The Barlow Road was started because the wagon train that Samuel Barlow and William Rector were in reached the Dalles too late in the fall to head down the Columbia and Willamette Rivers to Oregon City – the last of the boats had already left. The emigrants had insufficient funds to stay in the Dalles for the winter, so on September 24, 1846, Samuel Barlow’s wagon train left to find a route around Mount Hood in a southwest direction around the mountain.
 
The trail from the Dalles to the Tygh Valley was well established by Native American tribes, so the wagon train didn’t have to forge a new path. The group sent out an advance party to Five Mile Creek to scout for water, grass, and wood. After being gone a few days, the party returned and reported on favorable conditions, so the emigrants continued on.

Credits and Sources:

Clackamas County Historical Society and Wasco County Historical Society, Barlow Road,  Marverick Publications, Bend, OR, 1998.
 
Photos:
 
1997_13-306. 1870s. Early Downtown View of the Dalles. From Columbia Gorge Discovery Center Collection.
 
1997_13_135_C. No date. Road from Dalles to Tygh Valley. From Columbia Gorge Discovery Center Collection.
 
2006.19.21.Celilo Falls. From Columbia Gorge Discovery Center Collection.
 
Celilo Falls c 1867. From Columbia Gorge Discovery Center Collection.
 
Rafting a wagon on the Columbia River - www.magnoliabox.com
 
 
Audio:
Diary excerpts:
 
Ester Belle Hanna
Joel Palmer