The Vanport Flood ( Images of America )

Why Is Vanport’s Story Still Important Today?

The book Vanport (Images of America) by Zita Podany offers a compelling visual history of Vanport, Oregon—a city that briefly thrived during World War II and was destroyed by the 1948 Columbia River flood. Part of Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series, the book presents a collection of photographs and captions that chronicle the rise and fall of this once-vibrant community.

Vanport was established in 1942 to house workers for the Kaiser Shipyards, accommodating over 40,000 residents in a city built in just over a year. It became Oregon’s second-largest city at the time. However, on May 30, 1948, a section of the dike along the Columbia River collapsed, leading to a devastating flood that submerged the city. The flood not only destroyed the city but also displaced its largely African American population, leaving them homeless.

Nestled in the floodplain between North Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, a housing project was built to help house World War II shipyard workers. Its very name, Vanport, is derived from Vancouver and Portland. When the United States entered the war, the demand for ships and for workers to build those ships became a huge priority. Workers were recruited from all corners of the United States. Portland had a serious lodging shortage, so much so that these workers lived in cars, tents, parks, and whatever shelter could be found. Vanport, built in a little over a year to house them, was a city that did not sleep. In its heyday, Vanport was the second-largest city in Oregon with a population of over 40,000 residents. It was a city with many firsts. It was a city that touched many lives in a very short period of time. And on May 30, 1948, it was a city that disappeared just as quickly as it came into existence, leaving a legacy that will not soon be forgotten.

📚 Interested in diving deeper into Vanport’s history?
You can find the book here: https://amzn.to/4kGntmz

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