Wind River Lumber Company, Oregon Lumber Company:.The Broughton Lumber Company operation closed in 1986, and portions of the flume from Willard to the Columbia River were dimantled by the company shortly thereafter."Īccording to Keith McCoy, 1987, in Mount Adams Country: Forgotten Corner of the Columbia River Gorge": Two steam engines were used and a maximum of nine miles of track that were laid to haul timber from the woods to the mill at Willard, but the tracks had no permanent location, as they were moved and re-laid as necessary. "From 1923 to about 1940, Broughton Lumber Company constructed and operated a railroad for transport of logs to the primary mill. Following its completion, boards could travel the nine-mile long flume to the planning mill in less than one hour."
In 1923, Broughton purchased the Drano Flume Company and expanded their operation by building an additional 4.5 miles of flume from Drano Lake eastward along the Columbia River to a new resaw and planing mill lcoated along the railroad near Underwood. The flume originally consisted of a 4.5-mile long segment from Willard to Drano Lake, and was constructed by the Drano Flume Company around 1913. Using water diverted from the Little White Salmon River, Broughton Lumber Company transported the timber via a flume connecting the mill at Willard to the Columbia River, and then rafted the logs across the river to Oregon for railroad transport. Stevenson, who operated a mill at Willard along the Little White Salmon River. "Broughton Lumber Company was established around 1916 by Harold Broughton and D.M. When the supply of timber became more difficult to access, the company closed the mill in 1907, and moved it to Oregon." There were flumes on both sides of the river that carried the lumber to the Columbia. After the logging of Underwood Mountain was complete, the Oregon Lumber Company established the Mill A sawmill and headquarters along the west side of the Little White Salmon River, and another sawmill at Cheowith Flat on the east side of the Little White Salmon River at what was known as Mill B. "As of 1896, there were seven sawmills operating in Skamania County, the most notable of these being the Oregon Lumber Company's along the Little White Salmon River. Īccording to the Bonneville Power Administration's "Whistling Ridge Energy Project's Environmental Impact Statement (2011): During the HAER survey of the site in 2000, several sources indicated the 1923 date was likely correct." Pomeroy, 1988, "The Broughton Lumber Company Flume and Railroad," appearing in Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette, vol.14, no.5, Nov/Dec 1988). The company pamphlet gives a starting date of 1913, while the Ely and Pomeroy article lists 1923 (D. Note that discrepancies in flume construction dates exist among several sources. Leased on completion by Broughton Lumber, the company assumed ownership in 1927 and continued to transport cants over the flume until both the company and the flume closed in 1986. to transport cants (rough sawn logs) from the Little Salmon River nine miles to Hood, Washington and the Columbia River. "The Broughton Flume was built between 19 by the Drano Flume and Lumber Co. WA-170 (O'Connor, 2000, National Park Service): On the Oregon side, Mitchell Point and Ruthton Park are good spots to look across the Columbia at the flume.Īccording to the Historic American Engineering Record HAER No. At the boat ramp at Drano Lake a section can be seen on the side of Chemawa Hill on the east side of Drano Lake. Sections of the old flume can be seen along Washington State Highway 14, between Drano Lake and Hood. At the Broughton Mill the planks were processed into finished lumber and shipped east or west on the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway. The nine-mile-long, 1,000-foot drop Broughton Flume was the last operating flume in the United States, floating rough-hewn lumber ("cants") from Willard, Washington, to the Broughton Lumber Mill at Hood, Washington, a rail station two miles west of Bingen. View from Washington State Highway 14 Boat ramp at Drano Lake.
īroughton Flume on Chemawa Hill, Washington. Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later" The Columbia River - Broughton Flume, Washington
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