Clark County

Clark County County

Clark County was the first county to be established in Washington, named after William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was created by the provisional government of Oregon Territory on August 20, 1845, and at that time covered the entire present-day state.

Mapped Location

Clark County: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.

Information

General information on Clark County

Feature Type: County
County Seat: City of Vancouver
Established: Wednesday, August 20, 1845

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Clark County

A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named

Name	Description
Clark County	Official
Vancouver district	Historical · Original name of county from August 20, 1845 to December 18, 1845
Vancouver County	Historical · Official name from December 19, 1845 to September 3, 1849

Origin Notes and History of Clark County

References to Clark County that document the origin of its place name

The naming of counties within the limits of the present state began under the Provisional Government of Oregon with an attempt to name two counties north of the Columbia River in honor of the explorers, Lewis and Clark. The bill for organizing these counties was introduced by Mr. McClure of the committee on districts on the 12th of August, 1845. The bill passed the legislative assembly, but with a rider attached substituting the name Vancouver in place of Lewis and Clark, and defining one district instead of two counties. In this form, it was approved on the 20th and provided that

“All that portion of the Territory of Oregon lying north of the middle of the main channel of the Columbia River, shall be and the same is hereby declared a separate district under the name and style of Vancouver district.”

At the next session of the assembly, attempt was made to eliminate the name Vancouver. On the 18th of December, 1845, Mr. Hill presented a petition praying that the name of Vancouver district be changed to that of Clark and that said district be divided. Later in the day, he presented also two bills; the one to change Vancouver district to that of Clark, the other providing for the creation of a Lewis county. Immediate action was taken upon these bills with the result that upon the following day the bill creating Lewis county was passed, as was also the bill substituting in all cases the word “county” in place of the word “district”; but the bill to change the name of Vancouver district was indefinitely postponed. There were now north of the Columbia River two counties named Lewis and Vancouver. The name Vancouver, however did not grow in favor and on September 3, 1849, it was definitely enacted, “That the name of the county of Vancouver be and hereby changed to Clark.”

Charles W. Smith in The Naming of Counties in the State of Washington

Smith, Charles W., The Naming of Counties in the State of Washington, Bulletin of the University of Washington, 1919 | The Naming of Counties in the State of Washington

CLARK COUNTY, oldest county in the State of Washington. It was named in honor of Captain Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1803 to 1806. The addition of the letter 'e' to the name has given rise to much inquiry and discussion. The blunder is one of ignorance, but is probably now too deeply embedded in law, literature and custom to be completely corrected. The question was ably discussed by Frederick V. Holman in his presidential address before the Oregon Historical Society, December 18, 1909. (Oregon Historical Quarterly, Volume XI., pages 8-6.) On August 20, 1845, Governor George Abernethy approved a law by the Provisional Legislature of the Territory of Oregon creating Vancouver District out of that part of Oregon lying north of the Columbia River. The same authority, on December 21, 1845, subdivided the vast area by creating the western portion into Lewis County. Vancouver District was then changed to Vancouver County. On September 8, 1849, the Oregon Territorial Legislature passed a law, Section 1 of which briefly enacted "That the name of the county of Vancouver be, and hereby is, changed to Clark." In the law as printed the name is in italics and is without the final e. Washington Territory was created by Act of Congress, dated March 2, 1858. The Oregon Territorial Legislature on January 3, 1854, passed an act to release Clark County from the payment of certain taxes due to the Territory of Oregon. This legal farewell used the name without the final e. The new Territory of Washington began the blunder at once. No law was passed changing the name, but the journals of the first legislative session, 1854, always referred to Clarke County. The first newspapers, such as the Columbian, Pioneer, and Pioneer and Democrat, all used the final e in Clarke County. Territorial laws on mentioning the name of this county used the final e. While attention has often been called to the blunder in late years no effort at legal correction has apparently been made.

Edmond S. Meany in Origin of Washington Geographic Names

Meany, Edmond S., Origin of Washington Geographic Names, 1923 University of Washington, pp 48-49 | Origin of Washington Geographic Names

Related Catalog Titles

A Bibliography for Clark County, County

Vancouver on the Columbia an illustrated history by Ted Van Arsdol, Sheila Guenther, Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce (Wash)

160 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 28 cm

CIRC [ 1 ]

local histories · 1st ed · Windsor Publications, Northridge, Calif., 1986
Related Catalog Items: Clark County · City of Vancouver

Political Boundaries

Last updated: 2017-06-30