Latourell is an unincorporated

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 community located in Multnomah County

Multnomah County, Oregon

Multnomah County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Though smallest in area, it is the most populous as its county seat, Portland, is the state's largest city...

, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, on the Historic Columbia River Highway about eight miles (13 km) east of Troutdale

Troutdale, Oregon

Troutdale is a city in Multnomah County, Oregon, north of Gresham and east of Wood Village. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 15,962....

 and 5.5 miles (9 km) west of Multnomah Falls

Multnomah Falls

-External links:* and , from a USFS website* from the Oregon Tourism Commission* , from a Library of Congress website* * * * *...

. Compared to its peak in the 1880s, it is now virtually a ghost town

Ghost town

A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

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History

Latourell Falls

Latourell Falls

Latourell Falls is a waterfall along the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, within Guy W. Talbot State Park.The Historic Columbia River Highway passes nearby, and at certain locations the waterfall is visible from the road...

 and the town of Latourell were named for Joseph "Frenchy" Latourell who immigrated to Oregon in the 1850s. Latourell owned a mercantile and a fish wheel

Fish wheel

A fish wheel is a device for catching fish which operates much as a water-powered mill wheel. A wheel complete with baskets and paddles is attached to a floating dock. The wheel rotates due to the current of the stream it is placed into. The baskets on the wheel capture fish traveling upstream. ...

, and he was a boatman on the Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

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The first post office in the area was called Rooster Rock after the natural feature; it was established in May 1876. Joseph Latourell became postmaster in August 1876, and the name of the post office was changed to Latourell Falls a year later. The office closed in 1964. The name of the local railroad station was "Latourell".

The falls are on property formerly owned by Guy W. Talbot and now part of Guy W. Talbot State Park

Guy W. Talbot State Park

Guy W. Talbot State Park is a state park in the Columbia River Gorge, near Troutdale, Oregon, United States. Although the main feature of the park is Latourell Falls, the parkland stretches west to the Crown Point State Scenic Corridor...

. Latourell Prairie, on the bluffs above the river and east of the falls, is also named for Joseph Latourell.

The Latourells had eight children and were known to Portlanders who visited by steamboat to sing, dance, dine and listen while the family played musical instruments.

At its height, Latourell was a working timber town and had five saloons and a well-known brass band. Large scale commercial logging did not arrive until the 1880s. Before that, many Columbia River Gorge

Columbia River Gorge

The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range forming the boundary between the State of Washington to the north and Oregon to the south...

 residents cut and delivered cordwood to Columbia River steamships

Steamboats of the Columbia River

Many steamboats operated on the Columbia River and its tributaries, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, from about 1850 to 1981. Major tributaries of the Columbia that formed steamboat routes included the Willamette and Snake rivers...

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