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Old Concrete Mile Markers on Old Oregon 23/US 197

Started by JasonOfORoads, June 03, 2021, 02:26:26 AM

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JasonOfORoads

Yesterday I took the day off and ventured along the old Oregon 23/US 197 corridor between The Dalles and Maupin. I've been meaning to take that drive for at least 10-15 years, ever since someone on Panoramio posted 5 photos of old concrete mile markers that looked like the ones the State Highway Division posted along the Pacific, Columbia River and Old Oregon Trail Highways in 1924. For various reasons (theft, destruction, road widening, etc.), many of these markers did not survive to the present day, so I'm always down to go hunting for them along old highway alignments. Unfortunately I didn't snag copies or other information about the Panoramio photos before Google pulled the plug, so I didn't have any exact locations on any of the mile markers.. After doing a little bit of guesswork on where the first 12 or 13 might have been along the route, I ventured on my way with my camera.

To say it was a success was an understatement. Of the 5 that I was looking for (3, 9, 12, 18 and 19) I found 4 of them. Two of them were in excellent condition for their age. One was in pretty bad shape, and the other... well, I'll explain later. The only one I wasn't able to visit was 19.



I found mile marker 3 at a curve along this part of old OR-23. As you can see, it's seen some better days. Tons of exposed rebar, pieces missing, large cracks, you name it. The number is much less legible on the other side. It is currently being used to hold up a birdhouse on a pole -- though maybe the birdhouse is holding the milepost up.



By comparison, mile marker 9 is completely intact and looks beautiful. I found it just shy of old OR-23's intersection with Old Dufur Road/Emerson Loop Road. I was certainly impressed that it stuck around as long as it did, given I didn't find any other mile markers along the stretch of old OR-23 that was still open to vehicle traffic.

When exploring sections of OR-23 closed to vehicle traffic, however, I encountered this:



A virtually spotless mile marker 12, complete with view of central Oregon's rolling hills and the tip of Mount Hood, can be found along this old alignment. Aside from the deterioration of the road, this view was more or less what travelers along this route saw heading this direction until the highway was realigned in the mid-1960s. In my mind, this is just another instance where Oregon road planners of yesteryear took care to provide travelers with scenic opportunities while driving.

A little while after driving through Dufur, I pulled over in a wide area used for gravel storage, presumably by ODOT. The old highway likely passed along the western edge of this area, so I did a little bit of looking around. That's when I found this close to the road:



Unbeknownst to me at the time, what I found were the remains of mile marker 18. According to GSV imagery from May 2012, this post would have been here, near those three trees. I took some of screenshots from GSV that clearly show the post: 1 2

I have no idea what happened to it, but it's beyond repair regardless. It was found about 200 feet away from where it should have been placed. So far away, in fact, that I never even ended up exploring around where it used to be. I didn't see any sort of number when I tried to turn it over, so I'm guessing the number used to be on the right side.




As I mentioned previously, I was unable to locate or visit mile marker 19. This was for a couple reasons -- it was almost 100 degrees that day, and I likely would have needed to walk more than a mile and a half round trip to visit it. Plus, the road crossed at least one private fence, and I have no idea if the ROW is still owned by the highway department or the county, or if it's been turned over to abutting property owners. Regardless, I would love to go and see if 19 still exists someday. The marker itself would be in the vicinity of this stretch of old highway about 70 feet up from the present road.

I didn't see any other mileposts along my journey. However, there is another abandonned 2-mile long segment further south, between Tygh Valley and Maupin, that deserves a closer look one of these days. Again, it might be private -- a sign about 2/10ths of a mile down from the western end said the land was for members of Wilderness Unlimited and to "avoid arrest" :meh: Still, I wouldn't mind meeting up with some like-minded roadgeeks to check that road out one of these days, since I believe there's strength in numbers. (I suppose calling them to ask permission isn't out of the question either, but I doubt I'll get it without being a member.) That said, I wouldn't go again until I get the specific locations of where the mileposts were originally placed, so that we know what to look for in the right spots. Also, it would probably need to happen in the spring or the fall, since it's hot as hell in the summer and cold as hell in the winter.
Borderline addicted to roadgeeking since ~1989.


ErmineNotyours

I came across this on the Historic Columbia River Trail in the Mosier Twin Tunnels.  The flash photo is overexposed, but it's milepost 72.


JasonOfORoads

Quote from: ErmineNotyours on June 04, 2021, 12:52:50 AM
I came across this on the Historic Columbia River Trail in the Mosier Twin Tunnels.  The flash photo is overexposed, but it's milepost 72.



That one looks like one of the restored mileposts that were placed along the HCRH starting about 1992-93. There were only two or three of the original mileposts remaining when the HCRH was investigated by ODOT in the mid-1980s. MP 58 and MP 70 were the only ones explicitly mentioned in ODOT documents from that time period, but I managed to find milepost 14 last year in Wood Village that was of a similar style.

Here's a photo of original HCRH MP 58 taken in 2020 compared to one of restored HCRH MP 32 taken in 2013. Juxtaposed, differences can be seen:



The numerals on the original mileposts were thinner with a more ornate typeface (like Copperplate Gothic without the serifs) and a more obvious chiseled bevel appearance. By comparison, the numerals on the restored mileposts are thicker, blockier, and much less ornately beveled. Also, I don't believe the numerals on the original mileposts were ever painted, but restored ones are painted white, like the one in your photo.

In addition, those tunnels were only reopened in 2000 after a major overhaul, so MP 72 was likely placed at that time. This was the state of the tunnels prior to reopening:

Borderline addicted to roadgeeking since ~1989.

xonhulu

First, great documentation of the concrete markers on old OR 23, Jonathan!  Makes me wonder what other old relics can be found on Oregon's many bypassed older highway alignments.

Here's another shot of the Mosier Twin Tunnels marker.  Also over-exposed in the flash, but the numbering is a little clearer:



JasonOfORoads

#4
Quote from: xonhulu on June 05, 2021, 01:54:59 PM
First, great documentation of the concrete markers on old OR 23, Jonathan!  Makes me wonder what other old relics can be found on Oregon's many bypassed older highway alignments.

Thanks! I have a feeling that there are more somewhere further south. Aside from the segment outside Tygh Valley I mentioned, I could've sworn that someone once say on here that there may be some along former US-97 in the Cow Canyon/OR-293 junction area. There is a sizeable abandoned portion there, so it would just be a matter of travel, exploration and time.

As far as in other areas, I've been documenting these concrete mileposts wherever I could find them. I managed to get my hands on some emails and letters sent to ODOT when I visited their library in 2016 that alerted me to two that may be in the Grants Pass area along old US-99, as well as another that (as of 2011) resides in the Cottage Grove Museum. However, I've come to learn that the OSHD also used to use wooden mileposts at some point. Here's the only photo I have of one, from MP 116 along the John Day Highway (OR-19) from the Oregon Secretary of State Archives:



I estimate this photo was from some time in the late 1930s, maybe 1937-38, given that other photos in this set in the archive have been dated to those years. I have no idea where any other wooden posts might be placed (aside from along the John Day Highway), or if any have even survived this long.

Quote from: xonhulu on June 05, 2021, 01:54:59 PM
Here's another shot of the Mosier Twin Tunnels marker.  Also over-exposed in the flash, but the numbering is a little clearer:
<snipping photo>

Thanks for the clearer shot. I did some manipulation in Photoshop of both your MP 72 photo and my MP 32 photo -- the more I look at the "2", the more it looks like a derivative of Transport:



Then I look at the MP 12 that I saw Tuesday, and it keeps looking like a Copperplate without the serifs:



Neither font matches the type on each post exactly, but they are similar in the shape of the lower part of the "2".
Borderline addicted to roadgeeking since ~1989.

xonhulu

QuoteAside from the segment outside Tygh Valley I mentioned, I could've sworn that someone once say on here that there may be some along former US-97 in the Cow Canyon/OR-293 junction area. There is a sizeable abandoned portion there, so it would just be a matter of travel, exploration and time.

I know that section -- you can see it from the modern highway looking west, and it looks to be intact for a significant length, almost up to the rest area.  I think it would be pretty easy to access and explore.  In fact, looking at it on Google Earth, it's probably even drivable -- it doesn't look like there are any major breaks in the road surface or that private ownership would be an issue.

I know that there is a shorter drivable portion that cuts between US 97 and OR 293, because I've driven on it before.  If there were any vintage mileage markers along it, I didn't notice, but I probably wasn't looking for them, either.



JasonOfORoads

#6
Quote from: xonhulu on June 06, 2021, 12:42:32 AM
I know that section -- you can see it from the modern highway looking west, and it looks to be intact for a significant length, almost up to the rest area.  I think it would be pretty easy to access and explore.  In fact, looking at it on Google Earth, it's probably even drivable -- it doesn't look like there are any major breaks in the road surface or that private ownership would be an issue.

I think part of it is drivable. However, from GSV along the main highway, there are some portions where a few inches of the asphalt hangs above the current highway because the ground has eroded away, so I would be a bit concerned with road stability in those sections. Also, I want to collect some more information on where the mileposts might have been placed on that section before exploring it. I have information on original mileposts along The Dalles-California Highway in Klamath County, but that's about it.

Quote from: xonhulu on June 06, 2021, 12:42:32 AM
I know that there is a shorter drivable portion that cuts between US 97 and OR 293, because I've driven on it before.  If there were any vintage mileage markers along it, I didn't notice, but I probably wasn't looking for them, either.

I would definitely explore this portion as well. I would want to look at pretty much anything that isn't modern-day US-97, whether it's drivable or not. Even modern-day 97 might be hiding a marker somewhere, though I would imagine that road work would have caused most to have been removed.

If you do drive along that section again before I do and want to look for mileposts, they generally will be placed on the side of the road with increasing mileage. Every milepost I discovered on Tuesday was placed on the western side of the road, which would be to the right of the driver heading southbound. (Original MP 58 in the Gorge is also placed on the side with increasing mileage. Not sure about original MP 70, if it even still exists.)
Borderline addicted to roadgeeking since ~1989.

kjpportland

Hello, I'm KIRK POOLE of Past & Present Columbia River Highway and 197 too.

I have a nice photo of Milepost 19 of the bypassed US 197.

My 1st post here; let me wing it and see if it goes...



kjpportland

I have photos of the 100% condition MP 19 and also MP 27 along the old OR 23 (later US 197) prior to the 1962 new highway:
I can't seem to add the photos here. I haven't been on a forum in close to 20 years. I'm unsure how to add photos in a reply to a post.

This is KIRK POOLE from CRH and 197 Facebook pages.

Someone give me a tip or two how to get them on here, as I understand MP 19 had not been found by folks over here.

formulanone

Quote from: kjpportland on July 04, 2022, 05:09:02 AM
I have photos of the 100% condition MP 19 and also MP 27 along the old OR 23 (later US 197) prior to the 1962 new highway:
I can't seem to add the photos here. I haven't been on a forum in close to 20 years. I'm unsure how to add photos in a reply to a post.

This is KIRK POOLE from CRH and 197 Facebook pages.

Someone give me a tip or two how to get them on here, as I understand MP 19 had not been found by folks over here.

Welcome to the forums, kjportland!

Here is a link which will assist you in posting a photo to this forum. This forum doesn't support embedding an image directly, so it has to be hosted elsewhere, and then linked back with  "tags".

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=29125.0

kjpportland

Here is a picture of MP 19 on the pre-1962 alignment of US 197 (former OR 23).

MP 19 is the most pristine of all original markers still standing.

I have several photos of this and also MP 27, but I can't seem to remember the old BBS way of inserting pictures in a message.

Is it ok to show the url's or my 2 FB highway pages? a voluminous source of US 30, US 197 and Oregon US 99 information.


stevashe

Quote from: kjpportland on July 08, 2022, 12:03:16 PM
Is it ok to show the url's or my 2 FB highway pages? a voluminous source of US 30, US 197 and Oregon US 99 information.

Go for it! Maybe you could link directly to photos posted on there as well? I'm still not seeing any pictures come through on your post.

Bruce

It'd be best to upload the photos to Flickr or Imgur and post them directly here. Facebook is an awful way to share or preserve anything.

xonhulu

I had completely forgotten that I was going to check out that little drivable section of old 97 between the modern highway & OR 293 until I saw kjpportland had bumped this topic.  Fortunately, when I saw it on the 8th, I happened to be in Prineville coming back to Salem, so it was a minor detour to head up to Willowdale & check things out.

Unfortunately, no vintage mileage markers to report, along either the drivable or the bit of the other old road section I checked out.  There were some concrete pillars along the drivable road, but they seemed to be for guardrails/cables or road corner markers.  You can see 3 of them in the first picture, and another that was further up the hill:





So, sorry for the wait for pretty much nothing interesting!



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