The Denny Party: Final Miles to Portland

After four months and nearly 2,000 miles on the Oregon Trail, the Denny Party reached the Columbia River. But the journey was far from over. The last miles to Portland would be among the most dangerous of the entire trip—and would divide the family between two very different routes.

On August 10 or 11, 1851, the exhausted travelers reached The Dalles, where they faced a difficult decision. Mary Ann Denny was heavily pregnant and suffering from what they called mountain fever. She could not endure another difficult mountain crossing. So the party decided to split.

The women, children, and most of the baggage would travel down the Columbia River in two open boats. An ailing Arthur Denny and a couple of other men accompanied them for protection. The remaining men took the wagons, horses, and cattle over the Cascade Mountains on Barlow Road.

The river route sounded easier, but it was anything but safe. The boats drifted through the spectacular Columbia Gorge, where steep cliffs rose on either side of the river and powerful currents swept toward the dangerous Cascades (a churning stretch of rapids and falls). One boat began leaking and had to stop for repairs. The wind repeatedly forced the travelers toward shore to avoid capsizing.

Then came the most frightening moment. The boat carrying Louisa Boren, her sister Mary Ann and Mary Ann’s two children, Mary Boren and her daughter, and the Low family was piloted by drunken boatmen. As they approached the Cascades, Louisa heard the roar of the turbulent water ahead. The boat was headed straight toward the falls. She demanded that the boatmen steer toward shore, but they did not immediately understand the danger. Only after she finally convinced them did they pull hard toward the riverbank. According to later accounts, Louisa’s quick thinking saved everyone on board from going over the falls.

After escaping the Cascades, they still had to portage around the falls. The people walked, and their baggage was transported on a rough wooden tramway. Below the falls, they transferred their possessions to the brig Henry, an aging vessel that was hired to carry them to Portland.

The Henry first ran aground near Vancouver. After being freed by the tide, it continued toward the Willamette, only to run aground again. With the boat going nowhere, the passengers unloaded their belongings, found lodging for the night, and the next morning walked the final miles into Portland, arriving on or about August 22, 1851.

Meanwhile, the men handling the wagons and cattle faced their own troubles. Barlow Road crossed the southern slopes of Mount Hood, a rough and primitive route with steep grades and difficult terrain. Driving wagons over the mountains while managing horses and John Low’s valuable cattle was exhausting work.

The exact date the overland group reached Portland isn’t clear, but eventually the two groups reunited. Now the entire Denny Party, along with the Lows, had to decide where to settle.

For John Denny, his wife Sarah, and their infant daughter, the journey was over. They stayed in the fertile Willamette Valley—the group’s original destination. For Arthur Denny and most of the rest of the party, however, Portland was only a temporary stop. Soon, they would head north to Puget Sound and an uncertain future.

When have you thought a trip over, only to find it went on longer than you planned?