OTIC text:
Jonsrud Viewpoint provides a spectacular overlook of the Barlow Road’s route from Mount Hood to the Sandy River. Three interpretive signs describe the route, the emigrants’ efforts to cross those last mountains and rivers, and the Barlow Road toll station that was operated here.       
MARKER TEXT: THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE
The route of the Oregon Trail in Oregon changed many times during the emigration era. Early emigrants braved the wild Columbia River, and later, many chose to trek across the desolate Columbia Plateau from Pendleton to The Dalles before turning to the river for the final leg of the journey.

After Samuel K. Barlow opened a toll road over the Cascade Mountains in 1846, emigrants were offered yet another alternative that avoided the Columbia altogether. The Barlow Road ascended the south glandl of Mt. Hood and descended the watersheds of the Zigzag and Sandy Rivers.

Emigrants entered the valley below by following a long ridge to the east, called the “Devil's Backbone,” and then, descending the steep incline to ford the river. They climbed the hill and passed through what is today the CIty of Sandy, towards what P.V. Crafword, emigrants of 1851, called, “the great WIllamette valley.”

This viewpoint is named for the Jonsrud family of Sandy, Oregon. T.G. Jonsrud and his wife Kari settled west of Sandy in 1877. Their son Robert, a blacksmith and sawmill owner, acquired this land in the early 1900s. In 1922, Robert and his wife Tillie built the beautiful Prairie-Style house across the road and cleared this viewpoint.

Philip Jonsrud, Robert’s son, donated the viewpoint to the City of Sandy in 1984....“We have arrived at the conclusion that the much-dreaded place this world calls “hell” is no more the be dreaded, for on our trip across the continent we have safely passed through “The Devil's Gate” and witnessed a great many of his works while reviewing his grand estate, and at last, after arriving away here in Oregon, we have had the exquisite pleasure of driving our team over the old man’s backbone. That is, “The Devil’s Backbone.” Here we will leave the old man’s carcass to be wet with the mix of an Oregon winter. 
--E.W. Conyers
September 22, 1852
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THE SANDY RIVER CROSSING
During the covered wagon era, thousands of Oregon Trail Emigrants reached the valley below on the Barlow Road by descending the south side of the long east ridged called the “Devil’s Backbone.” Samuel James made this descent in 1850 and “let the wagons down by ropes.” Once down, weary emigrants, wagons, and livestock forded the river-- accidents were common.

“Came on to the crossing of the Sandy, a very hard stream to cross, as the current is very rapid and the bed of the stream full of large smooth rocks and very deep. Mr. H got on one of the mules to cross and I on the other. When he got to the deepest part, his poor mule stumbled and fell, throwing Mr. H off on a large rock and the mule on one of his legs, so that he could not move. There happened to be a man wading at the same time, who came to his relief as soon as he could. Mr. H got loose but it was some time before they got the frightened mule out. I was very much alarmed. I thought that Mr. H would certainly be drowned or seriously hurt, but he sustained no injury but a bruise on his leg, his pants being cut on the rock. My heart seemed to turn over when I saw him fall! He was soaked up to the waist. He emptied his boots, which were full of water, and walked 8 miles in this condition.”
--Esther Belle McMillan Hanna
September 14th, 1852
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THE FIRST HOUSE WEST OF THE CASCADES
“Traveled over the backbone to the last crossing of the Sandy… and camped near the first dwelling house we found in the Cascades. Here we found like civilization, cock crowing and dogs barking, corn and potatoes growing all which seemed to us like home.”
--Philip Condit
September 15, 1854

The trek westward on the Oregon Trail was arduous: wagons broke down, animals dies of exhaustion, and supplies were depleted. Early emigrants found few permanent trading posts and often relied on trade with Indians for survival. During the 1850’s, itinerant traders from the Willamette Valley wandered the trail to supply emigrants. Later, entrepreneurs like the Revenue family established permanent trading posts along the emigrant route.Francis and Lydia Revenue emigrated from Illinois with their young daughter Mary in 1853. After fording the Sandy River, Francis reported to have said, “The cattle are so poor - they badly need rest. There’s game here in the forest and fish in the river, so we’ll winter here.” The Revenues secured a 320-acre land claim on the south bank of the Sandy and established a trading post which operated until 1862. For many years the Revenue place was the first settlement encountered by weary travelers on the Barlow Road west of the Cascades.

The Sandy area’s first school was built on the Revenue’s land in 1868, in part, to educate the eight children born after emigration to Oregon. John, the eldest Revenue son later recalled, “I yarded the logs for that first school to the site when I was 14 and attended the school three months a year until I was 19.” In the mid-1870’s, Francis Revenue purchased land in the new village of Sandy where he built a store and hotel. Most of the level land visible across the river to the east is part of the Revenues’ Donation Land Claim.
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MOUNT HOOD AND SANDY RIVER VALLEY FROM JONSRUD VIEWPOINT
Jonsrud Viewpoint is a photographer’s paradise! Early morning fog fills the river valley, while the sunrise tints the sky with shades of pink and orange behind the majestic mountain. Evening alpenglow lights up the mountain, with an occasional full moon rising over Mount Hood’s shoulder. Springtime brings the lime green of the hardwoods leafing out. Autumn colors and a fresh dusting of snow stand out in the fall. Occasionally, the clouds obliterate the view or tease you with a rainbow to the river. The scenery is always changing at Jonsrud Viewpoint; by day, by season, and by weather. IT is one of the most photographed spots in Oregon. Come back for another look and another memorable photo.

Check out the peaks and valleys that make up this panorama: All peaks to the left of Mt. Hood are within the 98,272 acre Bull Run Watershed Management Unit. The clear, clean Bull Run River originates in the Bull Run Lake and not from the glaciers on Mt. Hood. It supplies Portland and some of Sandy’s drinking water.

Spy the fire lookout on Hickman Butte. A lookout monitors the lightning and fires in the Mount Hood National Forest during the summer and fall.

Zigzag Mountain, to the right, is also the name for the glacier and river that runs down the mountain.

Cedar Creek flows into the Sandy River, and to the lower right of the “oxbow” below. Next to the large meadow is a fish hatchery, where salmon, swimming from the Pacific Ocean, return to spawn.

Larch Mountain, the large round mountain to the far left, is a popular, viewpoint destination showcasing five Cascade peaks: Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainer, and Mt. Jefferson.