Bridal Veil, Oregon
Encyclopedia
Bridal Veil is a virtual ghost town
located in Multnomah County
, Oregon
, United States
. It was established in the 1880s during a logging boom
by a logging company as it harvested timber on nearby Larch Mountain to be a company mill town
around a sawmill. It had a close relationship with the logging town of Palmer for the first 50 years of its history. As of November 2011, all that remains of the town is a post office and a cemetery. The site is located near the west end of the Columbia River Gorge
.
was built for the rough cut timber to get down the mountain to the planing mill
at the railroad tracks in Bridal Veil. After the timber was logged on the mountain, they were brought to the sawmill in Palmer. As the rough-cut lumber exited Palmer's mill it traveled down the flume the mile and a half to the finishing mill in Bridal Veil. The dependency between the two towns ended in 1936 when the mill at Palmer was shut down.
In 1936, fire struck the mill as the timber resources on Larch Mountain were running out. The Bridal Veil Falls Lumbering Company ended its ownership of the mill with the fire and ceased to operate in the town. In 1937, the entire town and its mills were bought by a company that became Bridal Veil Lumber and Box Company, which made wooden cheese boxes for Kraft Food Company
. The company continued to operate in Bridal Veil until 1960 when it closed its doors. Today the boxes made in Bridal Veil are considered collectible antiques.
From 1955 to 1960, the company's president, Leonard Kraft, published a newsletter that covered such issues as business and prospects but also provided society information about potluck dinners, who was sick in town, who was visiting Bridal Veil and who had marked a recent anniversary with the company. Bridal Veil Lumber & Box Co. News Letter was the "newspaper" of the Lumber and Box Company but it also became the newspaper for Bridal Veil and its 100 residents. The mill continued to operate under various owners through 1988.
a passenger on the sternwheeler
, Baily Gatzert, saw Bridal Veil Falls
and remarked that it looked like a "delicate, misty bride's veil." As the years went by people began to refer to this spot along the Columbia River Gorge
as Bride's Veil, Oregon. When the first post office opened in about 1886, and the railroad built a small station there, the community was officially named Bridal Veil.
.
On Memorial Day 2006, the Bridal Veil Historical Preservation Society held a service in the Bridal Veil Cemetery. The society had gained the deed to the cemetery, which saw its last burial in 1934. Volunteers, along with society president Geri Canzler and her husband Rod, work to maintain the cemetery. To track down the owners of the cemetery—the heirs to the founders of the Bridal Veil Lumbering Company—the society had to employ the use of volunteer attorneys and title searchers. With possession of the land title, the society now has the exclusive right to preserve the cemetery, whose stones bear witness to the diphtheria and smallpox epidemics that swept through Bridal Veil over a century ago. Canzler, together with other area residents, is working to gain the title to the building and land of the Bridal Veil Community Church for the society as well, with aspirations to gain the post office deed one day too.
On October 27, 2011, the Bridal Veil Community Church was demolished, leaving only the cemetery and post office as the remnants of the town.
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
located in Multnomah County
Multnomah County, Oregon
Multnomah County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Though smallest in area, it is the most populous as its county seat, Portland, is the state's largest city...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was established in the 1880s during a logging boom
Boomtown
A boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although the term can also be applied to communities growing very rapidly for different reasons,...
by a logging company as it harvested timber on nearby Larch Mountain to be a company mill town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
around a sawmill. It had a close relationship with the logging town of Palmer for the first 50 years of its history. As of November 2011, all that remains of the town is a post office and a cemetery. The site is located near the west end of the Columbia River Gorge
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 State of Washington to the north and Oregon to the south...
.
History
Bridal Veil was established in 1886. Bridal Veil functioned as the Bridal Veil Falls Lumbering Company and built a sawmill one mile (1.6 km) up Larch Mountain. The company operated in Bridal Veil and the surrounding area from 1886-1936. A mile and half up the timber-rich mountain was the logging town of Palmer. Palmer and Bridal Veil shared common ownership as company mill towns. Together, the two towns produced lumber and were codependent. A V-shaped log flumeLog flume
A log flume is a flume specifically constructed to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain to a sawmill by using flowing water. These watertight trough-like channels could be built to span a long distance across chasms and down steep mountain slopes...
was built for the rough cut timber to get down the mountain to the planing mill
Planing mill
A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and seasoned boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the planer and matcher, the molding machines, and varieties of saws...
at the railroad tracks in Bridal Veil. After the timber was logged on the mountain, they were brought to the sawmill in Palmer. As the rough-cut lumber exited Palmer's mill it traveled down the flume the mile and a half to the finishing mill in Bridal Veil. The dependency between the two towns ended in 1936 when the mill at Palmer was shut down.
In 1936, fire struck the mill as the timber resources on Larch Mountain were running out. The Bridal Veil Falls Lumbering Company ended its ownership of the mill with the fire and ceased to operate in the town. In 1937, the entire town and its mills were bought by a company that became Bridal Veil Lumber and Box Company, which made wooden cheese boxes for Kraft Food Company
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
. The company continued to operate in Bridal Veil until 1960 when it closed its doors. Today the boxes made in Bridal Veil are considered collectible antiques.
From 1955 to 1960, the company's president, Leonard Kraft, published a newsletter that covered such issues as business and prospects but also provided society information about potluck dinners, who was sick in town, who was visiting Bridal Veil and who had marked a recent anniversary with the company. Bridal Veil Lumber & Box Co. News Letter was the "newspaper" of the Lumber and Box Company but it also became the newspaper for Bridal Veil and its 100 residents. The mill continued to operate under various owners through 1988.
Namesake
Legend has it that while traveling on the Columbia RiverColumbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
a passenger on the sternwheeler
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
, Baily Gatzert, saw Bridal Veil Falls
Bridal Veil Falls (Oregon)
Bridal Veil Falls is a waterfall located on the Columbia River Gorge in Multnomah County, Oregon, United States.The Historic Columbia River Highway passes over Bridal Veil Falls on a bridge. From a parking lot on the highway, a winding footpath and another bridge lead to a vantage point for the falls...
and remarked that it looked like a "delicate, misty bride's veil." As the years went by people began to refer to this spot along the Columbia River Gorge
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 State of Washington to the north and Oregon to the south...
as Bride's Veil, Oregon. When the first post office opened in about 1886, and the railroad built a small station there, the community was officially named Bridal Veil.
Legacy
In 1990, the Trust for Public Land acquired Bridal Veil and its buildings. Despite a ten year fight from the Crown Point Country Historical Society to preserve the mill houses and buildings in Bridal Veil, the trust had them demolished in 2001. As of July 2006, the trust was preparing to sell the land and the buildings to the United States Forest ServiceUnited States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
.
On Memorial Day 2006, the Bridal Veil Historical Preservation Society held a service in the Bridal Veil Cemetery. The society had gained the deed to the cemetery, which saw its last burial in 1934. Volunteers, along with society president Geri Canzler and her husband Rod, work to maintain the cemetery. To track down the owners of the cemetery—the heirs to the founders of the Bridal Veil Lumbering Company—the society had to employ the use of volunteer attorneys and title searchers. With possession of the land title, the society now has the exclusive right to preserve the cemetery, whose stones bear witness to the diphtheria and smallpox epidemics that swept through Bridal Veil over a century ago. Canzler, together with other area residents, is working to gain the title to the building and land of the Bridal Veil Community Church for the society as well, with aspirations to gain the post office deed one day too.
On October 27, 2011, the Bridal Veil Community Church was demolished, leaving only the cemetery and post office as the remnants of the town.