The Columbia: America's Great Highway

by Samuel Christopher Lancaster

Books have been written about the highway that Samuel C. Lancaster built. This is the book that he wrote. Lancaster is known to all who have studied highway engineering. His work directing construction of the Columbia River Highway made history. Lancaster's work followed the pioneering trail of explorers Lewis and Clark. In plotting the route of the first paved road inland from Portland, Lancaster took advantage of every viewpoint the magnificent river gorge offered. This book is a faithful reprint of his 1915 book. It is Lancaster's story of the valley; a wonderful collection of essays about the region's natives, early missionaries, fur traders, and soldiers. He discusses many of the great landmarks, from waterfalls and rock formations to man-made wonders including bridges, buildings, and tunnels. A portrait of Chief Joseph, of the Nez Perce, illustrates essays about the native Indians and their arts. In all, more than 100 beautiful images capture the pristine qualities of the gorge in this invaluable reissue of a classic national treasure. A full-color map offers an aerial overview of the area, from Wind Mountain to the shores of the Pacific. A new foreword is by Walt Curtis, who has authored poetry books, as well as articles on Oregon's forgotten authors. He is the current secretary and a founder of the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2004

Reviews

[Steve Davala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is the book of Samuel Lancaster, who was involved with the creation of the Columbia River Highway back in the early 1900s. The book tells of several accounts of roads/trails/paths through the gorge/over the Cascades, and the great achievement of the road through the gorge.

He really downplays himself here, he is a totally humble man, and gives tons of praise to others who worked on this road, and to the beauty of the land and achievement itself. I wish I could have met him. I've read he was the soul of the highway.

This book is filled with photographs he took (and others, too), of the road in progress and upon completion. I especially am sad to have missed the tunnel through Mitchell Point, as it was a thing of beauty.

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good introduction to the Columbia River Gorge and its known human history. It was written in 1915 so it's either missing context or refreshing in its simplistic treatment--depends on the reader of course. I found it mostly the latter because I'm already familiar with the history of its usage by humans and the events it has witnessed. The author was a key figure in the construction of the first "highway" and, while covered in brief, I wish more was told of that process. But that's not the purpose of the book and that would be a welcome exclusion for the average reader unfamiliar with its role in American and Oregon history.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

FYI I got ahold of a third edition copy from 1926. If the reprint is as good as the one I read you'll be in for a treat. The epic historic photos are beautiful. Even if you don't read the text just look at the magnificent photos. The early history it covers is very cherry picked (but there was probably a lack of wide archival access on behalf of the author) - this section is still very interesting. It is exceedingly easy to forget the hardships people had in early travel and just how revolutionary the Columbia River Highway was when it was constructed. The firsthand account of the highway building, although quite short and impartial, is awesome. The author does tend to get a bit preachy but it also reminded me a lot of the style of the great Transcendentalist thinkers of an earlier age so it wasn't horribly off putting.

[Jim Blessing · Rating 2 out of 5]

My wife and I recently returned from a vacation where we drove through the Columbia Gouge. This book discusses the history of this area and the highway that was built through it. A lot of the history is from diaries of the pioneers.

[Paul Warner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great collection of primary documents related to traveling to the Pacific along the Columbia River, from the pioneer days to the building of the historic Columbia River Highway.