Peoples of the Columbia
. . . Swam across the Columbia River down here when I was fifteen years old, by myself! . . . we'd go down by the ferry landing and swim, and then we'd walk to where the bridge is now. . . and swim out and then swim back in at the ferry landing. . . that was the only place to swim in those days. . . We used to just live in the river. Mom would say, "You kids get out of there, you're freezing," while we're chipping the enamel off our teeth you know, and our lips and fingernails blue, but we weren't cold. Margaret D'Estrella
Jehu Switzler started a horse-powered Switzler Ferry in 1879 and the Switzler family
ran a ferry across the Columbia until the Wallula Cutoff Road opened
in 1935. In 1948, ferry runs started again, transporting dam workers
until a bridge from Umatilla to Plymouth opened in 1955. Photo courtesy
of the Umatilla County Historical Society
The Columbia River has historically influenced the lives of those who live along its banks, from indigenous residents to contemporary community members. For thousands of years Indians lived near the confluence of the Umatilla and Columbia Rivers, finding winter refuge along the banks and summer recreation in the islands jutting from the river west of the Umatilla Rapids. Changes in the lands along the river occurred as non-Indian peoples -- first explorers, then missionaries, Chinese and American gold miners, farmers, ranchers, and the diverse emigrants of the twentieth century -- entered the region. Other dramatic changes came during and after WWII when the federal government constructed two dams and an army installation, reshaping the landscape and communities along the Columbia.
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