But at the end of the 19th Century, such nets were ridiculed as little better for snaring fish than a bib-overalled farm boy dangling a hook tied to a length of string. The center, built on a rise overlooking the Columbia River 19 miles west of Hood River, opened May 17 - the eve of the 15th anniversary of the last explosion of Mount St. Helens. In 1989, Skamania County donated the 18-acre site of a former sawmill. We set up an operational budget based on 65,000 guests a year. Emory Strong donated his library and artifact collections to the society.
Visitors enter the center through a colonnade built to resemble a railroad trestle.
The building, much of its interior designed to resemble the early sawmills built near Stevenson, was constructed by the Portland architectural firm Fletcher Farr Ayotte. Jean Jacques Andre from Victoria, British Columbia, prepared the 11,000 square feet of exhibits. He is best known for his work at the Royal Provincial Museum in his hometown. The center uses Indian and pioneer artifacts, photographs and a film and slide show to tell the region's history. Ore. A sign taped to the steam engine shows center planners didn't lack a sense of humor.