At Sotka, Utajärvi, old rocks can be seen next to the former rapids. A rocky formation built in 1777 can also be seen below the Nuojua power plant in Vaala. Hundreds of people once walked along these rocky roads, which have since become hidden by plant life and look so modest in today’s landscape.

Travelling along the Oulujoki river became easier and safer when Oulujoki's rapids were cleared out. River clearing projects were first carried out in Northern Finland in the 1700s, and they continued from the 1800s to the 1900s.

During the clearing work, rocks weighing up to a thousand kilogrammes were lifted out of the river by using ropes or iron chains. Stones were also blasted and the pieces of rock were rolled to the banks of the river by using iron bars. This led to the formation of so-called shore or towing wharfs.

The stony wharfs formed paths up the river along its banks, which helped in transporting the empty boats back. After all, the fully loaded tar boats that travelled to the ports of Oulu had to return inland once they were empty, and this work actually took even longer than the outbound journey, even though the boats floated like cork on the water. Transporting a tar boat from Vaala to Oulu could take about half a day, but the return trip took two to three days, including overnight stays. The Oulujoki river’s countercurrent was simply that strong and the distance so long.

The wharfs were used on the return journeys. While one person walked along the wharf and pulled the boat upstream with a manilla or hemp rope over their shoulder tied to the boat’s bow, at the same time the other prevented the boat from colliding with the rocky wharf by using a long pole. Sometimes a single boat was pulled by more than one person, both men and women alike. Locally, this work was called "rompsiminen".

The wharfs also required continuous maintenance. Ice and logs destroyed the structures and moved rocks around.

It may be difficult for someone in the present day to imagine how much work it was to pull boats in the summer heat and rain, when the rapids were roaring and the rocks underfoot were wet and slippery. The palms of their hands became scabbed over from handling the pole and the rope rubbed the skin of their entire back raw. Their boots would also wear through as they trudged across the rocky shores. Ilmari Kianto has said that he has seen heroes who only had the leg parts of their boots left by the time they got to the top of the last rapids.

Some may have gotten lucky on the way back, and got to tow their boat from a ship and travelled under machine power all the way to Muhos. It is said that there sometimes were up to 30 boats following behind the Laine ship. However, there was still a long way to go to Oulujärvi.

When power plants were built on the Oulujoki river in the 1940s and the water level rose as a result, the wharfs were left underwater. However, some of these major achievements still remain here and there, but they are difficult to get to.

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Sources:

Enbuske, Matti 2010. Pohjois-Pohjanmaan ympäristöhistoria.

Hiltunen, Kaisa 2018. Sotkakosken möljä. Blog post. Available, accessed 19.12.2023: https://tarinoitautajarvelta.blog/2018/06/22/sotkakosken-molja-rompisien-ylavirtaan/

Merilä, Aino 1999. Ala- ja Ylimerilän historiaa vuosilta 1610–1922.

Oulujoki Osakeyhtiö 1954. Entinen Oulujoki – Historiikkia ja muistitietoja.

Photo: A tar boat being pulled upstream along the Oulujoki river. Photo: I. K. Inha, 1898. Otava Publishing Company collection. Historical Picture Collection. The Finnish Heritage Agency.

Production: Rokua UNESCO Global Geopark / Humanpolis Oy, 2023. Implemented as part of the Fascinating Stories as Attraction Factors for the Rokua Geopark area project granted by the Regional Council of the European Union and the State of Finland, granted by the Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia.