Oregon City Falls-Formerly Known As Willamette Falls
“The largest falls in Oregon and the sixth in the United States by volume, Willamette Falls is one of the most significant natural features in the state. A Native salmon and lamprey fishery for at least eight thousand years, Willamette Falls drops thirty-five feet from the Willamette Valley into the Oregon City–West Linn basin. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, the falls powered the earliest mills in the region and contributed to the growth of the first United States government in the Oregon Territory.”
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In 1889, Portland General Electric produced the nation’s first transmission of long distance electricity. Power traveled from Oregon City to the streetlights of Portland fourteen miles away. The falls was promoted as the “Niagara Falls of the West”.
Oregon and Washington have both provided a wealth of power from the area’s natural watersheds. I didn’t know Williamette Falls had been renamed.
I remember the falls from our visit years ago. Sadly it was the middle of a drought and the falls were not at their best! Renamed? Who knew???!!!
Cool photos 🙂
Thank you
I believe you have the headline backwards. It may have once been Oregon City falls although I have never heard it called that in my 67 years of living in the area. It’s current name is Willamette Falls.