1890 — Feb 3-5, Flooding, Portland, elsewhere, Willamette, Rogue, coastal rivers, OR– >5

1890 — Feb 3-5, Flooding, Portland, elsewhere, Willamette, Rogue, coastal rivers, OR–    >5

 

—>5  Taylor and Hatton. Oregon Weather Book: A State of Extremes. 1999, p. 96.

 

–1  Oregon City. Damage survey boat overturns; Willamette River; Olney Chase drowns.[1]

 

Narrative Information

 

Taylor and Hatton: “…Feb 5, 1890…This was the second largest flood of known magnitude on the Willamette and Rogue rivers. At least 5 people were killed. Almost every large bridge in the Willamette Valley washed downstream; it was rarer to see a bridge that was not destroyed than one that was. Millions of feet of saw logs were lost when the flood created a new channel for the Willamette. Inn Champoeg the water was within 2 inches of the 1861 flood, and in Portland water levels reached 22.3 feet. Oregon City had 35 feet of water over its low-water mark. Rivers in southern Oregon also flooded; much of Gold Hill was destroyed. After a slide of rocks, trees, and dirt on the Siuslaw (at Mapleton), a dam was formed. Before the dam broke, the water level went below the lowest tide. When the dam broke a wall of water rushed down the river taking houses, barns, and livestock with it. Some elderly people at Myrtle Point claimed that there ws so much debris on the river that one could have walked across it.” (Taylor and Hatton. Oregon Weather Book: A State of Extremes. 1999, p. 96.)

 

Newspapers

 

Feb 4: “Independence [Polk County], Feb 4 — (Special Telegram) — Today has been an exciting one and everybody has been in the streets hurrying to and from trying to get any scrap of news and each item was eagerly passed through the crowd. This morning the water ran through the main street of the town and came up within a few inches of the stores but did not get on any of the floors. At 11 o’clock William Steel, or Portland and P. B. Whitney, traveling passenger agent for the Southern Pacific railroad came down from Albany in a small boat. They made the run in two hours and forty-five minutes, the distance being thirty miles.

 

“From Mr. Steel it was learned that at Eugene yesterday the water was the highest since 1881 being twenty one feet and fur inches above low water. The bottoms are flooded and residents are compelled to move. Below Eugene and Irving the railroad track is badly washed out and six small bridges are gone in that distance. The east approach and a small span of the Eugene wagon bridge across the Willamette were washed out Sunday at 6 PM. It was raining but the river was at a standstill. No particular damage was done in the town.

 

“At Harrisburg the river commenced falling slowly at 6 o’clock. Several hundred yards of track are washed out, and some of the Harrisburg bridge spans are displaced. The town is submerged. The telegraph operator has been compelled all day to carry messages to and from the office in a boat, the main portion of the town being over-flowed.

 

“At Albany, the water this morning was ten inches above the rise of 1881. People living on the lowlands along the river have moved out, and the offices of the transportation companies along the wharves moved to higher ground. The Union Pacific wharf was washed out and later the Oregon Pacific wharf, which was at the Monteth [unclear] mills went out and breaking away with a loud crash, floated towards the railroad bridge. Many anxious eyes were turned toward the bridge for fear that when the buildings struck it they would cause a collapse but the structure stood the shock with scarcely a quiver, and the floating roofs shot under the bridge without damage. Bridges, lumber, fencing and all kinds of debris were floating down the river. Upon a barn floor separated from the rest of the building was a cow bawling and seemingly wild with fright. A pig pen full of squealing pigs was also seen by the men at the bridge….the big Salem bridge was gone….

 

“Chester Bland near Lebanon lost 300 head of sheep on the Santiam bottom by drowning. The headgates of the Santiam & Albany canal are washed out, and a great lake of water was formed at and below Lebanon. It submerged the track of the Southern Pacific, but it only remained so for a short time. The basement of the woolen mill has water in it, and the dye-house is almost afloat All the houses in the lower part of Albany are surrounded by water. The Union Pacific offices are full of water and the building is shaky. W. L. Vance loses hundreds of cords of wood.

 

“A heavy warm rain poured down all night….

 

“The most disastrous result of the present flood, so far as Salem is concerned, is the washing out of the second pier from the Marion county side of the big bridge to Polk county and the consequent collapse of the two longest spans of the bridge resting upon it. What was the pride of two counties now lies in Kaiser’s bottom below Salem….” (Morning Oregonian. “Lowlands Flooded for Miles Southward. Dozens of Bridges Gone.” 2-5-1890, p. 2.)

 

Feb 5: “The water rose in the river and spread over the streets of Portland yesterday and last night until et extended the…[unclear word] performance of 1861. The Columbia is unusually full for this season and this prevents the escape of the Willamette flood to the sea and so increases the flood. So far the effect of the high water in Portland has been limited to serious inconvenience. The lower Willamette however has suffered grave damage and loss vaguely indicated in our full and graphic dispatches from all points that could be reached by wire but difficult to estimate in detail until fuller reports are received and the flood will probably have reached its height some time this morning.” (Morning Oregonian, Portland. 2-5-1890, p. 6, c. 4.)

 

Feb 6: “Roseburg, Feb 6 — 9:30 AM — (Special Telegram) — The river at this point was at its highest yesterday. It was just a foot lower that the flood of 1853, but much higher than in 1882. A rapid decline has now set in and it is thought that by tomorrow morning the river will be much lower. Several bridges are swept away and no communication between here and North Roseburg can be had.

 

“The woolen mills at this place have been completely wrecked and it is doubtful if they can be successfully rebuilt without renewing almost everything. This was a great surprise to everyone as the building was thought to be much stronger than it was….

 

From Yesterday’s Flood Edition

 

“San Francisco, Feb 5.–A dispatch from Jacksonville, Or., says a phenomenal rainstorm has prevailed in Southern Oregon since last Friday [Feb 1] which, in connection with melting of snow in the mountains, has caused the greatest flood known since the country was settled. The damage to the Southern region cannot be estimated as all Postal communication is uncertain…

 

“On the line of numerous tributaries of Rogue river much of the finest soil in the lower valleys was washed down to the gravel. The fertile Bear Creek region has not escaped visitation. The heart of the valley has presented the appearance of a turgid sea for days and communication between its many tows was almost suspended by the swollen foothill streams. Many people were obliged to leave their homes for safety.

 

“Great damage was done to the mining interests of this section by the bursting of dams and reservoirs, the breaking and filling of ditches and loss of sluice boxes and machinery.

 

“The Oregon & California railway track in Southern Oregon has been washed away for miles and the roadbed is seriously damaged along the whole line. There has not been mail from either north or south for several weeks. No estimate of the loss to the country to bridges and private property can be made. Hundreds of thousands of dollars will not cover it….” (Morning Oregonian, Portland “The Umpqua Falling. Roseburg Woolen Mills Probably a Total Loss,” 2-6-1890, p. 9.)

 

Feb 7: “Albany, Feb 7 — (Special Telegram)–The river has fallen four and one half feet at this city. Business, which has been paralyzed by the flood, is being resumed. The damage to property in Albany is slight. It includes only a few old buildings a portion of the old Montieth mills and the Union Pacific wharf, besides damage from inundation of basements. Several county bridges are gone and a considerable amount of stock was drowned along the river.” (Morning Oregonian, Portland. “Rivers Grow Sober,” 2-7-1890, p. 8.)

 

Sources

 

Morning Oregonian, Portland. “Lowlands Flooded for Miles Southward. Dozens of Bridges Gone. Every Little Stream is Now a Roaring Torrent.” 2-5-1890, p. 2. Accessed 7-22-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/morning-oregonian-feb-05-1890-p-2/

 

Morning Oregonian, Portland. 2-5-1890, p. 6, col. 4. Accessed 7-22-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/morning-oregonian-feb-05-1890-p-6/

 

Morning Oregonian, Portland. “Rivers Grow Sober. Willamette and Branches Fall Fast as They Rose.” 2-7-1890, p. 8. Accessed 7-22-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/morning-oregonian-feb-06-1890-p-8/

 

Morning Oregon, Portland. “The Loss Not Large,” 2-8-1890, p. 1. Accessed 7-22-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/morning-oregonian-feb-08-1890-p-1/

 

Morning Oregonian, Portland “The Umpqua Falling. Roseburg Woolen Mills Probably a Total Loss,” 2-6-1890, p. 9. Accessed 7-22-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/morning-oregonian-feb-06-1890-p-9/

 

Taylor, George H. and Raymond R. Hatton. Oregon Weather Book: A State of Extremes.  Corvallis: Oregon Sate University Press, 1999.

 

 

 

[1] Morning Oregon, Portland. “The Loss Not Large,” 2-8-1890, p. 1.