Government Locks at the Cascades, Columbia River - c. 1890

It took 18 years to build these locks, which were completed in 1896. They operated for forty years, until being submerged by Bonneville Dam in 1938. The original photo was by Kilburn, a distributor of stereoviews operating out of Littleton, New Hampshire. Before it was sold to Keystone in 1909, his company had over 17,000 views. This view near the head of the locks gives us a good idea of 1890s construction techniques. I especially like the cross-pieces nailed to the diagonal timber, to allow workers to scramble up as necessary. -- This photo is restored and printed by Old Oregon.