Sense of Place: Deep Dive: Hidden History Underwater

with Archer Mayo, Diver & Artist

On a Sunday morning in December 1958, Kenneth and Barbara Martin and their three young daughters set out from Portland for a day in the Gorge. They never returned home, and as the decades passed, their fate became Oregon's oldest missing-persons case. White Salmon resident Archer Mayo, a search-and-recovery diver, spent seven years trying to crack the case — and in 2025, he succeeded. During his long search, he gained a uniquely up-close look at an almost forgotten wonder: the abandoned navigation locks near the town of Cascade Locks. Join Archer for a multimedia presentation about the Martins, his dedicated quest for answers, and the world-class engineering marvel that lies below the surface of the Columbia.

About the Speaker

Archer Mayo is an artist, diver, and self-taught historian who has called the Columbia River Gorge home since 2000. He holds an MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design and has held multiple artist residencies, creating sculpture that explores how time and water shape sunken vessels.

Archer came to the Gorge for the windsurfing, but in 2017 he began diving the Columbia and found a new fascination beneath its surface. A year later he learned of the Martins, a family of five who vanished in the Gorge in 1958. Seven years of research and diving followed, which culminated in finding the missing family in the long-submerged navigation locks at Cascade Locks.

Once the apex of civil engineering in the 1890s, the locks had been largely forgotten. Through his search, Archer became a self-taught expert on the structure and fell in love with it, with the story of its forgotten existence, and with what it reveals about the complicated ways humans have interacted with the mighty Columbia River.

Archer’s blend of creativity, curiosity, and technical skill lets him uncover and tell extraordinary stories.

IMPORTANT TICKETING INFO:

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• Doors open at 6, show starts promptly at 7, arrive early to get the best seats, drinks, and peruse the art gallery.
• For sold out shows: a waitlist will be available at the door starting at 6 PM.