Keep the Show on the Road! Posted September 27, 2008 Report Share Posted September 27, 2008 I did something Thursday that I have wanted to do for at least 20 years. I “discovered” the Cowlitz Landing. The picture below is of Cowlitz Landing. From here the Cowlitz Trail of the early 1800’s led to the Puget Sound. It was here that travelers disembarked after their canoe or raft trip down the Columbia and up the Cowlitz River on their journey to Ft. Nisqually or Olympia. About seventy miles of the worst trail imaginable was ahead. In this forum I have been following the Pacific Highway (later US99) (yellow line), which in turn followed the Cowlitz Trail between here and Olympia. The Landing is at the yellow stickpin on the Google Earth view. The site is in the far right distance behind the trees in the photo, and about 250 yards from the spot where I was standing to take the photo (red stickpin). A friend of mine and I were extraordinary fortunate to be permitted to enter private property and drive about .8 mile along the old trail on Thursday to reach the site where the photo was taken. I have been hoping to identify and get close to the Landing site for at least 20 years, but I first had to locate it with some accuracy. The published citations are pre GPS and just say “about a mile south of Toledo, Washington.” With Google Earth and an overlay of the Bureau of Land Management 1850’s plat maps, I determined the coordinates. The river has changed course in the last 150 years and the site is now on an island. It was clear from the Google Earth image that access to either side of the island was over private land. I had no expectation Thursday of getting closer than a locked gate (white arrow). But Thursday, as we were parked at the gate, the landowner came out of his field and inquired as to our purpose. A few minutes later the kind gentleman was gesturing us through the gate and “to just beyond the barn.” We drove along the old trail and to a location across from the site. The river has long ago washed away any evidence of the mid 1800’s activity, but we were looking across the river to the site. And the dirt road we had come in on was the old trail itself (blue line). In the photo, the old trail and later wagon road would have swung in from the right and intersected the dirt road at where the curve is. In the old days the river's course was on the other side of the island, and it was dry land from where were standing to where the site is located. Maybe it is because I know the history of the site and the trail that it was so significant to me. The sounds and sights could have been from the days when the Landing was a major road link. And for my exploration of the Pacific Highway (yellow line) along the Cowlitz Trail, location of the Landing itself adds the icing to the cake. More of that adventure will be forthcoming. Keep the Show on the Road! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilene Posted September 28, 2008 Report Share Posted September 28, 2008 Wow! That's one of those moments when you feel all tingly as you're standing on that ground, knowing what it all means! What a great day! jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted September 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2008 Wow! That's one of those moments when you feel all tingly as you're standing on that ground, knowing what it all means! What a great day! jim Thanks Jim!! I realize that even those who live in Washington, don’t know, let along often care, where the Cowlitz Landing is. But now you know, and that doubles the number! As another “significant” matter, this my be among the first times the coordinates have been published, primarily because the prior “discoverers” didn’t have Google Earth and on line plat maps to overlay, and GPS satellites to fix the position on the ground. The fame is bound to spread! I’m thinking maybe boat trips next spring. Oh, the glory! Kidding aside, it was an unexpected treat. It is a shame that there isn’t a lot left from the era to see. From the early 1800’s the route was up the Cowlitz by bateau, polled all the way to the landing, then along the Cowlitz Trail in mud knee deep and forest so thick you couldn’t see 25 feet ahead. I think it was Hutch and Alex who commented on how tough those folks were. I can’t even imagine pushing a heavily loaded flat bottomed raft against the current for 25 miles! The wife of Washington Territory’s first Governor (Stevens) stayed the night at Cowlitz Landing in the early 1850’s on their way to Olympia and commented on the rough character of the men sleeping in the “hotel” there. Rough….I bet they were a hard bitten lot. They could bite the head off a pig and eat it while it was still squealing! Gentlemen didn’t survive! Keep the Show on the Road! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennyG Posted September 28, 2008 Report Share Posted September 28, 2008 Congratulations. A very nice find and a wonderful accomplishment. I don't know that I'll ever set eyes on the Cowlitz Landing but I'm sure glad that someone figured out where it is in case I want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilene Posted September 28, 2008 Report Share Posted September 28, 2008 I wonder if people at the University of Washington (or some other hallowed Pacific Northwest higher educational institution) would be interested in this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted September 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2008 I wonder if people at the University of Washington (or some other hallowed Pacific Northwest higher educational institution) would be interested in this. Denny and Jim, I don’t want to grossly over-inflate my “discovery.” The exact location of the Cowlitz Landing site is known to history pros, and probably to several dozen history buffs like myself. There is even a recently published book by C. Hornbuckle that includes identification of the site. My only very minor “contribution” is to publish the coordinates, which I haven’t seen before, but which may well exist in some less popular publication. I believe that the coordinates are not widely known because until the advent of services like Google Earth and ready access to the mid 1800’s plat maps on line, they was no easy way for the history buff to derive them. And equally important, before consumer GPS there was no way to find the site once you had the coordinates, so the coordinates were of little practical use. Add that the site is on private property, and even with a generous land owner, it isn’t a place many will get to visit. For our purposes here, visiting the Landing site, or more correctly getting as close as possible without a swim, fixes the beginning of the Cowlitz Trail, and for the exploration of the old Pacific Highway which followed it to Olympia. You two kind of started me on the Pacific Highway thing, Jim with his Michigan Road and Denny with his road reports. I haven’t posted lots of the stuff I have “discovered” yet, but it will prove that even the old road in your “neighborhood” has an interesting story to tell. Keep the Show on the Road! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Rowland Posted September 29, 2008 Report Share Posted September 29, 2008 The picture below is of Cowlitz Landing. Looks like a great place to go canoeing. That picture of the landing is awesome: the slightly overcast but bright sky, the changing trees, and the colorful leaves along the trail. Wish I could have seen it in person. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadhound Posted September 29, 2008 Report Share Posted September 29, 2008 Great stuff Keep, I've been occupied with other things for the last few weeks and finally had a chance to catch up on some of your explorations. Just one question, when are you going publish this all in a book? Roadhound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted September 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2008 Chris and Roadhound, Thanks guys! I have “discovered” several old alignments along the old Pacific Highway, including a couple that are quite evocative of old times. I have to post more of the story, and I’m headed that way. Did I mention that I also “found” a two and a half year run of the official Pacific Highway Association magazine from 1914 to 1916? It was combined with the Seattle Automobile Club magazine. Beyond some terrific stories, the magazines give road conditions, which include little nuggets like when a road segment is being paved for the first time, or why the Yellowstone Trail may have gone 200 miles out of its way…I will post the explanation in that forum. And Roadhound, the magazine cites California road conditions as well. There is certainly a nugget or more there. Maybe I should post copies of the road conditions sections. Keep the Show on the Road! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadhound Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Chris and Roadhound, Thanks guys! I have “discovered” several old alignments along the old Pacific Highway, including a couple that are quite evocative of old times. I have to post more of the story, and I’m headed that way. Did I mention that I also “found” a two and a half year run of the official Pacific Highway Association magazine from 1914 to 1916? It was combined with the Seattle Automobile Club magazine. Beyond some terrific stories, the magazines give road conditions, which include little nuggets like when a road segment is being paved for the first time, or why the Yellowstone Trail may have gone 200 miles out of its way…I will post the explanation in that forum. And Roadhound, the magazine cites California road conditions as well. There is certainly a nugget or more there. Maybe I should post copies of the road conditions sections. Keep the Show on the Road! Dave Keep, I would certainly be interested in anything in California but in particular the Redwood Highway. I've developed quite a fascination with that piece of roadway. Roadhound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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