In the 1880s, stacks of cordwood and bushels of potatoes lined the docks of Corbett Landing. This riverside steamboat landing and railroad whistle stop served early settlers as a shipping and receiving station for surplus produce and the hand-split fuel used by wood-burning paddlewheelers. Even before the turn of the century, settlers were drawn to these rich farmlands high above the Columbia's steep, picturesque bluffs. Cabins and barns were raised on the windswept hillsides, but isolated homesteaders still gathered on the river by Corbett Landing for commerce, news, companionship, or support in crises. Construction of the Historic Columbia River Highway (1813-1915) established Corbett as a permanent hilltop community. During the 1920s and 30s, fields of daffodils, gladioluses, and lilies attracted hundreds of Portlanders to Corbett each spring and summer to gaze at a swaying rainbow of colors. Today, most busy travelers bypass Corbett on Interstate 84, and the community has settled down to become a quiet respite from the turmoil of the city.