Like the waters of the Willamette River that cover and then recede from it, schemes for Ross Island have been rising and falling for almost 175 years, and once again it is in the news.
How did it get its name? Sherry Ross, at age 21, left his home in Indiana, and with his older brother Stephen arrived over the Oregon Trail in 1845. The following year Sherry laid claim to what was then known as Oak Island, renamed for him by 1852.
Although collectively called Ross Island, this name included separate Hardtack Island, which paralleled Ross Island on the east, and was almost as large; East Island, off the southeast corner of Hardtack, and much smaller; and Toe Island, which is more of a large sand bar, to the southwest…