On July 2, 1908, whistles sounded at every factory and manufacturing plant in the city of Vancouver when the Railroad Bridge — a mile down river from today's Interstate 5 Bridge — was opened over the Columbia River. Prior to the bridge's construction, rail cars had to be loaded onto ferries in Kalama and floated to the Oregon shore.
Completion of the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway that same year brought increased population to Clark County and a boom to downtown Vancouver. Horses, buggies, and carriages rolled along Main Street and livery stables were a common sight.
