Sandy River Bridge Historical Marker

On Oct. 30, 1792, off the point in the Columbia River where the Sandy empties its waters, the boat crew from the H.M.S. Chatham (Vancouver’s Voyages) were the first white men to sight the snow-clad peak that Lt. Wm. R. Broughton named Mt. Hood in honor of the British Navy.  He called the stream Barings River.  Later, in November 1805, Lewis and Clark called it the Quicksand River.  Still later, by common use it became known as the Sandy River.