The Columbia Gorge Weekender, spring 1981, page 23
Early days remain: Joslyn House, settlers' home.
In 1855 Erastus Joslyn stood on the Oregon side of the
Columbia River and watched as his animals were stolen and his house went
up in smoke. That was at a time when the Yakima Indians seemed to be intent
on wiping out area settlers, and because be was warned by the Klickitat Indians,
Joslyn sent his wife Mary to Portland and fled to the other side of the river
before the Indians arrived and burned his first home.
The house was more than his first home, though. It was
also the first white settler's home between Cascade Locks and The Dalles
on the Washington side of the Columbia River. He built it in 1853.
After the house was burned, Joslyn returned in 1856 and
rebuilt at the same site and resumed with his wife as the sole white settlers
of the region. When Joslyn and his wife moved out to the Gorge, it was no
easy matter. The Massachusetts couple took seven months to arrive, traveling
by ocean to the Isthmus of Panama, which they crossed without the benefit
of the yet-to-be built Panama Canal, and then continuing by boat to Portland.
In 1853 Joslyn took up a donation land claim along river bottom land where
Dickey Farms lies today. Joslyn established a typical New England type farm
with cows, chickens, barns, sheds and hay and pasture fields. He built a
small log cabin under a giant oak and planted cherry and pear trees in the
area he named White Salmon. The butter and cheese the Joslyns made was taken
by sailboat and sold in The Dalles.
Joslyn was described as a warm-hearted Christian man who opened
his doors to weary travelers for months on end. He and Mary provided food
and friendly atmosphere for the Hood River settler Nathaniel Coe and his
wife, whose original intentions were to establish a store in The Dalles.
The Coes, who became close friends with the Joslyns, took up a 319-acre donation
land claim and established Hood River in 1854. Joslyn stayed with Coe during
the time of the Indian disturbances when his first home burned.
Although Joslyn and other Gorge settlers had difficulties with
the Yakima Indians, he became close friends with the Klickitat Indians and
the tribe living near his place. He learned to speak the language of the
Klickitats.
In 1875, Joslyn sold his home and moved to Colorado Springs.
Since then the house has changed hands a number of times. Immediately thereafter,
it became known as the Glades Ranch under owner Judge A.R. Burkett. It also
has been owned by the Eversole Family, the Dickey Family, and others. The
Dickeys still operate a truck farm across the highway from the Joslyn house,
and if you pass through town during picking season, it would be worthwhile
to stop at the vegetable stand.
The area has changed considerably since Joslyn built his house
in the nineteenth century, but the house is still basically the same and
still stands beside SR14 west of Bingen.
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© Jeffrey L. Elmer