.
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Maryhill Museum, Washington, and Mount Hood, Oregon.
Image taken May 24, 2005.
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Maryhill Geology ...
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Maryhill Museum sits on a bench lying 800 feet above the Columbia, on the north side of the river; a bench made of 14.5-million-year-old Priest Rapids lava, a member of the Wanapum Basalt of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG). This bench, in some areas nearly one mile wide, was carved by the massive power of the Missoula Floods.
North of the museum, the Columbia Hills rise to an elevation of nearly 2,800 feet and overlook the Columbia River valley below.
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Columbia River, looking downstream from Maryhill Museum.
Image taken July 5, 2003.
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The Maryhill to Biggs Ferry ...
Maryhill was once the northern end of a ferry route which was first established in 1868 by William Hicenbotham. The ferry went from Maryhill, Washington, to Biggs, Oregon.
In 1962 the Maryhill to Biggs Ferry was replaced by the Sam Hill Memorial Bridge.
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Sam Hill Memorial Bridge ...
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Sam Hill Memorial Bridge (U.S. Highway 97, "Biggs Rapid Bridge").
View from Biggs Junction, Oregon.
Image taken September 26, 2004.
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Maryhill State Park ...
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Maryhill State Park is a 99-acre camping park located 12 miles south of Goldendale, Washington, and one mile north of the Columbia River on
Highway 97. The park was acquired by lease from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1972 (at no cost) and has 4,700 feet of Columbia River waterfront.
A full-scale partial replica of
Stonehenge is located one mile from the park.
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Maryhill State Park, Washington, as seen from Interstate 84, Oregon.
Image taken September 24, 2005.
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Stonehenge Memorial ...
Between 1918 and 1929, Sam Hill built a replica of England's Stonehenge, as America's first World War I memorial, at the location of his townsite.
[More]
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Stonehenge, Maryhill, Washington.
Image taken April 24, 2004.
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Mount Hood, Oregon, as seen from inside Washington State's Stonehenge Memorial.
Image taken April 24, 2004.
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Maryhill Loops ...
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The "Maryhill Loops Road" was
built in 1913 by Sam Hill as a forerunner to Samuel C. Lancaster's
Columbia River Highway, through the Columbia River Gorge.
The Loops Road is 3.6 mile-long and was the first paved road in Pacific Northwest.
It winds through the Klickitat Hills just north of the
Stonehenge Memorial near the junction of Washington State Highway 14 and
U.S. Highway 97.
Seven types of experimental road construction were employed to build Loops Road, including liquid asphalt shipped from California.
The road was completely refurbished in 1998 and is open to bicyclists and pedestrians.
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Maryhill Loops, Washington.
Image taken April 24, 2004.
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Lewis and Clark and Maryhill area ...
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In April 1806 on their return back up the Columbia, Lewis and Clark and most of their crew travelled by horse along the ridge of the Columbia Plateau, on the Washington side of the Columbia. They passed through the Maryhill vicinity on April 22.
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"... dureing the time the front of the party was waiting for Cap Lewis, I assended a high hill from which I could plainly See the range of Mountains which runs South from Mt. Hood as far as I could See. I also discovered the top of Mt. Jefferson which is Covered with Snow and is S 10o W. Mt. Hood is S. 30o W. the range of mountains are Covered with timber and also Mt Hood to a sertain hite. The range of Mountains has Snow on them. I also discovered some timbered land in a S. derection from me, Short of the mountains.
Clarks river which mouthes imedeately opposit to me forks at about 18 or 20 miles, the West fork runs to the Mt Hood and the main branch Runs from S.E. ..."
[Clark, April 22, 1806]
Clarks river is the Deschutes River, and the "range of Mountains" is the Cascade Range.
The "high hill" Captain Clark climbed quite possibly might be
Haystack Butte, approximately 3 miles downstream (west) of Maryhill.
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Mount Hood as seen from Maryhill Museum.
Image taken July 5, 2003.
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From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...
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Clark, October 22, 1805 ...
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A fine morning calm and fare we Set out [downstream of the John Day Dam] at 9 oClock passed a verry bad rapid [today the location of the "Biggs Bridge", Highway 97 crossing from Biggs Junction, Oregon, to Maryhill, Washington. The rapid, which was labeled "Five-Mile Rapid" in 1858, is now under the waters of the Lake Celilo, the reservoir behind The Dalles Dam.]
at the head of an Island close under the Stard. Side [???], above this rapid on the Stard. Side is Six Lodges of nativs Drying fish [Maryhill vicinity], at 9 mls. passed a bad rapid [Deschutes Rapid, also under the waters of Lake Celilo] at the head of a large Island [Miller Island] of high, uneaven [rocks], jutting over the water, a Small Island in a Stard. Bend [???] opposit the upper point, on which I counted 20 parcels of dryed and pounded fish; on the main Stard Shore opposit to this Island five Lodges of Indians are Situated Several Indians in Canoes killing fish with gigs [Haystack Butte, Columbia Hills, vicinity], <and nets> &c. opposit the center of this Island of rocks [Miller Island] which is about 4 miles long we discovered the enterence of a large river on the Lard. Side [Deschutes River] which appeared to Come from the S. E. - we landed at Some distance above the mouth of this river [Deschutes River] and Capt. Lewis and my Self Set out to view this river above its mouth, as our rout was intersepted by a deep narrow Chanel which runs out of this river into the Columbia a little below the place we landed, leaveing a high dry rich Island of about 400 yards wide and 800 yards long here we Seperated, I proceeded on to the river and Struck it at the foot of a verry Considerable rapid [Deschutes Rapids], here I beheld an emence body of water Compressd in a narrow Chanel of about 200 yds in width, fomeing over rocks maney of which presented their tops above the water, when at this place Capt. Lewis joined me haveing .... at about two miles above this River appears to be confined between two high hils below which it divided by numbers of large rocks, and Small Islands covered with a low groth of timber, and has a rapid as far as the narrows three Small Islands in the mouth of this River, <we returned> this River haveing no Indian name that we could find out, except "the River on which the Snake Indians live," we think it best to leave the nameing of it untill our return [Deschutes River].
we proceeded on pass the mouth of this river [Deschutes River] at which place it appears to discharge 1/4 as much water as runs down the Columbia. at two miles below this River passed Eight Lodges on the Lower point of the Rock Island [Miller Island] aforesaid at those Lodges we saw large logs of wood which must have been rafted down the To war-ne hi ooks River [Deschutes River], below this Island [Miller Island] on the main Stard Shore is 16 Lodges of nativs; here we landed a fiew minits to Smoke, the lower point of one Island opposit [???] which heads in the mouth of Towarnehiooks River [Deschutes River] which I did not observe untill after passing these lodges
about 1/2 a mile lower passed 6 more Lodges on the Same Side and 6 miles below the upper mouth of Towarnehiooks River [Deschutes River] the comencement of the pitch of the Great falls [Celilo Falls], opposit on the Stard. Side is 17 Lodges of the nativs [near Wishram, Washington] we landed and walked down accompanied by an old man to view the falls [Celilo Falls], and the best rout for to make a portage
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we made 19 miles to day
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