It’s 96 years since the Columbia River froze over. Until 1930, it happened regularly. The Columbia River froze at Vancouver on January 26, 1847, says an old Farmer’s Almanac. That winter was among the coldest and corralled the HBMS Modeste in ice near Fort Vancouver. Taking advantage of the time to play, the ship’s and Hudson’s Bay officers crafted makeshift curling stones and turned to a friendly best-of-three game of curlers. The ship’s officers won.
Back then, it wasn’t uncommon for the Columbia to freeze over. Indigenous peoples likely saw it frozen solid many times before. An unknown clerk at Canemah (now part of Oregon City) reported in January 1854 that the Columbia River was frozen for 30 miles from the Willamette’s mouth.
Six more times before the big freeze of 1909, the river solidified, stranding steamers, ferries and halting transportation, cargo and mail. Charles Troup and Frank Goldhue left Vancouver in 1879, rowing across the Columbia to fetch the mail. After crossing, they left their boat but, on returning, found the skiff iced in. They ended up delivering the mail on foot…