Saint Helens, Oregon, USA, is a small town 30 miles northwest of Portland, Oregon. The northernmost part of town is on Highway 30 between Columbia City and Scappoose. Downtown Saint Helens sits on the Columbia River, which divides the States of Oregon and Washington. It lies roughly 40 miles south-west of Mount St Helens, from which the town supposedly got its name. As for the mountain, it's possible that was named after St Helena of Constantine.

On 18 May, 1980, this volcanic mountain opened up, spewing out millions of tons of ash up to 15 miles aloft. Day turned into night and 57 people were killed. An estimated 24,000 animals died. The town of Saint Helens itself was at a safe distance and escaped unharmed.

History

Although originally settled by New England loggers, Italian immigrants arrived later bringing construction and manufacturing to the city. A major industry in the early 1900s was basalt rock mining quarries. Since it sits on the river, Saint Helens was once a major port and was expected to surpass neighbouring Portland. In fact, Saint Helens was briefly the terminal of Pacific Mail's steamship Columbia which ran from New York via Panama to San Francisco and then to the Columbia River. Unfortunately a fire destroyed Pacific Mail's docks and they moved their terminal to Portland soon after.

Saint Helens is the County Seat of Columbia County and the old courthouse¹, built in 1906 with stone from the local quarries, is still very much in use and can be seen in the movie Halloweentown.

It sits among some very old buildings² as it is in the area where the town was founded. Small-time shops, like 'Nothing New', sell antiques and other quaint items. Also downtown is the local Columbia cinema. It is privately owned and operated with only one screening room. This was also used for the Halloweentown movie. A unique feature about this theatre are its chairs. Disney had them installed for their movie. What's unique about them is their ability to rock back and forth like rocking chairs.

Roll On Columbia

The Columbia river winds some 1,200 miles from British Columbia through Montana and Idaho before it reaches Saint Helens, and it is the lifeblood for many other cities as well. Untold generations of Native Americans have lived by its banks and prospered by its bounty. However, a mere 15,000 years ago, more or less, it was completely blocked by an ice sheet which created a huge lake stretching for hundreds of miles. When enough water collected, it floated the sheet and drained the lake in a matter of a few days. Over a period of 2,500 years this scenario repeated as many as 100 times, which has resulted in much of the interesting topography that you see in the area, including the deep gorge that is the riverbed today. So, it is for a relatively brief period of time that the banks have been habitable and is why you should try to get in all the recreation you can now because you never know. It is great for fishing, canoeing, kayaking and sailing. In fact the nearly constant winds through the gorge make for some of the best windsurfing in North America, but you had better hurry. Oh, and also watch out for barges.

The People of Saint Helens

In spite of some inevitable grumpiness and melancholy brought on by prolonged seasons of rain and cold, the people in Saint Helens are still decent enough to give you correct directions to places around town if you ask nicely.

In Saint Helens, people have a fascination with guns, knives, swords, and any other collectable weaponry, including paintball guns. Some enjoy collecting replicas from the Star Wars movies.

A lot of adults who live in Saint Helens work in Portland, which is the closest major city. There are some who even work in Seattle. Some of the local major employers include mining, forestry products, and manufacturing operations.

Around Town

A few miles south is the main stretch of highway that runs through town. Following this south will take one past the St John's bridge and will lead to the I-5 (Interstate 5). On this road are fast-food restaurants, a bike shop, a sandwich shop, a salon, a Wal-Mart, and a Safeway - places often stopped at by people travelling through the town. Slightly east is the Boise Cascade Mill. Many people in the town work there.

The public library is near the Lewis and Clark school. It has a Technology centre, which is commonly used by Middle schoolers. In between the Middle school and Elementary school is the Red Apple market. The downtown use this for small time grocery shopping, but then usually go to Safeway when they need lots of items.

The decommissioned John Gumm school, now known as 'The Olde School' is now privately owned and used for weddings, picnics, school dances, and other social events.

And Speaking of Lewis and Clark³

All towns in the Pacific Northwest, without exception, have at least one Lewis and Clark building somewhere around. Here, in case you weren't paying attention, it is the Lewis and Clark school, which is named, of course, after the explorers of Northwestern United States. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark are absolute legends here: giants even. They were sent by President Jefferson to find a northwest passage from the Mississippi to the Pacific Coast and were the first of European descent to explore this new and vast area of the US. The scope of the endeavour was akin to exploring the Moon.

Things to See and Do

• St Helens on the Riverfront (The Strand, Plaza and Old Courthouse Area).
• McCormick Park, which offers a hiking trail that includes little exercise stations.
• St Helens High School. (View a sports event or play. The theatre here is good for the most part, with the occasional theatrical blunder, but good enough to keep you entertained. Cheap tickets too.)
• The museum in the Courthouse.
• The downtown cinema. It only has films that were released a few months prior, but is still a good way to kill time on a Friday night.