Tag: salmon river highway

General History, Grand Ronde Reservation1 Comment

Blueprints of the New Salmon River Highway

David G. Lewis, PhD

All this Salmon river research has led me to the Oregon State Archives. There they have the records of the Oregon State Highway Commission. Commission records go back to about 1911 when the commission was formed and there is a set of logbooks of commission discussions and well as a set of maps (some maps appear missing). I spend about two days at the archives and found in the journals the progress of the conversion of the Salmon River Wagon Road to the State highway from its earliest discussion in 1917 until at least 1933 when they were installing signage. … Continue reading Blueprints of the New Salmon River Highway

General History, Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon Coast, Oregon indiansLeave a comment

When the Roads in Grand Ronde Were Paved

David G. Lewis, PhD

  Until about 1923, all roads on the Grand Ronde Reservation were “improved roads.” They were originally trails used for horse and buggy and then later graveled and some were planked. The improved gravel roads were cheap to produce and maintain but would get muddy and worn down quickly in the winters. Native people were always fixing the roads. in about the 1880’s was installed plankroads, where wooden planks were placed in especially muddy sections so the new automobiles could navigate the thick and deep mud. Elder accounts suggest that these planks were slippery when wet, and sometimes individual planks … Continue reading When the Roads in Grand Ronde Were Paved