The Lewis River Hydroelectric Projects - PacifiCorp

Lewis River Interpretive & Education Plan
Yale
The community of Yale was one of the larger towns along the river. It lies in a
flat side valley, partially separated from the Lewis by a small ridge. Yale hosted
one of only a handful of regional schools. Dances, magic shows, potlucks, and
traveling ministers drew homesteaders from miles upriver and down to the Yale
Community Hall, school, store, or churches. In the early 1930s, the town became
host to the CCC Camp Speelyai, which was located just west of Harry Reese’s
general store.
Another landmark in the Yale area was Schmidt’s store and boarding house, run
by Steve Schmidt, a German immigrant, and his wife Caroline. The boarding
house operated in the 1930s and 1940s and catered to loggers and construction
workers, among others. Schmidt was famous for speaking seven languages. He
was well-respected in the community, although people often complained about
his cattle, which he allowed to run free. The Schmidt boarding house was a local
meeting place—the site of community dances and “magic lantern” shows.
Although Ariel Dam was complete and generating electricity by the mid-1930s,
Yale did not get electricity until 1940 and telephone service didn’t arrive until the
1950s.
Cougar
The small town of Cougar is just east of Yale, and for many years residents of this
area got their mail at Yale. In 1918, the post office was established, and Cougar
became the last mail stop. Cougar was the site of a mill run by the Robbins
family, who had homesteaded in the area beginning around 1880. In the 1910s,
Edgar Robbins operated a “tourist camp” along Cougar Creek, catering to
travelers on their way to Mt. St. Helens and other high-country adventures.
A basket ferry helped adventurers cross the Lewis here, and there was a
community dance hall that could get rowdy at times.
The Timber
Industry The timber industry has been a part of the Lewis River Valley since the 1880s,
when small-scale operators began logging in the lower stretches of the river.
These early operations cleared some areas—such as the Yale Valley and some of
the regions now covered by Merwin Lake—of the huge trees that had hindered
settlement, opening “prairies” (clearcuts) that could be (albeit with great
difficulty) farmed, and facilitating settlement of the valley.
Early logging methods along the Lewis River relied solely on animal, human,
and water power to muscle the big logs to mills. Trees were felled and “bucked”
(divided into sections). The sections were hauled by ox team over greased skid
roads to steep, muddy chutes. Down the chutes the logs rocketed, hitting the
rivers below with tremendous splashes. Travelers on the wagon roads in this
Sea Reach Ltd • 146 NE yamhill Street • Sheridan, OR draft 3 • November 2008 • page 64