Washougal, Washington
Population: 8,595
Located in Clark County
Welcome to historic Washougal. This small community is located on the Washington side of the Columbia River and its lowlands and famous prairie are situated on the west entrance to the scenic Columbia River Gorge. Motorists who approach Washougal on the Lewis & Clark Highway from the west are impressed with the majestic display of Mt. Hood rising above the Cascade Mountains supported by the columnar cliffs that signal the gateway of the Gorge and the great river of the west that reflects its view. This setting of natural beauty has inspired many an explorer, both old and new. It can be accurately stated that Washougal is the "crossroads to discovery" in the Pacific Northwest. Shortly after Capt. Robert Gray, a Boston fur trader, discovered the mouth of the Columbia River in May of 1792, the famed British explorer George Vancouver traveled to the region to verify Gray's discovery. In October of 1792, Vancouver directed a young Lieutenant named William Broughton to lead a party of men in a long boat up the Columbia and to explore its head waters. Broughton came as far as present day Washougal and landed near the east end of Reed Island. He named Mt. Hood after a British admiral and Point Vancouver after his commanding officer. Broughton incorrectly assumed the head waters of the Columbia originated from Mt. Hood. In reality, the river originates some 1,000 miles to the north and east in Canada, but it would be 18 years later before the entire river was charted by another famed British explorer named David Thompson. Captain Gray's discovery of the Columbia opened trade between Europeans and Chinook Indians who lived along the lower Columbia between the Cascade region to the river's mouth. U.S., British, Spanish and Russian fur traders bartered for sea otter and beaver skins in the late 1700's. Then, another important group of explorers visited the region in 1805-1806, but this group came from the east, which marked the first cross-continental expedition. These famed explorers were Meriwether Lewis & William Clark. The Corps of Discovery was impressed with the fertile valley located near Washougal. In fact, when they finally reached the Pacific Coast and conducted their historic vote on selecting their winter camp site, the three viable options considered were the Clatsop area near Astoria-OR, the north bank near Chinook-WA, and the fertile valley near the Sandy and Washougal Rivers. But, because the Corps had reached the Pacific in late November, they did not have much time to construct a winter fort before the cold weather set in, therefore they chose the Clatsop region because of the abundance of big game and its view of the Pacific--and they hoped to make contact with a fur trading ship to get word back to President Jefferson about the success of their mission.
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