CATHLAMET — A proud community said “happy birthday” to itself by flying the flag.

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Website of the town of Cathlamet: www.townofcathlamet.com

And that flag is a new one, in the red and black colors of Wahkiakum High School featuring an eagle, which is apt, because Bald Eagle Days is the town’s annual festival held in July.

Cathlamet celebrated its 115 years of existence as an incorporated town with cake and a party Friday. About 40 people attended.

Pull Quote

‘Cathlamet celebrates its heritage and continues to provide a unique welcome to visitors and residents alike.’

David Olson

Mayor of Cathlamet

The event was an opportunity for Mayor David Olson and “first lady” Dayle Olson to dress in period garb. Joining them, wearing a splendid long dress and fashionable hat was Tiffany Hartman, museum coordinator for the Wahkiakum County Historical Museum and Bill Peterson, board member of the Wahkiakum County Historical Society, who dressed as an old-style cowboy.

‘Honor’

Olson noted that it is a great honor to be mayor of “this wonderful place.” He noted that Cathlamet is one of the oldest established communities in the old Washington Territory, pre-dating any settlement on Puget Sound. It was settled in 1846 by James Birnie, a doughty Scotsman late of the Hudson’s Bay Company, renowned for his hospitality to settlers and travelers.

The adoption of the new flag with its distinctive design was among the last actions of the prior mayor, Dale Jacobson, in December. Students and others at Wahkiakum High School were among artists consulted when it was created.

Origins

Cathlamet is the only incorporated town in Wahkiakum County and has been the county seat since 1854. It was home to the Kathlamet people, whose village once numbered several hundred Native American residents. Wahkiakum was the name of a chief and Kathlamet was a Chinookan word meaning “rocky shore.” Explorer Lt. William Broughton chronicled their existence in the late 1700s when retracing Capt. Robert Gray’s earlier route.

The tribe was visited by members of the Lewis and Clark Voyage of Discovery when arriving and departing in 1805-06. The memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, who visited in mid-century as an army captain, mention how diseases like measles and smallpox devastated Native populations in the region.

Historical records — highlighted in a recent city proclamation — note that in January 1907 the Wahkiakum County commissioners received a petition for the town of Cathlamet to be incorporated, describing its boundaries, and signed by 60 electors out of a total population of 312.

After a public notice was published in the Columbia River Sun, the county board approved the petition. An election to determine if the town should incorporate was held Feb. 4, 1907. The vote was 75-5 in favor, so on Feb. 11 the town was declared a fourth-class Washington city.

A.F. Cooper was elected as the first mayor and C.H. Warren was elected treasurer. Council members elected were J.R. Burke, M. Gorman, F.A. Brown, A.D. Birnie and John T. Nassa.

Mayor Cooper reportedly declared the policy of his administration would be “unequivocally in favor of law and order.” The City Council immediately appointed of a police judge. They discussed using gasoline instead of coal oil in streetlights and passed an ordinance prohibiting “loud and boisterous talk” on the streets of Cathlamet after 7 p.m.

Prosperity

The town grew, though not hugely, according to an essay by the Washington state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, which highlighted its fishing and logging hey days, when the Warren and Waterford canneries and the Crown Willamette sawmill boosted its prosperity. The ferry across the Columbia River to Westport, which began with wooden boats around 1925, was one key to how the community thrived.

More modern accomplishments of the town include a visit by President Kennedy and the kudos brought by the many accomplishments of local resident Julia Butler Hansen, the second woman elected to Congress. Her son, David Hansen of Vancouver, is vice president of Wahkiakum County Historical Society.

‘Support’

Mayor Olson’s proclamation of the anniversary summarized its flavor. “After 115 years, the town of Cathlamet proudly retains its small-town character and reveres its early history and long-time families while continuing to support local business and attract new residents from metropolitan areas.”

Its mission statement reads: “Cathlamet is committed to providing credible leadership and quality services to the community through transparency of its processes, good stewardship of public resources, respect for the town’s heritage, and valuing its diverse citizenry.”

Olson — who bought a derby hat for the occasion — delighted in leading celebrations. “Today Cathlamet celebrates its heritage and continues to provide a ‘unique welcome’ to visitors and residents alike, just as James Birnie did in 1846,” he said.