UNDERGROUND IN PENDLETON

We only drove about 50 miles this morning for our next adventure.  Our home for the next two nights is the Wildhorse Casino RV Resort in Pendleton, Oregon. At first, I thought we were headed for the Indian Tipi Village but Jim turned right instead of left and we have a nice RV site with a grassy area and a shade tree.

This afternoon Kathe and Jim took a tour of the underground tunnels in the city of Pendleton.  For several decades around the turn of the century, there were two towns in Pendleton. One above the soil line for all to see and one below for a chosen few.  This underground town was first used by the Chinese who were not allowed on the streets after dark.  For safety reasons they conducted business underground and dug access tunnels from one business to another.

Tunnels were expanded and added onto until there was a whole city under ground. The tunnels later became very useful for illegal businesses such as brothels, gambling halls, and opium dens.  During Prohibition the tunnels were used to conceal speakeasies with secret rooms and tunnels through which people could flee in the event of a police raid. The cooler temperatures underground later housed a meat market and an ice cream parlor.

At one time there were over 32 card rooms and 18 brothels in Pendleton.  And you thought all this town was known for was the woolen mill!