September 16, 1964: President Johnson and Prime Minister Pearson Mark Ratification of Columbia River Treaty

U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson traveled to Blaine, Washington on September 16, 1964 to mark the ratification of the Columbia River Treaty (The Oregonian, 17 September 1964).

More than 10,000 Americans and Canadians crowded into the border-straddling Peace Arch International Park, built in 1931 to symbolize 100 years of peace along border, for the meeting.

As a result of the Columbia River Treaty, high-voltage power lines would stretch across central Oregon, connecting the metropolises of Southern California with Columbia River dam generated electricity from Canada, Washington, and Oregon. Dams also made flood control easier, and both countries would share revenues from eleven Columbia River dams in the United States.