MORNING OREGONIAN, Portland, Oregon, December, 1896 

* Celebrating the opening of the Cascade Falls
* Rare 19th century use of color

This is obviously an extremely rare, special edition of this newspaper, to celebrate the opening of the  Cascade Locks in Oregon. The were a set of locks built to improve navigation past the Cascades Rapids of the Columbia River. The federal government began construction in 1878 and the locks were completed on November 5, 1896. The locks were subsequently submerged in 1938, replaced by Bonneville Lock and Dam. Today there is a town by the name of Cascade Locks.
Printed across the masthead is: "Opening Of The Cascade Locks" with a very patriotic & colorful masthead featuring an eagle with flags.

All four pages are lithographed in beautiful color, the full ftpg. showing the locks, with pages 2 & 3 showing related scenes including the town of Warrenton, Oregon and some buildings, page 2 showing the city of The Dalles, and the back page showing the city of Portland & the manufacturing district of  Willamette Falls, with Mt. St. Helens in the background (see).

There are some wear holes to this issue, most near the margins & the spine, some affecting the prints. There are two old tape mends near the top of the front page. A very unusual & extremely displayable special edition.