Images of a Free Flowing Lower Snake River
The photographs in the following galleries were taken prior to the construction of the four lower Snake River dams.
This gallery represents one of the only collections ever assembled of the dramatic landscape surrounding the free flowing lower Snake River. The photos demonstrate the tremendous potential and opportunity of a corridor that is currently drowned under four reservoirs.
Please keep in mind that these places are not actually lost to us forever. In fact, with planning, foresight and good ideas, the river of history can be the river of our future, a river that works for all people.
Different people took these photos for many different reasons. Some collections such as the Daisy Evans Brown photos, shared with us by the Nez Perce County Historical Society, were taken for artistic reasons. Others were taken for the purpose of documenting the lower river. Many of these date from the 1930s to as late as the 1970s just before the construction of Lower Granite Dam.
Click here to see footage of steelhead fishing on the lower Snake River before the construction of Lower Granite Dam.
This film was generously shared by John Pirkkala who worked with Northwest Steelheaders in resisting the construction of Lower Granite Dam in the 1970s. In part, due to his work and that of other members, the Asotin Dam upstream from Lewiston Idaho was put on permanent hold.
This gallery is divided by collection and all of the photos have been generously shared by museums, archives, historical societies, and individuals who understand the value of experiencing history visually.
The Working Snake RIver Project would like to thank the following organizations and individuals for allowing us the use of their collections and photos:
Nez Perce County Historical Society, Lewiston, ID
University of Idaho Libraries, Moscow, Idaho, Kyle Laughlin Collection
Washington State University Library, Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections, Pullman, WA.
Washington State University, Museum of Anthropology, Pullman, WA
Brock Evans, John Pirkkala, and Paul G. Quinnett
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