Population Growth:

1970    1980     1990     2000     2005

 1,254       1,479        4,764         8,595       11,350

Median Ages:  33.9

Major Draw:  Gateway to Columbia River Gorge and the Pendleton Woolen Mills.

Must See:  Capt. William Clark Camp at Cottonwood Beach, Parker's Landing  historic site, Steigerwald Lake Wildlife Refuge.

Schools:  (360) 954-3000, The school district consists of 3 elementary school, 2 middle schools and 2 high school.  You can also go to this page where you will find a complete list of Clark County Schools.  Click on this link for a complete list of all Clark County Public Schools, including address and phone numbers.   The Washougal Schools Foundation is committed to enhancing public education within our community. The Foundation was formed in 2000 by a volunteer group of parents, business leaders and concerned citizens who recognized that the strength of a community begins with a strong public school system. If you are interested in finding out more about this school district  this link will take you directly to the Great Schools site.  This site lists all the schools and allows parents to rate them and leave commits about how well they feel the school performs.  You can also go directly to the School Districts website.

State Recognized Private School:   For a list of all Clark Count State Recognized Private Schools.

Youth Sports:  Washougal and Clark County offer a wide variety of Youth Sports Programs.  Make sure you click the link and check them all out.

Library:  The Washougal library is located at 1661 "C" Street, Washougal, WA 98671 (360) 835-5393.  Their hours of operation are Tues 10:00 - 8:00 and Wed - Sat 10:00 - 6:00. 

Newspaper:  Washougal has a local paper called the Post Record which has been serving Camas and Washougal since 1906.  You may also want to order up The Columbian, which is a paper published from Vancouver and deals mostly with local issues or you could order the Oregonian which cover the Portland-Vancouver metro area.

Chamber of Commerce:  (360) 834-2472, The cities of Camas and Washougal are so close that they share the same Chamber of Commerce.

Recreation:  The Parks and Recreation division (360) 619-1111.

Property:  You are welcome to look through the current Property Listings  available in the Washougal and the Vancouver area.  If you have any questions or need more information please feel free to just ask.
 

History of Washougal

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 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 and the river's mouth. U.S., British, Spanish and Russian fur traders bartered for sea otter and beaver skins in the late 1700s. 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.   To read more about the history of Washougal go to the Welcome to Historic Washougal webpage.

Washougal  like Camas is another of those original American towns that give the feeling of security and warmth to all that live here.  Actually the two town are so close together they are called Sister Cities and often share the same resources.  The residents are open and friendly and if you are looking for the "Old Home Town" feel this is the city for you.