Skamania County County
The county was founded in 1854 and derives its name from the Cascades Chinook word sk'mániak, meaning "swift waters".
Mapped Location
Skamania County: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.
Information
General information on Skamania County
- Feature Type: County
- County Seat: City of Stevenson
- Established: Thursday, March 9, 1854
Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Skamania County
A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Skamania County | Official |
Origin Notes and History of Skamania County
References to Skamania County that document the origin of its place name
SKAMANIA COUNTY, organized by the Washington Territorial Legislature on March 9, 1854. The name is an Indian word meaning "swift water" and was "probably applied to the troubled waters of the Columbia River". (Henry Gannett: Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States, page 284.) A town in the county bearing the same name was formerly known as Butler until the residents petitioned for a change. (L. C. Gilman, in Names MSS. Letter 590.)
Related Catalog Titles
A Bibliography for Skamania County, County
An early history of Spirit Lake & the Toutle River Valley by Leland G. Jackson, Trudy Howarth
Authored by Leland G. Jackson and Trudy Howarth, An Early History of Spirit Lake & the Toutle River Valley chronicles the pioneer settlement, timber extraction, and rugged recreation that defined the remote wilderness surrounding Mount St. Helens before the 1980 cataclysmic eruption. The book draws on historical photographs, diaries, and local records to document the daring homesteaders, early cabin builders, and resilient loggers who carved out a living in the shadow of the active volcano. Through these preserved vignettes, the text captures the idyllic, rustic era of lakeside resorts and mountain trails that existed prior to the mountain's dramatic reconfiguration. A keen insight drawn from the work is how human history in volcanic zones is defined by a collective, deliberate amnesia regarding natural hazards; by building permanent communities and thriving tourist hubs directly beneath a dormant geological giant, early settlers demonstrated an irrepressible human tendency to mistake temporary mountain stability for a permanent guarantee.
v, 113 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm
CIRC [ 1 ]
Skamania County
- Carson
- Cook
- Cruzatt
- Ericson View Tracts
- Fort Rains
- Harmony Falls Landing (historical)
- Home Valley
- Hood
- Hood View Tracts
- Mill A
- Moffetts Hot Springs
- Molfait Tracts
- City of North Bonneville
- Northwoods
- Prindle
- Saint Cloud
- Saint Martins Hot Springs
- Skamania
- Stabler
- City of Stevenson
- Tire Junction
- Underwood
- Underwood Heights
- Willard
Political Boundaries
Last updated: 2017-06-29