Dodson is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Multnomah County,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, United States. It is located about 4½ miles (7.2 km) east of Multnomah Falls and one mile west of Warrendale, in the Columbia River Gorge on Interstate 84/ U.S. Route 30. It is across the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

from Skamania, Washington. Dodson is within the

Cascade Locks Cascade Locks is a city in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. The city took its name from a set of locks built to improve navigation past the Cascades Rapids of the Columbia River. The U.S. federal government approved the plan for the l ...

ZIP code. Dodson was a railroad station on the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company line (today owned by Union Pacific) named for Ira Dodson, who was an early settler in the area. Dodson station was moved several times and was once located near present-day Warrendale. Circa 1885 the station was also known as "Dodsons". Author Ralph Friedman says Dodson is a "hamlet that time and tracks have passed by". At one time Dodson had a gas station and a motel. Bonneville Grade School in Dodson closed in 1996 because of declining enrollment. The school also served the students of Warrendale and Bonneville. Dodson was the site of the McGowan salmon cannery and a

fish wheel A fish wheel, also known as a salmon wheel, is a device situated in rivers to catch fish which looks and operates like a watermill. However, in addition to paddles, a fish wheel is outfitted with wire baskets designed to catch and carry fish fro ...

c. 1900. In February 1996, a series of massive debris flows, resulting from the same severe weather that caused flooding in the Willamette Valley, occurred between Dodson and Warrendale, destroying homes and blocking the railroad and I-84 for several days. A 1.65 acre parcel in the landslide area was bequeathed to the Friends of the Columbia Gorge Land Trust, which hopes to convey the property into public ownership.

References

External links

Images of Dodson
from Flickr
Images of the Dodson landslide
from Waymarking.com

from Portland State University Unincorporated communities in Multnomah County, Oregon Ghost towns in Oregon Columbia River Gorge Unincorporated communities in Oregon {{MultnomahCountyOR-geo-stub