Historical Photos of Columbia River Log Rafts From Between the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Columbia River served as the central highway for the Pacific Northwest’s booming timber industry. Moving millions of board feet of massive old-growth timber from inland forests to coastal sawmills, and eventually to California’s expanding cities, required extraordinary feats of maritime engineering. What began as simple river driving evolved into giant flat log booms and, ultimately, the world-famous ocean-going Benson rafts.

In the mid-19th century, loggers floated loose timber down river tributaries. On calmer stretches of the Columbia, logs were organized into flat, single-layer floating enclosures known as log booms. Bound together with perimeter boom sticks and swifter cables, these rafts were easily towed by steam tugboats downriver to mills in Portland, Vancouver, and Astoria. However, flat booms were unsuitable for the open ocean. Rough swells easily broke the cables apart, scattering millions of board feet of valuable timber into the Pacific.

To bypass exorbitant railroad freight rates and satisfy Southern California’s massive construction boom, lumber magnate Simon Benson perfected a revolutionary ocean-going log raft in 1906. Built along the lower Columbia River (primarily near Clatskanie, Oregon, and Stella, Washington), these giant cigar-shaped rafts were designed specifically to withstand the 1,100-mile ocean voyage down the Pacific Coast to San Diego.

A massive wooden frame resembling a ship’s hull was anchored in calm river sloughs. A crane operator layered thousands of logs in an overlapping pattern (like brickwork) so no single transverse seam ran through the raft. A heavy center chain ran the length of the raft, connected to radiating circle chains that wrapped tightly around the outside perimeter. Once the cradle sides were unbolted, high tide lifted the ocean-bound raft free. Crews often stacked finished lumber, telephone poles, and shingles on the flat top deck before towing.

Between 1906 and 1941, 120 Benson rafts successfully navigated from the Columbia River to San Diego, supplying lumber for major southern California landmarks. Only 4 were ever lost or severely damaged by storm weather.

The practice came to an end due to several factors. High-profile raft fires in 1941 made insuring ocean-going log transports difficult. Prolonged saltwater exposure caused wood warping and left salt residue that damaged sawmill blades and wood-fired boilers. Railroads and modern trucking routes became cost-competitive and faster than 15-day ocean tows.