Boones Ferry (also Boone's Ferry) was a

cable ferry A cable ferry (including the types 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 ...

at present-day

Wilsonville, Oregon Wilsonville is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas and Washington County, Oregon, Washington counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded with the name Boones Landing for the Boones Ferry that crossed the Willamette River, the communit ...

, 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 most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

with the pre-territorial government at Champoeg, 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 System, 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 thro ...

History

The ferry was built by the family of Alphonso Boone (grandson of

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 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 beyo ...

) 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 which was on the main road between

Oregon City Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 ...

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 The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

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 na ...

. 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

. 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.

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

History

See also

Existing ferries across the Willamette

Historic ferries across the Willamette

References

External links