Paterson, Washington — Columbia Drowned the First Version

Modern Paterson sits above the Columbia because the earlier version of the community sat too low to survive a federal dam.

Rail transportation helped establish settlement along the river in the early twentieth century, while irrigation made surrounding dry ground increasingly productive. Then John Day Dam raised the Columbia during the late 1960s.

Parts of the original settlement, roads and shoreline disappeared beneath the reservoir. Buildings that could be saved were moved uphill, while agriculture continued on surrounding land now known for vineyards, orchards and other crops.

Paterson did not relocate because the river stopped being useful. It moved because engineers changed where the river ended.