The Dalles, in Oregon, is a city on the
Columbia River. It is, roughly, 100 km east of
Portland, and the largest community in Wasco County. The city incorporated in 1857, but it
was a significant settlement for many years prior, especially as it was considered
the town at the end of the Oregon Trail;
1 it was inhabited by the Wasco and Wishram tribes for some 10,000 years before European
arrival.
2 The Dalles, as with other cities on
the Columbia, was embroiled in the
Oregon Territory land disputes of the mid-1800s.
In extracts associated with
this document, The Dalles appears as a site of conflict between US Troops and the Yakima, as well
as other indigenous groups. The Dalles, or “the flagstones”, from the French “dalle”,
was so named due to the rocks and rapids on the city's riverfront.
3