Photography: Shakers, Indians & The Collapse……

The original church was relocated to this location in the 1970’s. In the 90’s it collapsed into a pile in the foreground.

Lone Pine Tree Village set upon a rock bluff adjacent to the Columbia River. It was near the native’s fishing grounds.

“The church and village were built by Henry Gulick, a Scottish immigrant who settled in the area in the 1890s.

His wife Harriet, a local Wasco woman, was a member of the Indian Shaker movement.  

Though Henry was not religious, he built a small wooden church, which soon became one of the centers of Indian Shaker activity on the Columbia River.”

 (Frank Hunt Photography) Please visit Frank Hunt’s site for more  details re the Shaker religious movement amongst the native American tribes. Apparently there are still remnants of this today.

Here, my wife locates the window and building where her photo had been taken 30 years earlier. Also, we were trying to stand out of the ripping wind and an approaching downpour.

The bridge joins Oregon & Washington states. The original church was moved because of the bridge right of way and a motel construction. The building in this shot was the northern most structure still standing. SwittersB

You can see by the aerial imagery that the landscape is harsh and rugged. The motel construction, bridge construction and parking lots clash with the historically rustic village. I am glad we got to explore this after so many years. It makes for those nice images of the old, weathered structure and tall grass.

Above is the small, insert image of the Lone Pine Tree church as it stood in the 1950’s. That image was taken by Gladys Seufert, whose family owned the property the motel was constructed upon. It so happens Gladys & Francis Seufert took quite a few photos of old structures in Wasco County, Oregon.

SEUFERT PHOTOGRAPHY OF OLD STRUCTURES IN OREGON