Thursday, July 16, 2015

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 203





 Lyons Ferry, 1923

This unused vintage postcard shows a 1923 photograph of a raft, holding two automobiles, that was called Lyon’s Ferry and established in 1858 to carry passengers across the Snake River.  There was no information on the card to indicate the photographer or the publisher/printer.  

A ferry was used at this crossing until 1968.   A bridge was built over the Snake River in 1914 downstream from the ferry near the town of Starbuck, Washington.  Another steel truss bridge was constructed in 1927 and used for crossing the Columbia River at Vantage, Washington.  It was later replaced with a larger four-lane bridge in 1963.  At that time the older bridge was dismantled and reassembled at Lyons Ferry Park in 1968 where it is used today.  The old ferry is still located at the park but no longer in use.

Lyons Ferry Park was named after the ferry and was a state park from 1971 to 2002 when ownership transferred to the Port of Columbia where it is called Lyons Ferry Park and Lyons Ferry Marina today.   The park and marina are located on State Route 261 near the confluence of the Snake and Palouse Rivers.  

The Lower Monumental Dam erected in the late 1960s formed Lake Herbert G. West and the park is considered to be on the lake.  It includes the marina together with swimming and picnic areas open to the public. 

For more information, see:


https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Starbuck,_Washington
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyons_Ferry_Park

No comments:

Post a Comment