About ten of us were given a guided tour by a volunteer guide, Mary Jo. We learned so much! There are at least five main stories to be told, not easy in just a few paragraphs!:
In the the four square block section of downtown, the sidewalks were built over "basements" which would be used by the businesses above, mainly for storage. So the businesses had their own basement which was later connected to the room under the sidewalk. Over time they were all interconnected making tunnels under that four block area.
Back in the 1880s hundreds of Chinese young men (no women) were "enslaved" by the railroad to build its western rail lines. In addition, Pendleton was becoming a major agricultural hub for vast amounts of wheat and wool. The Chinese Exclusion Law of 1882 drove the men away from the railroad camps but many remained who had been providing the stereotypical services such as laundry, cleaning and cooking. However, because of the law, they could not be seen after dark, risking arrest and worse. So they ran their businesses and lived in the tunnels. They also had their opium dens down there.
With all these thirsty men around, saloons and brothels became a thriving industry. There were 18 brothels in the city between 1890 and 1953, when they were shut down. Prohibition started in 1908, driving the saloons and "speak easys" down into the tunnels.
In 1941, as the US geared up for war in the pacific, Pendleton became home to an Air Force base where B-25 pilots were trained, including the men who would later fly as "Doolittle's Raiders". The first unit at the base was the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, known as the "Triple Nickle", an all-black unit charged with "Operation Firefly".
Now here's the part of the story most people, including me, have never heard. From 1944-45 the Japanese launched "balloon bombs", some 9000 of them, from somewhere, presumably Japan, with the intent of reaching and landing on US soil in the northwest, exploding and starting fires. It was job the of the 555th to track these bombs down and put out any fires. This was the beginning of the concept of parachuting into forest fires. Many of these bombs did make it to the US, some as far inland as Nebraska! The existence of these bombs was never made public. There's a one room museum next door telling about the Pendleton Air field.
So, with all these thirsty servicemen around, the saloon and brothel business was booming!
The tour, which lasted about 1.5 hours, took us through the tunnels, the card rooms, the laundry rooms,
the still room, sleeping areas, and more. Then we went outside and climbed a long set of stairs to visit the rooms of the most famous "madam", Stella Darby. There's no restoration here (yet) everything looks just like she left it in 1967.
So, as you can see, we learned a lot! It was a great tour and we highly recommend it!
After a great lunch at Sister's Cafe, we headed home. The temperature is now 104! Home by 6:00.
Total trip miles was about 1400.
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