Braided River Campaign
@braidedriverpdx.bsky.social
Advocating for a green working waterfront on the Willamette River in Portland, OR. #justice #democracy #climate www.braidedrivercampaign.org
Vanport became home to some 40,000 people. The lowest point of Vanport City was about fifteen feet below the water level in the river. In the 1948 flood, more than 15,000 people were instantly without a home as the river poured into the basin and former wetlands. 🧵 2 of 3
November 15, 2025 at 3:20 AM
Vanport became home to some 40,000 people. The lowest point of Vanport City was about fifteen feet below the water level in the river. In the 1948 flood, more than 15,000 people were instantly without a home as the river poured into the basin and former wetlands. 🧵 2 of 3
Henry Kaiser, looking to build housing for people working in shipyards, chose the Columbia River Lowlands in 1942. It was called Vanport, not in Portland. Why? The federal government required wartime housing to be integrated and Portland would not allow it. (Remember exclusion laws and red lining.)
November 15, 2025 at 3:20 AM
Henry Kaiser, looking to build housing for people working in shipyards, chose the Columbia River Lowlands in 1942. It was called Vanport, not in Portland. Why? The federal government required wartime housing to be integrated and Portland would not allow it. (Remember exclusion laws and red lining.)
The largest, Ramsey Lake, was filled and now is the Rivergate Industrial District in N Portland at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. In addition to lakes and wetlands, the area has the 18-mile Columbia Slough that connects the Blue Lake region with the Willamette River. 🧵 2 of 3
November 14, 2025 at 3:58 AM
The largest, Ramsey Lake, was filled and now is the Rivergate Industrial District in N Portland at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. In addition to lakes and wetlands, the area has the 18-mile Columbia Slough that connects the Blue Lake region with the Willamette River. 🧵 2 of 3
The Columbia Lowlands were an ancient place of vast lakes and wetlands before European settlers arrived. Like the lakes along the Willamette River, industrialists sought to tame the area and bring it under their control. Of the three main lakes, Smith and Bybee exist. 🧵 1 of 3
November 14, 2025 at 3:58 AM
The Columbia Lowlands were an ancient place of vast lakes and wetlands before European settlers arrived. Like the lakes along the Willamette River, industrialists sought to tame the area and bring it under their control. Of the three main lakes, Smith and Bybee exist. 🧵 1 of 3
After traveling 187 miles through Oregon; gathering water from creeks and rivers, the Willamette River provides the Columbia River with approximately 15% of its flow. The Columbia River’s last miles wind through a vast industrial complex. The final reunion is a whisper in our urban landscape.
November 14, 2025 at 3:58 AM
After traveling 187 miles through Oregon; gathering water from creeks and rivers, the Willamette River provides the Columbia River with approximately 15% of its flow. The Columbia River’s last miles wind through a vast industrial complex. The final reunion is a whisper in our urban landscape.
Well before that Peter Guild's homestead was located there and many small farms, including a Chinese farming village. And before that it was a place where Balch Creek made its way through forested canyons and tumbled into Guild’s Lake that was connected to the tidal, seasonal cycles of the river.
November 12, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Well before that Peter Guild's homestead was located there and many small farms, including a Chinese farming village. And before that it was a place where Balch Creek made its way through forested canyons and tumbled into Guild’s Lake that was connected to the tidal, seasonal cycles of the river.
Yes, there are hidden lakes in our city! Our favorite is Guild’s Lake. It was located where you now see the Guild’s Lake Industrial Sanctuary District in NW Portland on the Willamette River. Before that, there was the Guilds Lake Housing Community and Lewis and Clark Exposition of 1905.
November 12, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Yes, there are hidden lakes in our city! Our favorite is Guild’s Lake. It was located where you now see the Guild’s Lake Industrial Sanctuary District in NW Portland on the Willamette River. Before that, there was the Guilds Lake Housing Community and Lewis and Clark Exposition of 1905.
Although food security is the heart of a sound economy, Portland’s draft Economic Opportunities Analysis does not mention agricultural land. They assume food will be delivered on trucks & trains to North Portland warehouses and distributed to ever disappearing, ever more expensive grocery stores.
November 11, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Although food security is the heart of a sound economy, Portland’s draft Economic Opportunities Analysis does not mention agricultural land. They assume food will be delivered on trucks & trains to North Portland warehouses and distributed to ever disappearing, ever more expensive grocery stores.
Elders tell of great farms along Marine Dr and Columbia Blvd cared for by Japanese farmers before the internment of over 3,600 Japanese-Portlanders during WWII. The bounty of their work they brought to markets. Here's a photo of a farmers float made with veggies in the 1920 Rose Festival.
November 11, 2025 at 3:45 AM
Elders tell of great farms along Marine Dr and Columbia Blvd cared for by Japanese farmers before the internment of over 3,600 Japanese-Portlanders during WWII. The bounty of their work they brought to markets. Here's a photo of a farmers float made with veggies in the 1920 Rose Festival.
Early settlers depended on farming. The Chinese had farms along Guild’s Lake, but their farms were burnt and the farmers chased out by the Ku Klux Klan in 1883. The hills above Linnton had dairy farms, and orchards. Only Sauvie Island survived the campaign against farm land, hunting, and fishing.
November 11, 2025 at 2:59 AM
Early settlers depended on farming. The Chinese had farms along Guild’s Lake, but their farms were burnt and the farmers chased out by the Ku Klux Klan in 1883. The hills above Linnton had dairy farms, and orchards. Only Sauvie Island survived the campaign against farm land, hunting, and fishing.
How did a fertile crescent of two rivers, North Portland, become a people and place dependent on food banks and federal funds for their food? How did the annual harvest of Camas and Wapato and an abundant harvest of fish and wildlife disappear in just 200 years?
November 11, 2025 at 1:23 AM
How did a fertile crescent of two rivers, North Portland, become a people and place dependent on food banks and federal funds for their food? How did the annual harvest of Camas and Wapato and an abundant harvest of fish and wildlife disappear in just 200 years?
That “grey-lined” North Portland as an inevitable place for the CEI Hub's aging oil tanks and the newest warehouse industry. The legacy of post-World War II industry lives on in the North Reach and in an EOA that refuses to acknowledge its past. 🧵 3 of 3
November 8, 2025 at 4:38 PM
That “grey-lined” North Portland as an inevitable place for the CEI Hub's aging oil tanks and the newest warehouse industry. The legacy of post-World War II industry lives on in the North Reach and in an EOA that refuses to acknowledge its past. 🧵 3 of 3
We have come to see the Economic Opportunities Analysis as a modern-day land grab. Maps are drawn, highways planned, and zoning codes stamped onto the resting places of juvenile salmon, on people’s houses, and farm lands. 🧵 1 of 3
November 8, 2025 at 4:38 PM
We have come to see the Economic Opportunities Analysis as a modern-day land grab. Maps are drawn, highways planned, and zoning codes stamped onto the resting places of juvenile salmon, on people’s houses, and farm lands. 🧵 1 of 3
Over 160,000 people moved to the North Reach between 1941 and 1945. They did not move to Portland proper, but to the recently annexed communities of St Johns and Linnton, and Vanport City. They came from all over the country; people who wanted to support the war & find opportunity. 🧵 1 of 4
November 8, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Over 160,000 people moved to the North Reach between 1941 and 1945. They did not move to Portland proper, but to the recently annexed communities of St Johns and Linnton, and Vanport City. They came from all over the country; people who wanted to support the war & find opportunity. 🧵 1 of 4
In Richmond, California a historical park was dedicated to the women who worked in the shipyards, The Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Park.
November 7, 2025 at 5:43 AM
In Richmond, California a historical park was dedicated to the women who worked in the shipyards, The Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Park.
There is little to remind us of this piece of history, no parks or memorials to those who died building and taking apart ships. At Kaiser on Interstate, there is a small sculpture in the courtyard in recognition of Henry Kaiser’s role in the shipbuilding operation.
November 7, 2025 at 5:43 AM
There is little to remind us of this piece of history, no parks or memorials to those who died building and taking apart ships. At Kaiser on Interstate, there is a small sculpture in the courtyard in recognition of Henry Kaiser’s role in the shipbuilding operation.
Highly dangerous materials were used in the construction and deconstruction of these ships. Thousands of people would die over the subsequent decades, mostly from asbestos. The thousands of people who came to work in the shipyards and decided to stay, faced discrimination
November 7, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Highly dangerous materials were used in the construction and deconstruction of these ships. Thousands of people would die over the subsequent decades, mostly from asbestos. The thousands of people who came to work in the shipyards and decided to stay, faced discrimination
The current North Reach waterfront was created by two critical legislative actions. In 1892, the state created the Port of Portland. Just thirty years after the Homestead Act of 1862, the industrialists knew they had to do more than get free land. They had to control the river. 🧵 1 of 3
November 6, 2025 at 5:37 AM
The current North Reach waterfront was created by two critical legislative actions. In 1892, the state created the Port of Portland. Just thirty years after the Homestead Act of 1862, the industrialists knew they had to do more than get free land. They had to control the river. 🧵 1 of 3
Despite laws that declared all beaches public and required the cities to carve out a Greenway along the river, industrialists found a way around it. You can use the beach but you have no way to get there. Joke’s on you.
November 6, 2025 at 4:46 AM
Despite laws that declared all beaches public and required the cities to carve out a Greenway along the river, industrialists found a way around it. You can use the beach but you have no way to get there. Joke’s on you.
The North Reach of the Willamette River now has two public docks at Cathedral Park. The other dock at Swan Island has been closed, though it served the inner NE neighborhoods for decades. A great place for sturgeon and swimming. A place you could ride your bike to and swim in the summer.
November 6, 2025 at 3:45 AM
The North Reach of the Willamette River now has two public docks at Cathedral Park. The other dock at Swan Island has been closed, though it served the inner NE neighborhoods for decades. A great place for sturgeon and swimming. A place you could ride your bike to and swim in the summer.
Today, the North Reach of the #Willamette River is a graveyard of the places where people once pulled their boats ashore and found comfort in the ripple of water. A wooden graveyard of lost community docks where local farmers and craftsmen could bring their products and unload merchandise. #Portland
November 6, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Today, the North Reach of the #Willamette River is a graveyard of the places where people once pulled their boats ashore and found comfort in the ripple of water. A wooden graveyard of lost community docks where local farmers and craftsmen could bring their products and unload merchandise. #Portland
The story goes that if laborers died digging, they buried them there in the “Cut”. The Cut is composed of an underground tunnel off of Columbia Blvd that connects to the deep railroad-filled gully. Both destroyed homes, farms, and businesses so that the trains could go faster and save time.
November 4, 2025 at 10:08 PM
The story goes that if laborers died digging, they buried them there in the “Cut”. The Cut is composed of an underground tunnel off of Columbia Blvd that connects to the deep railroad-filled gully. Both destroyed homes, farms, and businesses so that the trains could go faster and save time.
Owned by BNSF Railway and dug in 1907, the Railroad Bridge in Portland was built despite the objections of people in St. Johns. It was designed by James Hill whose nickname was “The Empire Builder.” Chinese laborers were hired to dig he 80-foot gully and tunnels.
November 4, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Owned by BNSF Railway and dug in 1907, the Railroad Bridge in Portland was built despite the objections of people in St. Johns. It was designed by James Hill whose nickname was “The Empire Builder.” Chinese laborers were hired to dig he 80-foot gully and tunnels.
With power and wealth driving urban planning, St. Johns was cut in half with a railroad shortcut that connected the #Columbia and #Willamette Rivers and included the railroad bridge. Photo by Steve Morgan. #Portland
November 4, 2025 at 8:46 PM
With power and wealth driving urban planning, St. Johns was cut in half with a railroad shortcut that connected the #Columbia and #Willamette Rivers and included the railroad bridge. Photo by Steve Morgan. #Portland
If you look at a map of the North Portland Peninsula, you’ll see it’s surrounded by railroads on all sides, down the middle and over into Guild’s Lake and Linnton. Early on, there was a need for passenger train service, but the goal was to ship wheat and timber and later to include oil-by-rail.
November 4, 2025 at 8:46 PM
If you look at a map of the North Portland Peninsula, you’ll see it’s surrounded by railroads on all sides, down the middle and over into Guild’s Lake and Linnton. Early on, there was a need for passenger train service, but the goal was to ship wheat and timber and later to include oil-by-rail.