rhododendron Archives - Mount Hood History

Fires, Fear, and Fighting Back: The Week the Forest Burned Near Mt. Hood

The Forest Fires of October 13-17, 1952

A Dry Season Sparks Trouble

Late in the season, around midnight on October 13, 1952, trouble began in the dry forests surrounding Mt. Hood. Flames appeared south of the Mt. Hood Highway, just east of Rhododendron, near Yocum Falls. As the fire moved down through Laurel Canyon, it stretched toward Flag Mountain. Initially, officials suspected a tree had fallen on a power line, sparking the blaze. However, the Sandy Electric Company suggested that men violating the hunting ban may have started the fire instead of the 33,000-volt power line.

Mt Hood National Forest Fires of October 1952

Fires Spread Across the Region

Meanwhile, a second fire erupted when windblown embers ignited dry vegetation near Still Creek, along the north slope of Zigzag Canyon. As a result, flames threatened summer homes and caused landslides, sending large rocks tumbling toward the Zigzag River. Consequently, firefighters faced an increasingly dangerous situation.

By Tuesday, October 14, another fire had ignited. This time, flames burned up Henry Creek toward Devils Canyon near Rhododendron. Since dry east winds were blowing with typical intensity, they fanned the flames. Therefore, firefighters struggled to contain the rapidly spreading fires.

Road Closures and Evacuations

Due to the growing danger, officials closed the Mt. Hood Highway. Roadblocks went up in Sandy and Bend, allowing only emergency vehicles and buses to pass. As a precaution, traffic had to be rerouted through the Columbia River Gorge or the North Santiam Highway. Firefighters hosed down wooden bridges along the highway while residents sprayed their roofs with water, trying to keep embers at bay. Understandably, people in Rhododendron prepared to evacuate if necessary. The county’s civil defense agency remained on high alert, ready to assist should homes become threatened.

Arson Suspected in Brightwood

By Wednesday, October 15, conditions worsened. A third fire ignited near Brightwood around noon. Flames burned through thick ferns and second-growth timber. Unfortunately, local residents reported seeing two teenage boys speeding away in a blue coupe just before the fire started. Consequently, police issued an alert, but the suspects were never found.

A Threat to Bull Run Watershed

By Thursday, October 16, tensions ran high. The Brightwood fire moved toward the Bull Run watershed, the primary water source for Portland. Since winds carried the flames up Boulder Creek, they brought them dangerously close to Bull Run. Meanwhile, in Rhododendron, a 120-man crew worked tirelessly to build a fire line around the Henry Creek blaze. More than 400 firefighters battled flames across the region. At the same time, at Zigzag Ranger Station, local women volunteered to prepare sandwiches, helping to sustain the exhausted fire crews.

Firefighters Gain Control

Finally, on Friday, October 17, firefighters gained the upper hand. Crews, totaling 700 men, worked around the clock to contain the fires. By this point, the Brightwood blaze alone had consumed between 300 and 400 acres. In total, an estimated 1,200 acres burned before firefighters managed to control the destruction. Despite the progress, northeast winds and low humidity kept everyone on edge, hoping for much-needed rain.

A Community United

In the aftermath, the fires left a lasting impact. However, they also demonstrated the strength of the community. Firefighters risked everything to contain the flames, while residents took action—hosing down homes, preparing food, and offering support. Although the forest would recover, the stories of that harrowing week of the Forest Fires of 1952 would endure for generations.

Preserving the History

These photos are scanned from negatives in my personal collection, capturing the unforgettable events of that historic fire.

Rhododendron Oregon Centennial and History

100 Years of Rhododendron Oregon and Mount Hood Tourism

I produced a video to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the little Mount Hood village of Rhododendron Oregon. It’s a collection that consists of photos that I’ve collected through the years and have added to my collection. There are a couple that are in the video that are copies of photos from the Welch Family as well as the family of Dr Ivan Wooley.

Rhododendron, Oregon | Things to do, hotels, & attractions

Located along the Mt. Hood Scenic Byway on a 19th-century pioneer wagon route, Rhododendron nestles into the western flank of the craggy peak. The terrain.

The Rhododendron Inn

The Rhododendron Inn – In the early days in the communities on the south side of Mount Hood travelers on the old road to the mountain relied on the inns and roadhouses for a bed and a meal while they traveled through or played in the area.

The roads were primitive and the automobiles were slow. It would take the best part of a day to drive from Portland, for instance, in contrast to the hour drive that it is today. As a consequence of the time that it took to journey to Mount Hood many roadhouses, hotels and restaurants sprung up along the old road. The town of Rhododendron had the Rhododendron Inn.

Henry S. Rowe, a Mayor of Portland from 1900 to 1902, had the Rhododendron Inn in built 1905 on 160 acres of land that he owned. A Portland Fire Chief that served during Rowe’s administration by the name of Lee Holden did the construction and design.

Holden took over the hotel in 1910, and it was this season that the post office was established under the name of Rowe. The name was later changed at the request of the Post Office Department to Rhododendron in 1920.

Holden sold the hotel to Emil and Suzette Franzetti, hoteliers from Europe in 1912. The Franzetti’s added a 60’x100’ dance hall, a 50’x100’ concrete swimming pool, tennis and croquet courts, bridle paths and hiking trails. They also added an annex across the road as well as several cottages and tent houses scattered through camp areas in the woods surrounding the inn.

In 1916 Emil was killed when his car rolled in soft sand near the Zigzag Ranger Station. Mrs. Franzetti ran the hotel for seven years after that and finally sold the inn and 20 acres around 1924 to William Cash and his wife while the rest of the land was subdivided into lots, many containing Henry Steiner built log cabins. The annex burned down in 1932. The hotel was sold in 1943 (?) to Thomas Rex who changed the name to the Rex Inn. During a very cold snap in the Winter of 1949 the inn caught fire, supposedly from a blow torch being used to thaw pipes.

The location of where the Rhododendron Inn once sat is on the south side of today’s Highway near where the pedestrian suspension bridge over the Zigzag River is located on the west side of town. All traces are lost today with no hint of its existence.

Villages of Mt Hood Post Offices

The Villages of Mt Hood Post Offices

What gives a town, or in this case a village, its identity? In most cases it’s the establishment of a post office. Many feel that the establishment of a post office is truly that which makes a settlement a town or a village. The case is no different here on The Mountain, as each of our villages have been identified in that very same way. That identity still exists in places that no longer have a post office, such as Zigzag, Wemme and Faubion.

One might think that Welches, being the center of attention in our area, would have been the first post office to be established here, but it was actually the roots of the present day Brightwood post office that makes that claim. Samuel Welch, a local pioneer and Welches namesake’s first venture in the area was a hotel and general store in what was then called Salmon, Oregon, with a post office being established in 1891. His hotel was located near the present west end of Brightwood Loop near the Salmon River, and it wasn’t until 1910 that the name Brightwood was adopted. At that point in time it was located inside of McIntyre’s General Store near its present location. The Brightwood Post Office was discontinued in 1914 but reestablished in 1925.

The next in line as one travels east was Wemme. Named for E. Henry Wemme, the benefactor of the old Barlow Road, its post office was established in 1916. Wemme was discontinued upon the establishment of the new Welches post office in 1977.

The Welches post office was established at the Welch’s Ranch in June of 1905 with Linny Kern as the postmaster. Billy Welch succeeded Kern as postmaster in 1910 and served until 1940 when his wife Jennie took over. Jennie, for years the local matriarch, served until 1960 when the Welches post office was closed. The Welches post office was re-established in 1977. The original plan, at that time, was to move the Wemme post office into a new building on Welches Road, thus threatening to re-name Welches to Wemme. Because of the local outcry the postal service changed their plans and named the new post office Welches, thus insuring the perpetuation of its true identity.

In 1909, a post office was established in the little town of Rowe. Named for Henry S. Rowe, an ex-mayor of Portland who built the old Rhododendron Inn, the post office was located in Dad Miller’s store. The Rowe post office name was changed to Zigzag in 1917.

The Zigzag post office existed as its own entity until 1964 when it became a rural delivery station for the Rhododendron post office. Although the mail was sorted at Rhododendron, the mail was postmarked “Zigzag Rur St”. The Zigzag post office closed for good in 1974.

The Rhododendron post office was established in 1920 and is still operating today.

The Faubion post office, which was located in the old Cedarwood Store on what is now Faubion Loop operated from 1924 to 1932 and was operated by William Faubion, Jennie Welch’s father.

Please take some time to send a postcard to friends or relatives. Our postmasters on The Mountain are all friendly down to earth folks that would love to have you drop in. They will also remind you that they need your business to continue their existence.