Prior to European arrival in the 19th century, Sauvie Island was the ancestral home to the Multnomah band of the Chinook Tribe.
There were approximately 15 villages on the island, hosting a total of 2,000 people who built and resided in cedar log houses 30 yards (27 m) long by 12 yards (11 m) wide.

1792 – British Lieutenant William Broughton in George Vancouver's expedition explores the island and names the northern tip "Warrior Point" after being greeted offshore by 23 canoes of armed Multnomah.

October 29 – Mount Hood was named on October 29, 1792, as Lt.
Broughton observed its peak from Belle Vue Point at the southern tip of Sauvie Island during his travels up the Columbia River, writing A very high, snowy mountain now appeared rising beautifully conspicuous in the midst of an extensive tract of low or moderately elevated land (location of today's Vancouver, Washington) lying S 67 E., and seemed to announce a termination to the river.
Lt.
Broughton named the mountain after British admiral Samuel Hood.

November 4, 1805 – The Lewis and Clark expedition lands, names it "Wapato Island" after the abundance of Broadleaf arrowhead plants, which are also known as "Indian potato" and were a major foodstuff for indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest.

During the next decades the natives weather outbreaks of smallpox, syphilis, measles and tuberculosis.

1829 - A horrifying epidemic of a fever known as "the ague" sweeps across the land.

1832 - So much of the native population has died in the epidemic, they are nearly extinct; Dr. McLoughlin of the Hudson's Bay Company removes survivors and burns settlements.

1834 – American Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth builds and occupies Fort William, a small trading post, to compete with the British; abandoned 1836.

c. 1836 – Hudson's Bay Company establishes dairies on the island, managed by French-Canadian employee Laurent Sauvé (after whom the island is now named).

1843 – The opening of the Oregon Trail makes it possible for American settlers to come to the island from the Midwest.

1851 – Mouth of Willamette post office is established; renamed Souvies Island the following year.

1858 – James Francis Bybee builds Bybee–Howell House.
The structure was added to the NRHP in 1974, and is part of Howell Territorial Park.

1889 – Warrior Rock Lighthouse established at Warrior Point.

1920s – during prohibition, cargo ships from Canada would offload liquor to motorboats in international waters off the Columbia River.
The motorboats ran back up the river to Sauvie Island, meeting bootleggers there.

1930s – The Army Corps of Engineers builds flood-control dikes.

1940s – Sauvie Island Wildlife Area acquired by the state of Oregon.

November 29, 1943 – Sauvie Island Conservation District is formed by unanimous vote.

December 30, 1950 – Sauvie Island Bridge opens; Sauvie Island Ferry, the last ferry in the Portland metropolitan area, closes.

2006 – Multnomah County begins construction of new Sauvie Island Bridge.

2008 – New Sauvie Island Bridge opens with a parade and a performance by the Oregon Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps.
Prior to European arrival in the 19th century, Sauvie Island was the ancestral home to the Multnomah band of the Chinook Tribe. There were approximately 15 villages on the island, hosting a total of 2,000 people who built and resided in cedar log houses 30 yards (27 m) long by 12 yards (11 m) wide.
1792 – British Lieutenant William Broughton in George Vancouver's expedition explores the island and names the northern tip "Warrior Point" after being greeted offshore by 23 canoes of armed Multnomah.
October 29 – Mount Hood was named on October 29, 1792, as Lt. Broughton observed its peak from Belle Vue Point at the southern tip of Sauvie Island during his travels up the Columbia River, writing A very high, snowy mountain now appeared rising beautifully conspicuous in the midst of an extensive tract of low or moderately elevated land (location of today's Vancouver, Washington) lying S 67 E., and seemed to announce a termination to the river. Lt. Broughton named the mountain after British admiral Samuel Hood.
November 4, 1805 – The Lewis and Clark expedition lands, names it "Wapato Island" after the abundance of Broadleaf arrowhead plants, which are also known as "Indian potato" and were a major foodstuff for indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest.
During the next decades the natives weather outbreaks of smallpox, syphilis, measles and tuberculosis.
1829 - A horrifying epidemic of a fever known as "the ague" sweeps across the land.
1832 - So much of the native population has died in the epidemic, they are nearly extinct; Dr. McLoughlin of the Hudson's Bay Company removes survivors and burns settlements.
1834 – American Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth builds and occupies Fort William, a small trading post, to compete with the British; abandoned 1836.
c. 1836 – Hudson's Bay Company establishes dairies on the island, managed by French-Canadian employee Laurent Sauvé (after whom the island is now named).
1843 – The opening of the Oregon Trail makes it possible for American settlers to come to the island from the Midwest.
1851 – Mouth of Willamette post office is established; renamed Souvies Island the following year.
1858 – James Francis Bybee builds Bybee–Howell House. The structure was added to the NRHP in 1974, and is part of Howell Territorial Park.
1889 – Warrior Rock Lighthouse established at Warrior Point.
1920s – during prohibition, cargo ships from Canada would offload liquor to motorboats in international waters off the Columbia River. The motorboats ran back up the river to Sauvie Island, meeting bootleggers there.
1930s – The Army Corps of Engineers builds flood-control dikes.
1940s – Sauvie Island Wildlife Area acquired by the state of Oregon.
November 29, 1943 – Sauvie Island Conservation District is formed by unanimous vote.
December 30, 1950 – Sauvie Island Bridge opens; Sauvie Island Ferry, the last ferry in the Portland metropolitan area, closes.
2006 – Multnomah County begins construction of new Sauvie Island Bridge.
2008 – New Sauvie Island Bridge opens with a parade and a performance by the Oregon Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps.
Sauvie Island