Though Steven and I had spent the last three nights on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge in the town of The Dalles, we'd not yet spent any time in the town that was named by French voyageurs as les dalles or 'the trough' because of the river's narrowing that had once spilled over a series of rapids. Lewis and Clark had described the area as the "greatest Indian mart of all this country" as Native Americans and fur traders had found this natural break in navigation an ideal spot for trading.
Before doing anything else that day, we wanted to make sure we spent some time examining the town's murals that had been painted on the backs and side of buildings by members of The Dalles Murals Society to depict historic life in the area. The Rock of Ages mural, painted in 1999, showed the efforts of the Methodist Church who, in 1833, appointed two ministers to the new Methodist Episcopal Mission that was to be established at The Dalles in 1838. One of the ministers described his mission as the “Wonderful Work of God.” Their responsibilities included "preaching, prayer, teaching, translation, conversion, baptism, visitation and Christian comfort in the ever changing and challenging lands of the new territories."
When the Umatilla House (i.e. hotel) was completed in 1857, it became nationally known for its architectural charm, lavish furnishings and fixtures, together with its warm and gracious hospitality. The stately hotel was considered to be the finest hotel west of Chicago and north of San Francisco. Its barroom was often stocked with 2,500 gallons of whiskey and was the scene of many high stakes card games. The main dining room sat 250 people who were served by 16 waitresses and a dozen cooks.
During the hotel's long illustrious life from 1870-1930, it played host to countless distinguished guests. The hotel, though also suffered devastating losses when it burned to the ground twice only to be rebuilt. It then suffered again in a destructive flood of 1894. Sadly, the once grand hotel fell into disrepair in the early years of the 20th century and was destroyed in 1930.
There was even a mural on the local car wash!
If there was a story behind this mural, I didn't find it!
The 1910 Elks Lodge Building was very impressive. Notice the elk head at the top!
This mural promoted Albers flapjack flour wasn't part of the historical murals but was fun to see nonetheless.
The very long Old Wasco County mural depicted events that occurred between 1854 and 1859. The Territorial Legislature created Wasco County on January 11, 1854. Old Wasco County covered 130,000 square miles, extending in a swath from the crest of the Cascade Mountains to the Continental Divide atop the Rockies. This made it the largest organized county in U.S. history. It occupied a sizable part of Oregon Territory until 1859 when Oregon achieved statehood.
I wonder how much longer the mural might still be around as the building has been up for sale and, if it is remodeled, the mural might either be relocated or replaced.
The Where Wheat is King mural was painted in 1995 and showed the beautiful rolling hills south and east of The Dalles, surprisingly one of the country's major wheat producing areas. I read that this turn of the century harvest scene comes to life once a year during the annual Threshing Bee in the historic Oregon farming community of Dufur.
We read at the Decision at The Dalles mural that after arriving at The Dalles, the Oregon Trail emigrants faced one final hurdle before reaching the promised land, the Willamette Valley. They had to make a decision at The Dalles for traveling the last 100 miles of their 2,000 mile journey that had started in Independence, Missouri.
The 1994 Great Falls on the Columbia mural illustrated the historic fishing, trading, and gathering place of many Native Americans from time immemorial until rising waters inundated Lake Celilo in March of 1957.
The mural was also called Ancient Indian Fishing Grounds for obvious reasons.
Downtown The Dalles that late June morning was pretty quiet so it was pretty easy for Steven to stop the car when I spotted a mural!
Admiring The Dalles, Northwest Trading Center for 10,000 Years, was like taking a step back in time and history. For more than 10,000 years, The Dalles has been one of the areas along the Columbia River that supported flourishing civilizations.
Ancestors of today’s Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla, and Nez Perce tribal nations lived and fished along the Columbia’s banks, trading their dried smoked salmon with other Native Americans who came from all over the western part of the continent as well as Mexico and the Southwest.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition at Rock Fort mural depicted an important campsite on the Columbia River of the Lewis and Clark Expedition during three days in late October of 1805. After they portaged around the Great Falls, they came to a gentle part of the river near what is now The Dalles. They formed their camp on a high point of rocks and remained while they dried supplies, repaired canoes, hunted and reconnoitered the river below. They returned to camp here again on their return journey on April 15, 1806 to what Lewis wrote as “The place we called Rock Fort Camp.”
The Lewis and Clark mural was threatened with demolition when a developer wanted to turn the building into a glass-fronted condo complex. However, when the citizens of The Dalles objected, the project was eventually abandoned but it left another empty building with no plans for its future.
As sleepy as The Dalles appeared each day we drove through on the way to other sights, I admit to worrying how much longer the terrific murals might be around. For many years The Dalles Mural Society was headed up by an energetic and visionary local businessman, Gary Honald. As an entrepreneur who once owned a sign and billboard company, Honald had the expertise of how to create large-scale art. The vision was to make the murals themselves worthy of becoming a tourist destination, to bring in visitors to The Dalles to see the art.
I read that when Honald died unexpectedly in 2015, his absence left a big gap. The remaining members of the Mural Society, left without their leader, didn’t have the expertise or the financial resources to maintain the current murals, much less bring in new ones. Because I I found the murals to be so compelling and reason enough alone to visit The Dalles, I just hope that someone can step in to not only restore the aging murals but preserve them for future generations of visitors to the Columbia River Gorge. I cannot recommend highly enough stopping in The Dalles to witness for yourself a slice of Oregon's history.
Next post: Hiking that day in the Deschutes State Recreation Area on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge after hiking over on the river's Washington side the day before.
Posted on October 17th, 2020, from Springfield, Illinois, after taking a few days off from posting updates about our Pacific Northwest road trip to care for our darling three-month-old granddaughter, Clara, in Chicago while her parents worked. I hope to squeeze in a couple more posts as Steven and I now slowly wend our way back home to Denver after this two-plus-month road trip to the Midwest and South. As always, we hope you and your loved ones will stay safe, healthy, and connected during the Covid pandemic.
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