The Columbian from Vancouver, Washington • 3

LI 1 fcv flu Columbian Thursday July 21 IW4 ZCC 3 NEIGHBORS "Clark County History" Is running la the Neighbors section of The Colombia! every Thursday until mid-October featuring a different community each week The stories appeared originally in a Colombian special section in 1988 They are being reprinted in connection with the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the county todogj Washougal claims the first US settlement and school north of the Columbia River plus other notable pioneer events By BOB BECK The Columbian Washougal is indeed a city of historical firsts It is site of the first settlement of American pioneers in the present state of Washington It lays claim to the first white child bora to American settlers in Washington i It was in Washougal that the British first laid claim to this area 13 years before Lewis and Clark paddled down the Columbia River and camped near the mouth of the Washougal River And Washougal claims the first public school operated north of the Columbia River i However none of these people truly was first for the Washougal area was thickly settled by an Indian civilization many centuries before white people came Explorers told of complex villages along the lower Washougal River in which the Indians lived in circular wooden houses Archaeological discoveries have proved the Indians of Washougal were not nomadic wanderers but permanent residents who lived primarily on roots salmon and berries and who ranged far afield to trade with other tribes This photograph shows gal's Main Street in 1918 Started with Broughton The name Washougal believed to mean small rocks or gravel first appeared in 1 81 1 This area was known as La Prairie du The or Tea Prairie named by Air traders who stopped there to pick a form of wild mint that became a substitute for tea It was into this prairie" that the first settlement of American pioneers in Washington were to build their homes In 1844 a party composed of George Bush a mulatto and Mr and Mrs Michael Simmons built a cabin there -f in iiiiio -iM v'NMIfH ground by running a school during the winter of 185253 The present city of Washougal was founded by JJSC Durgan (also spelled Dur-gin) who arrived in the area in 1854 and took up a donation land claim Twenty Jlveyears latex in partnership with Capt Lewis Love of Portland Durgan had the town platted on 20 acres he had purchased from Richard Ough another pioneer When the merchants at Parkersville saw the new town rising they moved their operations to Washougal and by the summer of 1880 Parkersville was little more than a Recorded history of Washougal begins )ct 29 1782 when Lt William Robert Broughton who had sailed up the Columbia -by order of Capt George Vancouver planted the flag of Great Britain on the shore just east of the city In the fall of 1805 Lewis and Clark camped near the mouth of the Washougal (They named it the Seal river for the large pumbov-of these marine animals observed there) The name Washougal believed to mean small rocks or gravel first appeared in 1811 Three young explorers from Astoria made a trip upriver to the Cascades and camped at the Washougal River One of them Alexander Ross wrote in his journal that they had passed Johnston's (now Lady) Island and stayed the night at Beginning at the eastern edge of present -Washougal and extending three miles along the Columbia is a vast prairie that was to play an important part in the United claim to what was to become the state of Washington In November 1847 Gibbons who had driven his cattle along the north bank of the Columbia from The Dalles after having crossed the Great Plains settled near the mouth of the creek that bears his nameThere he built a cabin and planted crops Olympia on July 6 1931 at the age of 86 Meanwhile more settlers were streaming down the Columbia River Among them was David Parker who took up a homestead next to the present Port of Camas-Washougal marina and founded the community of Parkersville This was a thriving little community in its day with a number of business buildings but it was to disappear completely when the present city of Washougal was founded about one mile to the east Another early settler and one whose descendants help populate the city of Washougal today was Joseph Gibbons Child born On April 14 1845 Christopher Columbus Simmons was born believed to be the first American child bom north of the Columbia River Throngs of Indians attended the christening of the baby and the Indians named him Kickapoos or the white seagull The following October Bush and the Simmonses left Washougal for Puget Sound where they founded the city of Tumwater Christopher lived a long life dying in memory Among the earliest businessmen of the new town of Washougal were HJL Carpenter who moved his general store from Parkersville and Fritz Braun Braun had started a hotel at Parkersville but tore down the structure and rebuilt it at Washougal which he saw had a brighter ftiture School opened From 1848 to 1853 Washington was still considered part of the Oregon Territory There were several school districts organized north of the Columbia River However none of them actually operated public schools until Washougal broke Miners mill mark Washougal history Woolen mill mines and broncos enliven history of most upriver community opened in 1930 relying on players driving longer distances from the VancouverPortland area and elsewhere After World War II port development became a popular topic A marina became a popular spot for pleasure boat owners and in 1968 the new 320-acre Port of Camas-Washougal industrial park was dedicated The port at Washougal now is home to 28 industries employing about 800 persons In the 1960s relocation of the state highway on the south side of the city was major news But the most sensational event of the post-war years probably was the 1970 Sky River Rock Festival which attracted about 20000 youths to property north of the city Today growth problems dominate discussion at City Hall The current community celebration called Rushing Water Family Day is a reminder of Washougal's key location on the Columbia River near its junction with the Washougal River (The 1994 celebration is this Saturday) In earlier years prune growing was a leading activity in the area near Washougal as in other parts of the county The opening of a good highway along the north bank of the Columbia River and the boom in auto travel were a big boost for Washougal By the late 1920s Vancouver and Portland residents were picking summer home sites along the Washougal River The highway had been routed along Street and this developed as a new commercial strip rivaling the old downtown on Street Orchard Hills golf course was The Pendleton Woolen Mills owned by the Bishop family has been a Washougal fixture for more than eight decades and is the leading industry with 300 employees Today the mill manufactures blankets fabric for men and womenli wear and operates a mill store Construction of the first mill started in 1910 two years after the Spokane Portland Seattle Rail- way was completed but the first operator failed The mill was leased about 1913 to the Bishop family which purchased the plant for $8000 in 1915 from stockholders of a Vancouver bank The cowboy aspect of the city stems mainly from a rodeo which was initiated shortly after World War II and continued for a number of years By TED VAN ARSDOL Tho Columbian i An aura of the old West of Indians cowboys and mining pervades the history of Washougal giving it a distinctive flavor in Clark County In the 1890s and a little later miners were seeking precious metals in the foothills of the Cascade mountains near Washougal Teamsters hauled supplies from Washougal to the mines An Indian link for the city is the famous Pendleton blanket prized by the native Americans and others since the early 1900s FILESTIm I These people lined up for a picture in front of Fritz Braun's building in Washougal on Feb 18 1888 want to annex a big area north of the city so developers can build numerous additional residences The city claimed 4764 in 1990 and 5190 in 1993 And now Washougal city officials cnnoimn 50 Years Has Been Fitting Clark County With Work Western Boots (GUESS IT KINDA SHOWS) yj MUTTER DOUBLED BOOTS' 2333 nfsi? nsmjsm UWwcnrmaooTi BOOT BOOTS: Georgia Boot K- -IN- yij BATTLE GROUND SUN 10-4 SAT 9-6 M-F CLARK COUNTY'S BOOT STORE UFFALO West Coast Scappoose Oregon BOOT COMPANY SkiMlBIS jzEZsi i an mmm eased EgfajimLaoiu'giiieflia.