McGowan Pacific County, Washington
McGOWAN: Early salmon cannery settlement between Chinook Point and Point Ellice on the Columbia River. The site is one of the camps used by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805. It was also a "mission grant" taken by Catholic missionary Father Louis Joseph Lionnet in 1848. Father Lionnet established the Stellam's (Star of the Sea) mission and baptized, buried and married Indian and white residents between 1848-1860. Patrick J. McGowan paid Father Lionnet for the land and then filed a Donation Land Claim for the site in 1853. The claim ad joined Washington Hall's newly created town of Chenookville. McGowan operated a business in Portland for many years before moving to his claim permanently around 1861. From the start McGowan engaged in salmon salting and established the earliest salmon packing company in the state. McGowan changed over to canning salmon around 1884 when he admitted his four sons as partners and changed the name of the business to McGowan and Sons. The settlement that grew up around company holdings was known as McGowan in honor of the owner. A post office was established on March 7, 1901, and continued in operation until April 15, 1939. In 1904 McGowan built and paid for a church near his cannery. The church was dedicated as St. Mary's Catholic Church on May 20, 1906, and is still a north shore Columbia River landmark.
Mapped Location
McGowan: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.
Information
General information on McGowan
- Feature Type: Place
Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for McGowan
A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| McGowan | Official |
Origin Notes and History of McGowan
References to McGowan that document the origin of its place name
Mc GOWANS, a town on the Columbia River in the southwestern part of Pacific County, named in honor of P. J. Mc Gowan, a pioneer settler. (Postmaster, in Names MSS., Letter 55.)
Pacific County
- Balevile (historical)
- Bay Center
- Bay Center Junction
- Bedford
- Breakers
- Brigham City (historical)
- Brooklyn
- Bruceport
- Burt
- Camp Brix (historical)
- Chinook
- Davis
- Dexter by the Sea
- East Raymond
- Elk Creek
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- Globe
- Heather
- Hilda
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- Klipsan Beach
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- City of Long Beach
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- City of South Bend
- Stringtown
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- Swem
- Tokeland
- Upper Salmon Junction
- Venice
- Willapa
Political Boundaries
Last updated: 2026-09-27