The “Sandy River”

Going way back in time to 1792, a Lt. Broughton of English Captain George

Vancouver’s Expedition to the northerly Pacific coast, explored the Columbia River from

its mouth to a point near the Columbia Gorge. There he mapped a river coming from the

southeast that emptied into the Columbia. He named the river Baring River to honor a

noted Englishman of that time. Lt. Broughton also noted a snow-capped peak on the

eastern horizon and named it Mt. Hood, for Great Britain’s Lord Hood.

When the Vancouver Expedition returned home to England, their findings,

including a map showing the Baring River, were made public knowledge. This was of

great interest to Great Britain, France, Spain, and particularly to U.S. President Thomas

Jefferson. The president was, at that time, developing plans for the Lewis & Clark

Expedition to see what existed between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean.

Thus, when the Expedition came to the Baring River in November of 1807, they

recognized it from Lt. Broughton’s notes. However, they observed that the river now had

two channels at its mouth and a very soft, unstable bottom they believed to be quick-

sand. Therefore, they renamed it the “Quick-sand River” and mapped it in their journals.

Over the years, Lewis & Clark’s name gradually evolved to just the “Sandy River.”

Science has since determined that what was believed to be quick-sand was

actually soft volcanic ash that had been carried down the river in a gigantic mud-flow

that resulted from a violent eruption of Mt. Hood. One can assume that this mud-flow

was probably very similar to the one many of us observed on television of the Toutle

River when Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980!

In browsing the Lewis & Clark journals, the “Quick-sand River” was mentioned

numerous times as a major landmark; however, it was discovered on the return trip that

the Willamette River was a much larger landmark. Though it was strange that Lt.

Broughton didn’t mention the Willamette River as a major landmark, most likely he didn’t

see it as there was a heavily wooded island close to the river’s mouth that obscured the

view. Lewis and Clark also missed it on their way to the Pacific Coast, but on their way

back in the spring of 1808, a Native American they contacted was able to convey to

them that they had just passed the mouth of a large river. He agreed to guide them to

the river’s mouth and gave Lewis and Clark a much larger landmark for later explorers.

Another reason the Willamette River hadn’t been noticed was that the north side of the

river was a better campsite for both expeditions. Both Lt. Broughton and Lewis & Clark

had camped on the Washington side not far from where Fort Vancouver would later be

built.

I think it’s pretty cool that our little-old Sandy River was known to many European

leaders in Paris, London, and Washington D. C. in the early 1800s! –Phil Jonsrud, “Sandy’s

Historian,

” from his book “The History of Sandy Oregon,

” published 2011, pp. 1-2.