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Boones Ferry (also Boone's Ferry) was a
cable ferry A cable ferry (including the terms chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...
which crossed the
Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...
near present-day
Wilsonville, Oregon Wilsonville is a city primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A portion of the northern section of the city is in Washington County. It was founded as Boones Landing because of the Boones Ferry which crossed the Willamette River at ...
, United States, from 1847 to 1954. It was part of a major land-based thoroughfare in pioneer times linking fledgling
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
with the pre-territorial government at
Champoeg Champoeg ( , historically Horner, John B. (1919). ''Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature''. The J.K. Gill Co.: Portland. p. 398.) is a former town in the U.S. state of Oregon. Now a ghost town, it was an important settlement in the W ...
, and later Salem. It was eventually made obsolete by the Boone Bridge on
Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...
.


History

The ferry was built by the family of Alphonso Boone (grandson of
Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...
) who, in 1846,
claimed "Claimed" is the eleventh episode of the The Walking Dead (season 4), fourth season of the Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic Horror fiction, horror television series ''The Walking Dead (TV series), The Walking Dead'', wh ...
on and around present day
Charbonneau Charbonneau may refer to: People * Charbonneau (surname) Places * Charbonneau, North Dakota * Charbonneau, Oregon Wine grapes *Charbonneau (grape), another name for the French wine grape Douce noir *Dolcetto, Italian wine grape that is also ...
which was on the main road between Oregon City and present day Butteville. The family cleared a path and laid a split log roadway north to Portland and south toward Salem. The ferry was propelled by oarsmen from the nearby Tuality Indian tribe. Alphonso was adamant about operating the ferry 24 hours a day. When word of the California gold rush reached the area in 1848, Alphonso and his sons headed south. Alphonso died either February 1, 1850, or February 27, 1850, in the gold fields of a miner's disease, but his sons returned with their fortunes. Initially Alphonso, Jr. operated the ferry, but soon sold it to his brother Jesse, who operated it until his death in 1872 at the hand of a neighbor over a river access dispute. Afterward, the ferry was owned and operated by several people for a few years, before it passed to
Clackamas County Clackamas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the Native ...
. By the early 1900s, the State of Oregon controlled it. Shortly after the establishment of Boones Ferry, the community of Boones Landing was established and quickly grew. It was the precursor of Wilsonville. The completion of the ''Baldock Freeway Bridge'' (now Boone Bridge) in 1954 resulted in decommissioning of the ferry, which made up to 300 trips per day, carrying up to 12 autos at a time. Many sections of the road are still in use and named ''Boones Ferry Road'', which closely parallels contemporary
Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...
. Today, at the end of one of the road fragments on the north shore is ''Boones Ferry Park'', in Wilsonville, located where one terminal was; the south shore has a marina with a boat ramp in approximately the historical location of the other terminal. The ferry crossing site is about west of I-5 and is visible from the southbound lanes of the Boone Bridge.


See also

*
Champoeg Meetings The Champoeg Meetings were the first attempts at formal governance by European-American and French Canadian pioneers in the Oregon Country on the Pacific Northwest coast of North America. Between 1841 and 1843, a series of public councils was held ...
* Scholls, Oregon


Existing ferries across the Willamette

* Canby Ferry * Buena Vista Ferry *
Wheatland Ferry The Wheatland Ferry is a cable ferry that connects Marion County and Yamhill County across the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. The ferry travels approximately across the river, depending on the height of the river, and is powere ...


Historic ferries across the Willamette

* Stark Street Ferry in Portland *
Taylors Ferry Taylors is a census-designated place (CDP) in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 21,617 at the 2010 census. Taylors is the Greenville/Spartanburg area's largest suburb although it is not incorporated as a city. ...
in Portland


References


External links


Oregon Historical Society photo
The ''Jesse V. Boone'' crossing the Willamette River in 1939

1930s crossing
Boones Ferry Park
{{coord, 45.29312, -122.775038, region:US-OR_type:landmark, display=title History of transportation in Oregon Ferries of Oregon Transportation in Wilsonville, Oregon Crossings of the Willamette River 1847 establishments in Oregon Country Cable ferries in the United States