Conser's Ferry
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Historic ferries in Oregon are water transport
ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...
that operated in
Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long Oregon boundary dispute, dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcat ...
,
Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...
, and the state of
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
,
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. These ferries allowed people to cross bodies of water, mainly rivers such as the Willamette in the
Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, the ...
, and the Columbia, in order to transport goods, move people, and further communications until permanent bridges were built to allow faster crossing of the water. The early ferries were used by wagons and pedestrians, while later ones transported trains and then automobiles. Oregon has a few automobile ferries still in operation.


Willamette River


Early ferries

The first recorded ferry in Oregon was on 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 ...
near present-day Wheatland.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. This ferry was built during 1843–1844 and operated by
Jesse Applegate Jesse Applegate (July 5, 1811 – April 22, 1888) was an American pioneer who led a large group of settlers along the Oregon Trail to the Oregon Country. He was an influential member of the early government of Oregon, and helped establish the ...
when he occupied the former
Methodist Mission The Methodist Mission was the Methodist Episcopal Church's 19th-century conversion efforts in the Pacific Northwest. Local Indigenous cultures were introduced to western culture and Christianity. Superintendent Jason Lee (missionary), Jason Lee was ...
at Mission Bottom. Daniel Matheny later started the
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 ...
in the 1850s around the same location. The
Michel Laframboise Michel Laframboise (May 11, 1793 – January 25, 1865) was a French Canadian fur trader in the Oregon Country who settled on the French Prairie in the modern U.S. state of Oregon. A native of Varennes, Quebec, he worked for the Pacific Fur C ...
Ferry operated on the Willamette running between
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 t ...
on the south bank and the north bank of the river.Chapman, J. S. (1993). ''French prairie ceramics: the Harriet D. Munnick archaeological collection, circa 1820-1860 : a catalog and Northwest comparative guide''. Anthropology northwest, no. 8. Corvallis, Or: Dept. of Anthropology, Oregon State University. The ferry operated from 1850 to 1857. Boone's Ferry was operated, starting in 1847, by 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 ...
. This ferry remained in operation near Wilsonville until 1954, when a bridge was built over the Willamette near the ferry site.


Benton County

About 1860, a ferry began crossing the Willamette River at Corvallis.


Polk and Marion counties

Discontinued ferries in
Polk DNA polymerase kappa is a DNA polymerase that in humans is encoded by the ''POLK'' gene. It is involved in translesion synthesis DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell (biology), cell identifies and corrects damage to the ...
and Marion County include the ''Claggett'' at
Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
, which ran until 1950. Hales Ferry, near Jefferson, operated as early as 1846, and another Jefferson ferry was run by Jacob S. Conser in 1848. Doaks Ferry operated six miles (10 km) north of Salem. It was established in the 1840s by Andrew Jackson Doak, and sold in 1860 to Jesse Walling, who platted Lincoln, Oregon. Doaks Ferry Road is named for it. Spongs Ferry operated at Spong's Landing, now a Marion County park, on the opposite side of the river from Doaks. Halls Ferry operated beginning in 1868 about six miles (10 km) south of Salem, and Halls Ferry Road still exists today. The ferry was started by Isaac (or Noah) Leabo, who sold to it Benjamin Franklin (B. F.) Hall in either 1882 or 1884, when it became known as Halls Ferry. B. F. Hall's father, Reason B. Hall, was the founder of the
Buena Vista Ferry The Buena Vista Ferry connects Marion County and Polk County across the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located a few miles south of Independence, near the community of Buena Vista. The river is approximately 720 feet (220 m) ...
in 1852, which still operates to this day. Halls Ferry changed hands twice and was subsequently renamed, first to "Croisan's Ferry" and later to "Pettyjohn's Ferry". It is uncertain when the ferry ceased operations. There was also a "Halls Ferry" railroad station at this locale.


Salem ferry

The ferry in Salem was started by James White in 1846. White later partnered with Salem founder William H. Willson. Captain White died in the explosion of the steamer ''
Gazelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . There are also seven species included in two further genera; '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third former subgenus, ' ...
'' at Canemah on April 8, 1854. At one point, his widow became the sole proprietor of the ferry until she partnered with Jasper N. Matheny, whose family was involved with the ferry business at Wheatland. The widow White eventually sold out to Matheny, who later formed a partnership that included James N. Glover, the founder of
Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
. Ownership of the ferry company changed several times—at one point, ownership included judge Reuben P. Boise—until the Secretary of State declared the company defunct in 1905.


Clackamas County

Robert Moore operated a ferry between
Linn City Linn City was a community in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, that existed from 1843 to 1861 and was destroyed in the Great Flood of 1862. The former site of Linn City was incorporated into the city of West Linn. History Robert Moore foun ...
and
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 ...
beginning in 1849, and Hugh Burns also operated a ferry around that time at Oregon City.


Lane County

A. & L. Coryell's ferry near the confluence of the Middle and Coast forks of the Willamette operated as early as 1847.


Current ferries

The only Willamette ferries still in operation are Wheatland, Buena Vista, and Canby.


Portland

One of the first ferries operating in what is now
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
was Switzler's ferry that crossed the
Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...
in 1846 between the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
's
Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th-century fur trading post built in the winter of 1824–1825. It was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was ...
and the south bank of the river. Then in 1848, Stephen Coffin established a ferry on the Willamette using a wooden platform over canoes. The Stark Street Ferry operated from 1855 until ferry traffic declined due to the opening of the
Morrison Bridge The Morrison Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. Completed in 1958, it is the third bridge at approximately the same site to carry that name. It is one of the most heavily used bridges in Portland. It ...
in 1887, and the removal of tolls on the bridge in 1895. In 1888, the completion of a railroad bridge (the original
Steel Bridge The Steel Bridge is a through truss, double-deck vertical-lift bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States, opened in 1912. Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries ...
) allowed the
Oregon & California Railroad The Oregon and California Railroad was formed from the Oregon Central Railroad when it was the first to operate a stretch south of Portland in 1869. This qualified the railroad for land grants in California, whereupon the name of the railroad ...
to cease using their
passenger ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...
, which had begun operations in 1870, using barges to move the trains across the river. The Spokane Street Ferry, also called the Sellwood Ferry, shuttled passengers across the Willamette between Sellwood and west Portland. The final ferry, the ''John F. Caples'', was discontinued in 1925 when the
Sellwood Bridge The Sellwood Bridge is a deck arch bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The current bridge opened in 2016 and replaced a 1925 span that had carried the same name. The original bridge was Portland's fir ...
opened. The last ferry service to operate in the Portland metropolitan area was the Sauvie Island Ferry, replaced in 1950 by the first Sauvie Island Bridge.


Columbia River

Ferries crossing the Columbia included the steel ''Kalama'' (later ''Tacoma'') which transported trains between
Kalama, Washington Kalama () is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,959 as of the 2020 census. Etymology James W. Phillips' ''Washington State Place Nam ...
and
Goble, Oregon Goble is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Columbia County, Oregon, Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It is located on U.S. Route 30 in Oregon, U.S. Route 30 and the Columbia River. History The Goble area was most likely ...
. This
train ferry A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry Railroad car, railway vehicles, as well as their cargoes and passengers. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with Track (rail transport), railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the f ...
was shipped in more than 50,000 parts around
Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...
and assembled in Portland. This
Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...
ferry was long and wide and continued in use from 1883 until around 1910 when a railroad bridge across the river was built. The Astoria–Megler Ferry operated at the mouth of the Columbia, between Megler, Washington and
Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a Port, port city in and the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the ...
, until the Astoria-Megler Bridge was built in the 1960s. There was also a ferry between
Biggs, Oregon Biggs Junction is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Sherman County, Oregon, United States. Biggs Junction is located on the south side of the Columbia River at the junction of Interstate 84/ U.S. 30 and U.S. 97 ...
and
Maryhill, Washington Maryhill is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Klickitat County, Washington, United States. The population was 55 at the 2020 census. History Maryhill is named after the wife and daughter of regional icon Sam H ...
.


Others

The
Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Columbia ...
had many ferries along its length, until the 1930s, when bridges were built across the bays for
U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...
. At least one, Bullards Ferry across the Coquille River, lasted until the mid-1950s, when the
Bullards Bridge The Bullards Bridge (or simply Bullards Bridge) is a vertical-lift bridge that spans the Coquille River near where the river empties into the Pacific Ocean, just north of Bandon, Oregon, United States. One of only two vertical-lift bridges o ...
replaced it. Other ferries operated in
Southern Oregon Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia thr ...
to allow transit to
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. To the east, Brownlee's Ferry began operating across the
Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...
between Oregon and
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
in 1862. Olds Ferry was founded upstream of Brownlee at
Farewell Bend Farewell or fare well is a parting phrase. The terms may also refer to: Places * Farewell, Missouri, a community in the United States * Farewell and Chorley, a location in the United Kingdom near Lichfield, site of the former Farewell Priory * Ca ...
a year later. Ferries also operated across the
Tualatin River The Tualatin River is a tributary of the Willamette River in Oregon in the United States. The river is about long, and it drains a fertile farming region called the Tualatin Valley southwest and west of Portland at the northwest corner of the ...
. These included Scholls Ferry at Scholls, operated by Peter Scholl.Buan, Carolyn M. ''This Far-Off Sunset Land: A Pictorial History of Washington County, Oregon''. Donning Company Publishers, 1999. p. 93. Scholl settled in the area in 1848, and began operating the ferry in 1850, along what was then the main route between Portland and the upper portions of the
Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, the ...
. In the late 1850s, Scholl built a covered toll bridge across the river, but it was washed away in a flood. A more permanent bridge came in 1870, but the crossing became less important when Taylor's Ferry opened downstream. Philip Harris operated a ferry across the Tualatin at Farmington. " Indian Mary" operated a ferry across the Rogue River in Southern Oregon in the late 19th century.


See also

* Tourist sternwheelers of Oregon * Wahkiakum County Ferry


References


External links


Historic photos of Oregon ferries
from the
Oregon Department of Transportation The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway De ...
History Center
Picture of the ferry transfer station for the KalamaPicture of ferry land at Megler, Washington1939 picture of Boone’s Ferry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Historic Ferries In Oregon History of transportation in Oregon