History

Mt. Hood’s Eruptions 30,000 years ago to today Mt. Hood has erupted off and on for half a million years. Its last big eruptions, from 1781 into the 1790s, left… Naming Mt. Hood: Broughton, Lewis and Clark 1792 to 1806 A British officer named the peak from the Columbia River in 1792. Thirteen years later, Lewis and Clark had to work out… The Barlow Road 1845 to 1919 Samuel Barlow's 1845 gamble became the toll road that carried Oregon Trail wagons around Mt. Hood for more than 70 years. The First Climbs of Mt. Hood 1845 to 1921 An Oregonian editor claimed the summit in 1854. Most historians credit a party that included Henry Pittock, who set type at his… How Government Camp Got Its Name 1849 to 1937 An 1849 Army wagon train left its wagons in the snow here and gave the place its name. Ski jumpers and Timberline… Cloud Cap Inn Built in 1889 Built in 1889 near Eliot Glacier, Mt. Hood's first resort never paid its way, but it anchored north side climbing and still… The Fire Lookout on Mt. Hood’s Summit 1915 to 1941 From 1915 into the 1930s, a Forest Service lookout watched for fires from the top of Oregon's highest peak. Nothing of it… The Mt. Hood Loop Highway 1919 to 1924 Finished in 1924, the Loop Highway let cars circle Mt. Hood for the first time, joining the Columbia River Highway to the… Pioneer Woman’s Grave Found in 1924 An unknown woman who died on the Barlow Road lies below Barlow Pass. Road crews found her grave in 1924; her name… Building Timberline Lodge 1936 to 1938 WPA crews and Oregon craftspeople built Timberline Lodge by hand from 1936 to 1938. Roosevelt dedicated it in 1937, and it is… The Magic Mile Chairlift 1939 to 1962 The Magic Mile chairlift opened above Timberline Lodge in 1939, built by WPA craftsmen and ending at stone Silcox Hut. Mount Hood Wilderness 1964 to 2009 Congress protected Mt. Hood's upper slopes as the Mount Hood Wilderness in 1964, then enlarged it in 1978 and 2009.