THE LEGACY OF THE LANDSLIDE HOUSE
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- PATREON: www.patreon.com/exploreoregon
SOME OF MY SOURCES:
DETAILED INFO ON THE SLIDE: geomechanics.r...
RECREATING THE COLUMBIA RIVER HIGHWAY: sites.google.c...
PICTURES OF HOUSE AFTERWARD: associatedconte...
ARTICLES ON EAGLE CREEK FIRE: www.statesmanj...
www.oregonlive...
The great flood of 1996 that ripped through much of Oregon left many lasting impressions and the one the stayed with me the most, as a 10-year old kid, was a story out of the Columbia River Gorge involving a couple whose house was overwhelmed by a mudslide. While the house was taken from its foundation and ended up partially buried in mud and boulders it remained standing for many years after the flood.
I had the chance to see the house up close as a kid just a couple months after the flood and always hoped to see it again. Included in this film discussing the story behind this event is video my friend and I shot in November 2019 wherein I finally got my chance to see it again. And due to events that happened only months later, the video we captured took on much greater significance that we ever thought it would while we were out there.
Mr. Royse was incredibly brave and level headed during what must have been a terrifying and surreal event. The fact that neither of them or their animals were hurt or killed is a miracle. Thankfully this happened at 12 PM and not 12 AM! This was a great video Steve! Thanks!
Those were my folks. I grew up in that house.
I've been meaning to look you up for a while now. I have a lot of photographs and articles that might interest you.
Hi there, thanks for reaching out! I figured the video had to make it to you at some point. Yes that would absolutely interest me! I could even do a more in-depth video as this one I was mostly using newspaper articles and I know your family has a long history there.
It seems so incomplete not knowing what became of your parents? If you don't mind sharing. In 1997, I survived a devastating flood, lost almost everything. It is impossible to put to words, the hollow feelings that come with an event like this. My heart goes out to you and your family.
You had great folks.
I remember seeing this on the news, like it was yesterday.
Their horse standing in and trying to move to get out of the boulders and mud etc was hard to watch and stuck with me & the other two following him out…
Your Dad rescuing their pets was something else.
It was such a lovely house, in a great location with such gorgeous views.
Your folks had a great attitude about it all too.
3:45 The house and landscaping were beautiful! You can tell that your parents made it a showplace. I hope they were able to have a place to work outside after they had to move. I imagine they considered getting a bulldozer to clear around and jack the house up, but it was too far gone. It must have been heartbreaking.
@@StevetheAmateurHistorian Absolutely. I will be in town in a few days for a little while. Don't know what your schedule is like? I followed you on Instagram if that makes communication any easier.
I'd like to add that you did a pretty good job and thank you for keeping their memories around a little bit longer. They would have liked it a lot. They were amazing people.
The Royses were friends of my grandmother. I remember going to their home as a young girl.
Who was your grandmother?
Thank you! We remember and still look for the house when we drive by.
We remember seeing an old white clawfoot tub outside on the East side of the house for years.
😢
I had left for basic training for the Army very early this year. I had no idea this home's story was a thing. I am so glad they got the animals! This is amazing!
Thank you for a great video. Always fascinated with this house and so glad you were able to film it before it burned in the fires.
The fact that the house was still standing after such a catastrophe is a testament to the craftsmanship of that home.
Dearest Steve, one of my drivers turned me onto your channel several months ago while we were discussing history of Portland & its suburbs. Every one of your videos is mind-capturing & made with such cool research- right down to photo comparisons of then & now. Love your work & all the background content you include. I’ve turned my eldest son onto your channel.. he grew up here & totally appreciates your work. Excellent research.. Thank you🙏
Thanks for doing this! I have driven by it many times and always wondered what the heck had happened.
I'm so glad you did a video on this. I graduated high school in 1997 so I remember this well. I even went to some daily labor sites to help clean up some of the messes in town. I used to tell my kids about this house but I didn't really know the story. Thanks for the video
Thank you for all the help. You volunteers were all amazing. Everywhere help was needed, people came out of the wood work. It was really touching and It meant a lot more than words could ever convey.
One of your best vids ever, I remember following that story. Always wanted to go explore, so thank you!
Portland here. I remember seeing the Willamette River so high, they put up barriers along the waterfront. The only time we've ever seen that. Other than that, we're so very used to lots of rain. That's the Pacific Northwest. It's beautiful and green because of all that rain. 🌹
I remember Jeff Gianola newscaster and still on a boat willamette river saying that he’s seen “a few things float by”
He was talking about human feces. 👀
96’ all of the that snow/ice melt with rain. Good times.
I remember that! I was living in Milwaukee at the time. I'll never forget all the boats that were listing or sinking, pinned under those covered slips moored there in Oregon City. I spent a lot of time on the water growing up and that was something else.
Such a cool video Steve, I remember that house after that winter storm and yes for a time it was visible from HWY 84
MEMORY UNLOCKED.
I remember every time we drove by there on the way to eastern Oregon, I would just stare at it and wonder how it survived
That is cool that you found it!
I had service work with Multnomah county during that time and we were in that area picking up trash.
We found a 68 Impala that was door high of mud a few months later from the main road that was Parallel with 84 on the south side. Pretty remarkable.
I love your videos Steve.
You were taking historical videos, even back into 2016. ❤🤗👍
I have seen that several times. I lived in Portland for 25 years, and we would travel to Hood River or The Dalles, and I always looked for this house. I had thought it happened years before the 1996 event.
Enjoyed your video. Had to chuckle that you guys were whispering in the house. Like you didn't want to awaken anyone 🤣🤣👍😁
We remember this all too well, as we were living in Troutdale when this happened. We always felt sorry for those folks
3:54 the house was absolutely beautiful. 1996 was an El Niño year, it tore up my area here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Great video.
Steve thank you for your empathy towards this, I never wat anything that has animals in the story but you good sir I will watch as your kindness had me in tears of these people and animals. Thank you.
So sad, yet such an amazing story! I remember when you could see it from the freeway and it was wild to see how it just seemed to disappear in the growth! It would be cool to see a follow-up about the dear people who survived it! Wow, just wow.
The house is gone now. Every trace. The Eagle Creek fire burned it down and two more land slides have since buried any remnants. Not to mention that all of the other landmarks and points of reference that were in the vicinity are gone now. Add a massive amount of blackberries and there is really no way of knowing where it once stood. I couldn't tell you and I grew up in it. Breaks my heart all over again but the video is well done.
The house was still on the original foundation. There was a lot of speculation about this after the first slide, so my Dad spent a few difficult days with a shovel and it was right where it was supposed to be. The front side of the foundation blew out and the basement contents were swept out with the debris flow. We spent days salvaging photo albums and whatever we could off of I-84. A lot of people and organizations helped out. We owe a lot of folks a debt of gratitude.
@@nickieroyse8585 must be difficult and somewhat bittersweet to see this. Thank you for commenting here and sharing your own history.
I remember that house. Willamette falls in Oregon City wasn't falls anymore, just a little ripple in the river. I lived in Salem and had to pump water out from under my house a couple of times because it rained so much.
It's kind of sad to see the Gorge before the Eagle Creek fire. That burn scar looks even more awful from the Washington side.
Steve, Thank You so much for taking us to the Dotson house. I had always wanted to see it, glad to at least see it on video! Safe travels to both of you!😊
Amazing video and Homage. Hard to see, couldn’t imagine that happening. Thanks for the history!
Dude!!! I was driving truck at that time!!! Hours before that happened!!! A couple of years ago, another landslide at the same exit killer a lady in her car!!! Didn't know the fire took the rest of the house!!!✌️
I was thinking about that slide also, and the lady who didn't make it out. There is always such a huge risk living below a mountain or right on a river bank around the NW. The Ocho (? spelling) landslide comes to mind also. It also was so very deadly. Happy to know someone walked away from this one alive and with their pets.
I think about that woman a lot 💔.
And I want to say the name of that town was Oso? I think?
We live in Kennewick now and that slide got a lot of coverage here at the time. It was so devastating. So many lives taken or changed forever.
I have driven the Columbia Gorge several times a year for decades and I watched this house slowly diassapear into a grove of trees and always wondered about it
I was 11 and remembered seeing it from i-84 omw to the coast for our yearly family trip.
Great storytelling! Thank you Steve
What a beautiful area !
Very good video .... Brings back alot of memories driving by it over the years ... Thank you !
Not sure if it was the landslide house, but there was a driveway with white posts at the entrance, a beautiful green pasture, and not a rock to be seen! I remember driving past and seeing all the rocks wondering where it all came from! East of the house I remember the motel cabins, the restaurant and gas station, and further East there was a restaurant or tavern. Last time I drove past the only thing left of the motel was the sign. Someone did a nice job rebuilding the tavern as it was very poor condition at one point!
I have the exact same pictures in my head, all just came rushing back. My dad was a truck driver and we went to Stevenson lumber mill weekly, across the bridge of the gods. I remember this house exactly as you described it. Beautiful. The motel, the cabins, the gas station, all rundown except that house. This was the mid to late 80's I'm referring to. Etched in mind and just released from the photo at the 3:45 mark. WOW. Good stuff. I was ready to go find this house until the video explained it being lost in the fire. So sad.
Beautiful. I loved this video. Thank you.
Of course they didn't get any help for this tragedy. Same still happening all over the US today. SMH. Terrible. It was neat to see the inside. Thanks for taking us along. I lived in Oregon City when this happened. Luckily, we were on high ground, but the devastation from flooding, and families displaced was so sad.
My sister lived in Vernonia when the flood came. She lost everything,the house,car, everything in the house. She lived down stream from the sewage plant and her house was hip deep in sewage and mud. They had the clothes on their backs,no shoes,water or food.
FEMA didn’t help them at all.
I am so very sorry that that happened to your sister. Why did FEMA not help her? We were grateful for the help we got from them. But I remember that we had neighbors who were denied for some really dumb reasons such as being self employed. I have loved FEMA and I've hated them, but at the end of the day, it was just a government agency run by everyday people. It wasn't perfect by a long shot but it was better than nothing. As all we're about to find out.
You wanna talk about being left high and dry though, let's discuss the insurance company who charged them top dollar for full coverage on a policy that paid out nothing. There's your crime.
@@nickieroyse8585 I can’t remember the dumb reason that they didn’t help her,getting old and my memory is fading. She was living in a rented house with 2 of her kids. We were just getting back on our feet and our lives together after the murder of our mom and the trial. She lost everything she had inherited, including the portion of mom’s ashes that she had. It was such an emotional time already and we had been through so much and the flood about broke her and her kids. She won’t talk about it still.
Fantastic story! Curse the insurance companies and their BS denials of coverage.
I won't get over it any time soon, lol.
I remember seeing that house many times before and after the land slide. It may be for the better that it is now reduced to ashes. Thanks for the video.
It is. Saved us from having to demolish it.
This was very close to the fatal January 2021 landslide as well. I wonder if that entered the area of the now burnt house.
Kudos the these folks getting their animals out too!
Is there a memorial for this house? I visit this area often. Great story. Thanks for keeping this history alive.
Drove by to and from work each day. I left work early that day because of the weather conditions. 2 hours later the landslide happened. The N fork of the Hood River had washed out the cutoff to Parkdale and I thought I was going to be washed downstream while crossing it. Thanks, I think? for helping us relive those memories. The Sandy River froze over that same winter.
Love that the horses and dog were saved. They were bada$$! You should look into Valsetz, OR. Great video.
I have alot of pictures from the woods that burned down also. So strange to see areas look so different. It will never be the way it was in our life time that's for sure.
💔
I still expect I-84 to be all bumpy near that spot like it was back in the day
great vid and so glad you're finally feeling better.
19:05 plaster walls are in great shape after all this time. Wow
the wife and i were just talking about this place, i didnt know it was lost in the fire
Thank you. I admit whether it was right or not, I also always wanted to explore that childhood curiosity and warning of potential future tragedy.
I remeber all this all to well..thanks Steve
I moved across the river (Washington side) and wondered about the full story. I could see it from my house from 1999 until we moved in 2020. Plenty of landslides in that area that we would watch when it rained heavily. Only once did we drive close by on that road in front of the house. Anyway, I often wondered about what happened and appreciate your video.
Awesome video. Why were you guys whispering inside? 🤫😂
I remember this
Hey Steve, just a heads up that there's scam ads playing on this video. Great video though
Nice Vid. I was wondering what happened to the House.
Do you know anything about the house that was buried in the black berry bushes by Powell butte off the side of the bike trail? I seen it once and I've always wondered about it.
very cool video. Thank you!
Living in Condon oregon i would see it everytime I drove to Portland, it was like Multnomah falls, I always looked at it as I drove by.
What a shame that no one with some tractors and extra hands would help them, from all over. And how very sad about the stupid kid and the fire. Heartbreaking. ❤ 🙏
Hurts my heart to see the house.
It's possible the ground was deemed too unstable to rebuild at the time.
The Eagle Creek Fire was incredibly devastating and senseless.
Several people showed up with earth movers but a lot of the boulders were massive. The back hoes, track hoes, and dozers were broken in the process and cut their losses.
We were never permitted to rebuild because two geological studies showed future slides to be imminent. They were correct. There have been four now. Not as bad but bad enough. Plus the fire...
It's a beautiful place but it clearly doesn't want us living there, lol.
@@nickieroyse8585 I'm glad no one was hurt including the animals!
I'm curious what happened after. Does your family still own the land or was it able to be sold to rebuild elsewhere? It might have been mentioned but if it was I missed it.
I recently bought my first house, so the landowner implications are something I'm becoming acutely aware of.
Oh , just now hearing it got burned in wildfires ;
My question ; How far did the house travel in the mud & rock slide ?
...how many linear feet did it go ? ...and did it rotate any ?
Thanks for a great history lesson ; excellent content
Lol.. why are they whispering 😂
Place could be a random location in a Fallout game.
Lol, I used to say it resembled the dark side of the moon. It's grown over now.
I wonder if Steve will ever cover the lost creek where the 405 is in nw Portland
Are u talking about Guild’s Lake? From the 1905 Portland Exposition? It was where the 405 is over on the NW side. Kinda by Monkey Wards. All of the buildings & lake were only temporary. Even though a couple of buildings have been incorporated into Portland businesses. Steve did a great documentary on the Portland Expo & goes into detail of the lake, buildings etc. He shows so amazingly beautiful pictures from there. Very much worth the watch. I’ve seen it twice💙
I'd love to see him cover the history of Sullivan's Gulch. 🌹
@@The-Honeycomb-Hideout you're talking about the louis and Clark fair, right? I'm talking about the natural ditch the 405 runs in nw Portland that use to be a small creek. the only documentation I can find of it are illustrations of the original clearing when people first settled in the downtown area.
@@TheShrekage I'm sorry i misunderstood. But glad I responded. I didn't know about that creek💙
image stabilization has come a long way
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❤
Sad but cool story. 28:40
I cannot believe you were allowed to trespass around that house as a child...how rude
...and you went again as an adult???? You are unbelievable.... you should have checked to see if it was still private property.
Stop whispering when you go exploring abandoned places. It makes you look like SUCH a cornball. Speak normally.
I made a special trip to the comments section on my phone (watching on the TV) to make this very comment.
Loud noise cause SLIDES!!! Shhhhh! 🤣🤣
@@adoneran it also makes it difficult for people who have hearing issues. Yes I know about captions, but they usually suck because they're automatically generated.
I remember this all to well. I was in high school working at a fence company and when I got to work they sent me to down town Portland at the water front to fill sand bags.