Broughton Flume

Broughton Flume. A Man-made Waterway. In the early 1900s, lush evergreen forests covered the rugged mountains on either side of the Columbia River, providing a wealths of fuel and building material. In this steep, wet country, water was a perfect conveyance. , Sawmills were located in the forest, several miles from the Columbia River. There, massive logs were cut into beams called "cants," then splashed into water-filled flumes, where gravity brought the cargo to the riverside finishing mill below. , Across Drano Lake, you may still see the ruins of the Broughton Lumber Company's flume. Built in 1923, it transported lumber until the firm closed its inland mill at Willard in 1986. , Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery . , Columbia River salmon returned from the ocean to spawn in such numbers that settlers arriving in the 1840s scarcely believed their eyes. Habitat destruction and the increase of of commercial harvest to supply canneries along the river quickly depleted the river's swimming wealth. Within fifty years, salmon populations dwindled. The Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery, established in 1896 to rebuild salmon runs, still operate and is open for public viewing on the northwest side of Drano Lake.