Canemah, Oregon
Encyclopedia
Canemah was an early settlement in the U.S. state
of Oregon
located near Willamette Falls
on the Willamette River
. It is now a district within Oregon City
.
, and was considered by the Calapooya nation to be part of their territory. All canoe traffic up and down the Willamette had to cross the portage around the falls, of which Canemah was the southern point. The name "Canemah" itself means "the canoe place". There was said to have been a dispute among the Native Americans as to which of their nations would control this important place, resulting in the murder of the people, apparently also called "Canemahs" who had occupied Canemah and claimed the right to charge tolls for use of the portage.
settler at Canemah was Absalom F. Hedges (1817–1890). He arrived in Oregon City in 1844, and found all the good lots already taken. He went south to Canemah, and staked out a Donation Land Claim
close to the canoe landing place. At that time, water travel above the falls was still almost exclusively conducted by the Native Americans using canoes, although they also acted as paddlers for the flat boats, sometimes known as bateau
x, that were starting to appear on the river. A few settlers had already established themselves in the Willamette Valley
, and the boats and canoes brought their farm products to Canemah, where they were loaded on ox-carts and carried around the falls to Oregon City. New emigrants to the Willamette Valley, and all of their goods, were then hauled back to Canemah up the track from Oregon City by the same ox-teams.
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By 1849, Hedges had opened up a tannery and laid out a townsite at Canemah, which he called "Falls City." With his brother-in-law William Barrow, Hedges set up a sawmill and opened a store. The name "Falls City" never caught on and the place continued to be called "Canemah." As river traffic increased, Hedges and some partners decided to put a steamboat on the Willamette above the falls. Hedges gathered up several thousand dollars in gold, and made a trip back east to buy the machinery for the vessel. He bought two engines which were shipped around Cape Horn
to Oregon. Hedges and his partners returned overland.
, a tributary of the Willamette, to Dayton
. The much larger Multnomah was assembled at Canemah in the spring of 1851 from parts premanufactured in the east, and made her first trial run in August 1851.
Facing this competition, Hedges and company began construction on the new steamboat, named Canemah, which was launched near the end of September 1851 and entered service in late 1851. About this time, a new ox road was blasted along the river in the basalt
cliffs that separated Canemah from Oregon City. Wagon traffic ran all day and night; night traffic was lit by torches burning along the road.
_explosion.jpg)
Canemah was an important place in the 1850s, and many more stores and residences were built, as well as nine or ten steamboats in addition to Multnomah and Canemah. During this period, on April 8, 1854, the spectacular and tragic explosion of the new steamboat Gazelle occurred. Other steamboats built at Canemah in the 1850s included Yamhill (1851), Shoalwater
(1852) (later known by other names), Wallamet (1853), Enterprise
(1855), James Clinton (1856), Elk
, Surprise (1857), Onward
and Moose.
Canemah, built almost at the river's level, was wiped out by the flood of December 1861
. Afterwards, the wharves and some buildings were reconstructed, and prosperity seemed certain. More steamboats were built and a portage railway
was built along the east back to replace the lumbering ox carts. The People's Transportation Company was organized, and the company built an improved boat basin above the falls. A canal was cleared below the falls which lessened the portage distance. New steamboats were built above the falls to serve customers upriver. These included a second Yamhill (1860), Unio/Union (1861), a second Enterprise (1863), Reliance (1865), Active (1865), Fannie Patton (1865), Echo
(1865), Albany (1868), Success, and Dayton (1868).
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In 1870, the Oregon State Legislature
allocated funds for the construction of locks on the west side of the falls. By 1873 the locks were complete. Steamers could now move directly from Portland all the way to the Corvallis
, with no portage. Towns based on the portage, like Canemah, started to fade in importance. During the 1870s, three or four more steamboats were built at Canemah, and these were the last to be built above the falls: the Shoo-Fly (Another steamboat on the Columbia River built three years later was named Don't Bother Me), Alice, and McMinnville (1877), and the smaller Carrie Norton (1878). By 1892, the name Canemah had been almost forgotten and the area came to be known as simply another part of Oregon City. Canemah is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places
as a historic district
.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of 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...
located near Willamette Falls
Willamette Falls
The Willamette Falls is a natural waterfall on the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon, in the United States. It is the largest waterfall in the Pacific Northwest and the eighteenth largest in the world by water volume. Horseshoe in shape, it is wide and high with a flow...
on the Willamette River
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...
. It is now a district within Oregon City
Oregon City, Oregon
Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...
.
Location
Canemah was located on the east side of the Willamette River, about a mile above Willamette Falls. At that time, Oregon City was a separate settlement, and was located below the falls. The two towns were connected by a path, later upgraded to an ox track.Canoe landing for the First Nations
From the earliest times the place was inhabited by Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, and was considered by the Calapooya nation to be part of their territory. All canoe traffic up and down the Willamette had to cross the portage around the falls, of which Canemah was the southern point. The name "Canemah" itself means "the canoe place". There was said to have been a dispute among the Native Americans as to which of their nations would control this important place, resulting in the murder of the people, apparently also called "Canemahs" who had occupied Canemah and claimed the right to charge tolls for use of the portage.
Pioneer settlement
The first WhiteWhite people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
settler at Canemah was Absalom F. Hedges (1817–1890). He arrived in Oregon City in 1844, and found all the good lots already taken. He went south to Canemah, and staked out a Donation Land Claim
Donation Land Claim Act
The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 was a statute enacted by the United States Congress intended to promote homestead settlement in the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest...
close to the canoe landing place. At that time, water travel above the falls was still almost exclusively conducted by the Native Americans using canoes, although they also acted as paddlers for the flat boats, sometimes known as bateau
Bateau
A bateau or batteau is a shallow-draft, flat-bottomed boat which was used extensively across North America, especially in the colonial period and in the fur trade. It was traditionally pointed at both ends but came in a wide variety of sizes...
x, that were starting to appear on the river. A few settlers had already established themselves in the Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
, and the boats and canoes brought their farm products to Canemah, where they were loaded on ox-carts and carried around the falls to Oregon City. New emigrants to the Willamette Valley, and all of their goods, were then hauled back to Canemah up the track from Oregon City by the same ox-teams.
Beginning of steamboat business
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...
to Oregon. Hedges and his partners returned overland.
Key transportation point for the Willamette Valley
By the time Hedges and his party returned to Oregon, there were already three steamboats operating on the upper Willamette, Hoosier, Washington, and Multnomah. In June 1851, the small Hoosier was making three trips a week from Canemah up the Yamhill RiverYamhill River
The Yamhill River is an tributary of the Willamette River, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Formed by the confluence of the South Yamhill River and the North Yamhill River about east of McMinnville, it drains part of the Northern Oregon Coast Range...
, a tributary of the Willamette, to Dayton
Dayton, Oregon
Dayton is a city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,119 at the 2000 census. As of July 2007 its estimated population was 2,495.-History:...
. The much larger Multnomah was assembled at Canemah in the spring of 1851 from parts premanufactured in the east, and made her first trial run in August 1851.
Facing this competition, Hedges and company began construction on the new steamboat, named Canemah, which was launched near the end of September 1851 and entered service in late 1851. About this time, a new ox road was blasted along the river in the basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
cliffs that separated Canemah from Oregon City. Wagon traffic ran all day and night; night traffic was lit by torches burning along the road.
Shoalwater (sidewheeler 1852)
The steamboat Shoalwater was the sixth steamer to operate on the upper Willamette River, which refers to the part of the river above Willamette Falls at Oregon City. In a short career of six years, Shoalwater was renamed Fenix, Franklin, and Minnie Holmes...
(1852) (later known by other names), Wallamet (1853), Enterprise
Enterprise (1855)
The Enterprise was an early steamboat operating on the Willamette River in Oregon and also one of the first to operate on the Fraser River in British Columbia. This vessel should not be confused with the many other vessels, some of similar design, also named Enterprise...
(1855), James Clinton (1856), Elk
Elk (sternwheeler 1857)
Elk was a sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Willamette River beginning in 1857. The boat is chiefly remembered for its destruction by a boiler explosion in which by good fortune no one was seriously hurt. A folklore tale later arose about this disaster.- Construction, owners, and loss :Elk was...
, Surprise (1857), Onward
Onward (sternwheeler 1858)
Onward was an early steamboat on the Willamette River built at Canemah, Oregon in 1858. This vessel should not be confused other steamboats named Onward, including in particular the Onward of 1867, a similar but somewhat smaller vessel built at Tualatin Landing , which operated on the Tualatin...
and Moose.
Reconstruction after flood of 1861
Great Flood of 1862
The Great Flood of 1862 or Noachian Deluge was the largest flood in the recorded history of Oregon, Nevada and California, occurring from December 1861 to January 1862. It was preceded by weeks of continuous rains that began in Oregon in November 1861 and continued into January 1862...
. Afterwards, the wharves and some buildings were reconstructed, and prosperity seemed certain. More steamboats were built and a portage railway
Portage railway
A portage railway is a short and possibly isolated section of railway used to bypass a section of unnavigable river or between two water bodies which are not directly connected...
was built along the east back to replace the lumbering ox carts. The People's Transportation Company was organized, and the company built an improved boat basin above the falls. A canal was cleared below the falls which lessened the portage distance. New steamboats were built above the falls to serve customers upriver. These included a second Yamhill (1860), Unio/Union (1861), a second Enterprise (1863), Reliance (1865), Active (1865), Fannie Patton (1865), Echo
Echo (sternwheeler 1865)
Echo was a sternwheel steamboat that operated on the Willamette River from about 1865 to 1873 and was one of the first steamboats to carry what was then considered a large cargo out of Eugene, Oregon.- Construction :...
(1865), Albany (1868), Success, and Dayton (1868).
Decline of importance
Oregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...
allocated funds for the construction of locks on the west side of the falls. By 1873 the locks were complete. Steamers could now move directly from Portland all the way to the Corvallis
Corvallis, Oregon
Corvallis is a city located in central western Oregon, United States. It is the county seat of Benton County and the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 54,462....
, with no portage. Towns based on the portage, like Canemah, started to fade in importance. During the 1870s, three or four more steamboats were built at Canemah, and these were the last to be built above the falls: the Shoo-Fly (Another steamboat on the Columbia River built three years later was named Don't Bother Me), Alice, and McMinnville (1877), and the smaller Carrie Norton (1878). By 1892, the name Canemah had been almost forgotten and the area came to be known as simply another part of Oregon City. Canemah is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as a historic district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
.
Further reading
- Timmen, Fritz, Blow for the Landing, Caxton Press, Caldwell, ID 1973 ISBN 0-87004-221-1