Indians spearing fish at Celilo Falls with fishwheel in background, c.1905.
Benjamin Gifford, photographer. Gi 7784-a
Indians used dipnets, gaffhooks, and spears to catch fish throughout the early part of the 20th century when fishing platforms were only accessible by rowing or swimming through swift currents. The wooden structure at the right is a fishwheel, first used on the Columbia River by Euro-Americans in the 1880s. By the turn of the century, around seventy-five fishwheels lined the banks of the Columbia River. The fishwheels were positioned in currents close to the riverbank or were mounted on scows and consisted of dippers that scooped up migrating salmon. The Seufert Brothers Company owned and operated numerous fishwheels around the Celilo Falls area, including the infamous Fishwheel No.5 that made a record catch of 70,000 pounds on a single day in 1913. Fishwheels were outlawed in Oregon in 1926 and in Washington in 1934.