Bridal Veil Logging Company Survey 2020 - Passport in Time
Main menu:
Current Projects > 2020
Oregon - Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area & Mt. Hood NF
Closed! Bridal Veil Lumbering Company Historic District Survey & Site Recording
Logging Donkeys in Operation – Photo Courtesy of the Field Museum Library
OR-4450
July 6-10, 2020
Volunteers must commit to entire session
The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area and Mt. Hood National Forest are seeking PIT volunteers for assistance in recording an historic logging railroad district. The Bridal Veil Lumbering Company began operating in the Larch Mountain area around 1886, and was one of the most complex in the Pacific Northwest, due to the challenges of logging above 3,000 feet above sea level and transporting logs and timber to the Columbia River – at an elevation around 100 feet! It was also one of the longest running logging operations west of the Mississippi River, lasting well into the late 1930s. However, with impacts of the Great Depression and increasing world pressures prior and leading up to World War II, the Bridal Veil Lumbering Company closed its doors and faded into history. What has been left behind, however, tells a wonderful story of the Company and its previous occupants. Railroad grades and features, transportation and collection system features, and the remains of camps, all associated with their logging operations, abound here. Field work began with initial surveys in 2018 and continued in 2019. This year, we will continue to survey and study the sites associated with the Logging District. We need your help to find those data that will paint a clearer picture of the history of the township and its articulations on the natural and cultural landscape. See you this summer!
Number of openings: 8
Special skills: Volunteers must be detail-oriented, and must be physically capable of hiking considerable distances each day over often steep and uneven terrain, and in a variety of weather conditions; previous archaeological survey, map and compass, site recording methodology, field photography, and/or archaeological artifact and feature identification skills helpful, but not required
Minimum age: 18 years old
Facilities: Tent and small (i.e., pop-up; small trailer) camping sites have been reserved at FS Wyeth Campground; water, vault toilets; no hook-ups; Corbett, Troutdale, and Cascade Locks are full-service communities with motels, restaurants, grocery stores, and a range of other amenities; volunteers responsible for own lodging/camping equipment, food, and daily transportation to and from designated meeting areas (if opting to stay in towns off-site)
Nearest towns: Project area located adjacent to Hood River and Cascade Locks; Corbett and Troutdale, ~15 miles
Applications due: May 4, 2020
View Bridal Veil Logging Company Survey in a full screen map