History of Early Pioneer Families of Hood River, Oregon. Compiled by Mrs. D.M. Coon

FRANCIS A. CHENOWITH
CASCADES 1850

     In the spring of 1850 Francis Chenowith, with his bride, located at the cascades of the Columbia river on the north bank.
     The settlement at that point was called Cascade City and consisted of a store, a blacksmith shop and perhaps a half dozen families.
     Mr. Chenoweth homesteaded 160 acres which included the Indian trail or portage around the cascades, that for time immemorial, had been the only feasible route around these obstructions.
     For this almost impassable trail he constructed a wooden railroad. The rails were made from rough boards, the cars were home made trucks, the power for propelling these trucks was furnished be one patient mule. Crude as this railroad was, it was a great improvement on the old way and was the first railroad on the Pacific Coast.
     This road was two and a half miles in length and ended below the upper fall. From that point schooners transferred baggage and passengers four miles further down strewn, through the rough and dangerous waters, to a point opposite the present site of Bonneville.
     These schooners were barges or flat-boats rigged with sails and oars and manned by experienced boatmen. A charge was made on all passing that way, but the travel was all one way as the incoming immigrants were the only patrons, they began to arrive in September and in three months all had passed. The money received did not compensate Mr. Chenowith for labor and money expended and when Bradford Brothers, foreseeing future possibilities, offered to buy the road the change was made.
     Mr. Chenowith was an enterprising young lawyer with great faith in the city located at the "Head of navigation". He erected a good house and began to practice law in earnest, and was sent to the Oregon legislature. In 1853 Washington territory was created with the Columbia River its southern boundary and Mr. Chenoweth's friends elevated him to a member of the first legislature in the new territory. The legislature opened February 27th, 1854, in Olympia.
     The upper room of a store building was used for their meetings.
     Mr. Chenoweth was chosen Speaker of the House where his thorough knowledge of law and former experience in legislative halls gave him great prestige among the lawmakers of Washington Territory.
     Many of the laws of Washington were taken from the Oregon code.
     Mr. Chenoweth succeeded in having Skamania county set off, the county seat located at Cascade City and his own house used for Court House. The same year he was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court of Washington. It was about this time that the military authorities erected a block-house on the Columbia River a short distance below the west end of the portage railway and called the point Fort Rains.
     In March 1856, during the massacre by the Indians, Mr. Chenoweth's house was burned. A few years later he moved to Benton County, Oregon.
     His ability was soon discovered and he was sent to the Oregon legislature in 1866. He was elected Speaker of the House and again helped to guide the Ship of State in the Northwest.
     When the era of railroad building began in Oregon he was an active participant and was one of the leaders in the West Side railroad activity in the Willamette valley. Mr. and Mrs. Chenoweth raised an interesting family, all becoming loya1 citizens of the Northwest.
     He died at his home in Benton County in 1899, loved and honored by all.
     November 27, 1929, Ross Francis Chenoweth, son of Judge and Mrs. F.A. Chenoweth, prominent pioneer residents of Benton county, died suddenly Monday at his home in King's Valley.

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