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