(Shore of Columbia River, St. Helens)

Dorr Bothwell

The town of St. Helens is located along the shores of the Columbia River, just under thirty miles north of Portland, Oregon. It was named for its position facing the St. Helens peak in the state of Washington. St. Helens is the seat of Columbia County and at the time of this oil pastel’s creation it was a major port town whose major shipments included the lumber used to build up the West Coast, from southwestern Canada to Los Angeles. In this image Dorr Bothwell depicts houses on the shore of the Columbia that likely housed lumber mill employees and their families. Scattered along the sandy belt are milled logs that washed ashore, as well as row boats, and the remains of an old pier. In the background, the lush, dense forest provides a cool green wall protecting the small community from the sounds of highway 30.