Native American legends taught that the falls were placed there by a great god so that their people would have fish to eat all winter . Many local tribes built villages in the area because of the abundance of salmon that could only pass the falls at certain water levels . Native Americans still harvest Pacific Lamprey at the falls each year in the early summer . Willamette Falls is a traditional fishing site for the Warm Springs Indians as well as other tribes . European fur traders became aware of the falls in 1810 . John McLoughlin established a land claim at the falls in the name of the Hudson 's Bay Company in 1829 . Oregon City was established in 1842 near the east end of the falls . The town of Linn City was founded on the western shore one year later in 1843 . The two towns competed economically , vying for the lucrative steamboat traffic and the trade it generated . With the falls representing the end of the line for boat traffic , river boat captains were forced to choose a side of the river on which they would dock to unload their passengers and goods ; some of which would continue their upriver journey on winding portage toll roads . Competition between the towns was fierce until the Great Flood of 1862 . Oregon City was inundated and badly damaged , but the unluckier Linn City was obliterated
Great Flood of 1862
Great Flood of 1862
Willamette Falls