The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1916-06-15
UNDERWOOD ROADS
BEING IMPROVED

The peaches, Strawberries. gooseber-
ries and currants of the Underwood
district of the southwestern section OF
Skamania county. Washington, for a
decade have been bringing fame to the
name of that region among housewives
Of northwestern cities. From the or
iginal paintings Of pioneer fruit men
Of that district, A. J. Haynes and kee-
ley & Dubois. the acreage of trees has
grown to total of morel than a: thou
sand of acres, handsome new homes
have sprung up by the country road
sides and the marks Of a progressive
development have been evident to
those who have travelled through the
fertile area.
Travel to Underwood in former years
has been negligible. Cut off from the
roads of Oregon by the Columbia and
barriers arising to the west along the
north bank of the stream, 1t has been
impossible to reach the district except
by steamboat, rail or ferries from
Hood River, that is, unless one motored
or drove from the highways OF Klicki-
tat county to the east across the White
Salmon river.
1t may be we'll predicted. however,
that within another year or two the at.
fractions of the Underwood country
are going to become known and make
their appeal to many. In Skamania
county, where last year electors voted
q $2l0, 900 bond issue for the work, the
North Bank highway is taking denfiite
shape. By October. according to pres
p1ora 40 vrnslaa Of th0 Nn0d
will have been graded. By July Is
stretch of IL miles Of the new route.
extending from Mill A,west of the Lit
tie White Salmon river to the town Of
Underwood, where the White Salmon
flows into the Columbia, will have been
completed.
By the end of this year. except for a
short stretch of q few miles between
Cooks and Wind mountain, the north
bank road will have been completed
from one end to the other of the Wash
ington county. The state will complete
the Cooks-Wind mountain lap of the
highway next year, and then formal
dedication of the North Bank highway
will be in order.
As in the building of the Columbia
river highway, construction on the
north bank was found difficult, and the
task of cutting around the base of
Wind mountain, now under way, has
been found a stupendous one. Wind
mountain is directly across the Colum-
bia from Shell Rock, the sliding mass
of debris that proved troublesome for
the highway builders and which for
years has caused worry to the O.-W R.
& N. Co. Just east of Wind mountain
the North !Bank highway parallels for
about half mile the line Of the S. P.
& S. r. r. Co., the road so close to the
railway track that concrete retaining
wall has been built between the two.
This wall is half mile in length and
IL feet high at the maximum height.
From Cooks the new road leads up
through the canyon of the Little White
Salmon river and thence through belts
of timber land to the rim of the Co.
lumbia gorge on Underwood Heights.
Up to the very base of Underwood
mountain extends an area of the CON-
munity's handsomest orchards dotted
with numerous modern bungalow
homes. From this rim of Underwood
Heights is a view of the Columbia, the
Hood River valley and Mount Hood to
the south. No panorama Of the Co.
lumbia river highway at any point, it
is said, can excel this view. On clear
days one can locate the homes of Hood
River ranchers and residents of the
city. Underwood Heights people say
that one must come to Underwood If
he desires to see Hood River.
The construction Of the Underwood
section of the Skamania portion of the
North Bank highway is IN charge of
County Commissioner J. W. Shipley,
whose bungalow home is at the side of
the new road on Underwood Heights.
Mr.. Shipley is not only booster for
good roads, but is progressive farm
er. His rows of apple trees show ex-
treme care, and between the rows ap-
pears a crop of luxuriant alfalfa such
as one might expect to find on the deep
soil of bottomland, but not on this up
land, unirrigated orchard district. 1t
is true that the Underwood orchard
community has no irrigation. How
ever. a sub-irrigation, said by those
who have studied the conformation of
the country, to come from the waters
of glacial streams short distance un-
der the earth's surface, makes irriga-
tion unnecessary in Underwood. Num-
erous springs are found in the COM
munity, and streams are struck at
short distance underground by those
digging wells.
On Underwood fiat body of land
owners is taking formal steps to form
trrs~oktnp Ascfrt0f In nrIar fh Of
they may procure surface water to
grow garden truck throughout the
summer months without exhausting
the moisture in the orchard tracts.
The opening up of the North Bank
highway will unolck some of the mid
Columbia's most magnificent scenery.
At the town of Underwood one may
turn north and by a choice of three
routes, one branching off to the west
side of the White Salmon river and
Husum and the other two taking the
east side of the stream, reach Glen
| wood at the foot of the fertile Camas
Praire section, and travel thence to
Goldendale and Yakima. In case
Portland and Yakima and the cities
located between the two succeed in Sc
curing the cutoff route from Glenwood
through the Simcoe Indian reservation,
the North Bank highway will become
popular to motorists travelling between
Portland and Yakima.
Already good side roads penetrate
the orchard communities of Under
wood. Two miles up the White Salmon
river is the gigantic dam of the North
western Electric Co. This great struc-
ture thrown across the narrow gorge
and 100 feet from base to crest, i'm
pounds the waters of the White Salm-
on. forming q miniature crystal lake.
The road to the dam. privately main
tanned by the power concern. is in good
condition, and this side trip and those
through the orchard districts will form
a good half day of touring for the mo-
torist who desires to visit Underwood,
at present accessible by ferry from
Hood River to White Salmon and
thence by excellent mountain roads to