Eighteenmile Island is a 9.89 acre (4 ha) island on the

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

side of the Columbia River at

river mile A river mile is a measure of distance in miles along a river from its mouth. River mile numbers begin at zero and increase further upstream. The corresponding metric unit using kilometers is the river kilometer. They are analogous to vehicle roa ...

174 in

Wasco County, Oregon Wasco County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,213. Its county seat is The Dalles. The county is named for a local tribe of Native Americans, the Wasco, a Chinook tribe wh ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It is about a half mile (0.8 km) downstream of Mosier, Oregon and four miles (6.4 km) upstream of Hood River. It can be seen from Interstate 84, which runs along the Oregon side of the Columbia River, and from the

Historic Columbia River Highway The Historic Columbia River Highway is an approximately scenic highway in the U.S. state of Oregon between Troutdale and The Dalles, built through the Columbia River Gorge between 1913 and 1922. As the first planned scenic roadway in the United ...

. A small rocky "island" downstream of Eighteenmile Island houses a navigational light. The island is mentioned in the journal of Meriwether Lewis, from the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

Geography

The small island is located in the

Columbia River Gorge The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the st ...

region. It was mostly barren , but features several large pine trees and

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

s, a

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

cliff, wildflowers, wild cherry trees, blackberry thickets, and a sandy beach. It is closer to the Oregon side of the river, and only a few hundred feet from its shoreline. The island's only structure is a private residence, a three-story wood-frame house built in 1969. A line from the mainland supplies electricity to the island; drinking water is filtered from the Columbia. The island can only be accessed by boat.

History

During the 20th century it was popularly called Chicken Charlie's Island, after Charles Reither, who lived on the island from 1915 until his death in 1963. There were not actually chickens on the island during Reither's residency, but there may have been a chicken ranch there around 1904. A 1919 tax survey indicates a "George W. Reither", Charles' brother, lived on the island as well. Reither was given title to the island in 1922 from the Bureau of Land Management. It was officially referred to as "Eighteenmile Island" by the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

as early as 1934. It is still referred to as ''Chicken Charlie's Island'' on some maps.

Ownership

Eighteenmile Island is one of very few remaining privately owned islands, such as Homestead Island in the Hanford Reach, on the Columbia River. Zoning prohibits further development on the island beyond the one existing house. In 2000 when the island was offered for sale, local and federal officials considered buying it to protect it, but deemed that unnecessary as the strict zoning would prevent unwanted development anyway. The island and house were offered for sale for the listing price of $1.4 million in 2005 and again in 2007.

References

{{authority control Private islands of the United States Columbia River Gorge Islands of the Columbia River in Oregon Landforms of Wasco County, Oregon