Barlow Road

Barlow Road
Route of the Barlow Road (red); some consider the yellow route from The Dalles as part of the road
Location	Oregon, USA
Nearest city	The Dalles Government Camp Oregon City
Established	1845

The Barlow Road (at inception, Mount Hood Road) is a historic road in what is now the U.S. state of Oregon. It was the last overland segment of the Oregon Trail, crossing the Cascade Range before reaching the Willamette Valley. It began at The Dalles (or Tygh Valley, according to some), roughly followed the White River on the south and then west, crossed the south shoulder of Mount Hood, followed the Sandy River for some way, and ended at Oregon City. It was easily the most harrowing 100 miles of the nearly 2000 mile Oregon Trail.^[1]

Before the opening of the Barlow Road, pioneers traveling by land from the east followed the Oregon Trail to The Dalles and floated down the Columbia River to Fort Vancouver, then a perilous and expensive journey.

Planning and construction

Sam Barlow explored the route in 1845, seeking a safer and more reliable route to the Willamette Valley. His wagon party included Joel Palmer, who played an instrumental role in finding a way around Mount Hood and in locating Barlow Pass.^[2]

A marker on the Barlow Road, near its crossing with Oregon Route 35.

The group made it to the Cascade Crest where they were effectively lost. Barlow and Palmer hiked the south face of Mount Hood west of Palmer Glacier to scout a westward route off the mountain. They returned to the group, arranged for guards for their wagons at a place they named Fort Deposit, and most of the group and livestock walked northwest over a narrow old Indian route known as Lolo Pass Trail.^[1] The remainder returned to The Dalles. Barlow's group eventually found Eagle Creek and Philip Foster's farm near present day Clackamas.^[1]

That autumn, Barlow considered the route over the mountains and petitioned the Provisional Legislature of Oregon for permission to build a road on December 91845, claiming that his estimated cost of $4000 was lower than that of others familiar with the route. Permission was granted with a vote of 8-2 on December 171845.^[3]

The road's toll was authorized for two years effective January 11846 and specified toll rates at five dollars (about a week's wages^[4]) for each wagon and ten cents for each head of horse, mule, ass, or horned cattle. The grant named the route "Mount Hood Road," but it was immediately known as the "Barlow Road."^[5][6]

The road was built with the financial backing of Philip Foster and a crew of forty men. Five toll gates were eventually built along the route. Barlow's estimate of $4000 had forgotten the numerous challenging bridges that would have to be built over rivers such as the Sandy, Zigzag, White, and Salmon.^[5] The White River continues to challenge its bridges to this day.^[7]

Early use

After the Barlow Road opened, it is estimated that less than one in four people chose the Columbia River route.^[1]

The direction of travel was effectively one-way until 1861, when a better road around Laurel Hill was built. Despite the expense and difficulties of passage, the road was very popular, with more than a thousand immigrants and 145 wagons recorded in the first year of operation.^[8] Approximately three-quarters of the pioneers entering the Willamette Valley traveled the Barlow Road.^[9]

Barlow's concession expired in 1848, and he and Foster terminated their largely unprofitable partnership on November 291848. Others continued to operate the toll road, but weather and mountain conditions made this a financial struggle.^[5] By 1863, the toll had decreased to $2.50 per wagon and team.^[4]

Later use and historic designations

Various owners operated the road until 1882. Ownership then passed to the Mt. Hood & Barlow Road Company. E. Henry Wemme purchased that company in 1912, and made improvements to the road. Wemme's attorney, George W. Joseph, became the owner upon Wemme's death in 1914, in a contentious probate dispute. Joseph and his wife donated the road to the people of Oregon in 1919.^[3][10]

In 1978, the entire Oregon Trail, including the Barlow Road, was named a National Historic Trail by the U.S. Congress.^[4] In 1992, the Barlow Road was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Historic District. In 2005, part of it was incorporated into the Mount Hood Scenic Byway.^[11]

Some parts of the road in Wasco County are still pristine,^[1] and ruts from wagon wheels are still visible in several places. Much of the Clackamas County side is buried under Highway 26. Overall, about twenty percent of the road is still visible today.^[4]

See also

• Applegate Trail built by Jesse Applegate
• Lolo Pass
• Mount Hood Corridor
• Santiam Wagon Road

References

External links

• Map of Barlow Road from Walter E. Meacham (1947). Barlow Road. Oregon Historical Society. ISBN 978-0875950358. 
• Oregon Trail map from USGenNet for Clackamas County genealogy research

	Pioneer History of Oregon (1806–1890)
Topics	American Fur Company · Columbian Exchange · Executive Committee · Ferries · Hudson's Bay Company · Oregon and California Railroad · Oregon boundary dispute · Oregon Country · Oregon Lyceum · Oregon missionaries · Oregon Spectator · Oregon Territory · Oregon Trail · Oregon Treaty · Organic Laws of Oregon · Pacific Fur Company · Provisional Government
Events	Astor Expedition · Treaty of 1818 · Russo-American Treaty · Willamette Cattle Company · Champoeg Meetings · Star of Oregon · Whitman massacre · Cayuse War · Donation Land Claim Act · Holmes v. Ford · Rogue River Wars · Oregon Constitutional Convention· Modoc War Great Gale of 1880
Places	Applegate Trail · Barlow Road · Champoeg · Fort Astoria · Fort Dalles · Fort Vancouver · Fort William · French Prairie · Meek Cutoff · Methodist Mission · Oregon City · Oregon Institute · Whitman Mission · Willamette Trading Post
People	George Abernethy · Jesse Applegate · Ira L. Babcock · Sam Barlow · François Norbert Blanchet · Tabitha Brown · Abigail Scott Duniway · Philip Foster · Peter French · Joseph Gale · Cornelius Gilliam · William Gilpin David Hill · H.A.G. Lee · Jason Lee · Asa Lovejoy · John McLoughlin · Joseph Meek · Ezra Meeker · John Minto · Robert Newell · Joel Palmer · Sager orphans · Levi Scott · Henry H. Spalding · Marcus Whitman · Narcissa Whitman · Ewing Young
Oregon History	Native Peoples History · History to 1806 · Pioneer History · Modern History

Donate to Wikimedia