Town of the Week

The Dalles, Oregon
January 30, 1999

Staring at the yawning abyss of the hissing cauldron known as the Columbia River, French-Canadian voyageurs chose to "shoot" the rapids, rather than drag their flat-bottomed boats around the falls upstream. The mountain men called these rapids, "the Dalles," to describe the swiftmoving waters hemmed in by the walls of rock.

Those voyageurs who camped at the Dalles were followed by settlers on the Oregon Trail, many of whom stayed on to build a town. Their homes of stone were built up the terraced hillsides, some houses 50 feet higher than their neighbors.

At one time, the Dalles was the seat of the largest county in the United States, over 130 thousand square miles. The Army established a fort here on Oregon's northern border to protect those settlers. The sole remaining building of the post is the surgeon's quarters, which now houses the Fort Dalles Museum.

With the discovery of gold in Eastern Oregon, the Dalles boomed as an outfitting center. Today, the Dalles, a town of 11 thousand, prospers through apple orchards and wheat fields. The Dalles Dam is a massive link in the chain of dams on the Columbia River, providing power for the west coast. One of the finest views of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is but 10 miles away at Mayer State Park, offering a panoramic view of the rugged country and skyline, and our town of the week, The Dalles Oregon.