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B−History
History · Camas

Camas dates to 1883, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns · #59 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1890.

1883founded
4on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Camas’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Camas began

When was Camas founded?

1883

Camas dates its founding to 1883 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 417 in 18902020 census: 26,065143 years

How historic is Camas?

B−

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1884.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Camas’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Camas is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #59 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Camas’ overall grade.
Founding era1883, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194010.7% of homes (±2.4) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register4 listings, 5 historic buildings, 1.9 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 52%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 80%

Few Washington towns list much on the Register (a typical Washington town has 0.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Camas’ 1.9 sits near the middle of its state (65% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1883.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Camas’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Camas’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Camas’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBumblebee on a Lucifer lily (Camas, Was…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

4 historic places in Camas

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Pittock House
Pittock HouseUS Post Office-Camas Main, built 1939John Roffler HouseFarrell Building
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne2
Colonial Revival1
Post-Victorian1
Commercial Style1
Pittock HouseQueen Anne
US Post Office-Camas MainColonial Revival · Built 1939
John Roffler HouseQueen Anne
Farrell BuildingCommercial Style

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Camas came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Camas.

Read it all →

Officially incorporated on June 18, 1906, the city is named after the camas lily, a plant with an onion-like bulb prized by Native Americans. A paper mill was first established in the city in 1883 with the support of Henry Pittock, a wealthy entrepreneur from England who had settled in Portland, Oregon, where he published The Oregonian. As of 2026, it has been in continuous operation for more than 140 years. At the west end of downtown Camas is the large Georgia-Pacific paper mill from which Camas High School sports teams get their name, "the Papermakers".

By 1971, there had been four attempts to merge Camas and Washougal that were denied by voters.

ChaptersMill history

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Camas, 1883 to 1997

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883
    FoundingCamas is established
  3. 1884Post officeThe La Camas post office opens
  4. 1894Post officeThe La Camas post office closes
  5. 1894Post officeThe Camas post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1933Born hereJimmie Rodgers is born here
  8. 1939BuiltUS Post Office-Camas Main is built
  9. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1983Born hereJoey Gibson is born here
  11. 1997Born hereAlexa Efraimson is born here
By decade

Camas, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Bumblebee on a Lucifer lily (Camas, Washington, USA - 2007)Date?Bumblebee on a Lucifer lily (Camas, Washington, USA -…
Today9 recent
Lacamas Creek, looking upstream, October 20202020Lacamas Creek, looking upstream, October 2020Lacamas Creek, looking downstream, October 20202020Lacamas Creek, looking downstream, October 2020Lacamas Creek Trail bridge, October 20202020Lacamas Creek Trail bridge, October 2020Fallen Leaf Lake (2019-09-10)2019Fallen Leaf Lake (2019-09-10)The Stone NW Inc. quarry, near the Columbia River and the town of Camas east of Vancouver, Washington2018The Stone NW Inc. quarry, near the Columbia River and…Aerial view of the Camas Slough, a small tributary of the Columbia River near the Vancouver, Washington, suburb of Camas2018Aerial view of the Camas Slough, a small tributary of…Aerial view of the Camas Slough, a small tributary of the Columbia River near the Vancouver, Washington, suburb of Camas2018Aerial view of the Camas Slough, a small tributary of…Camas Mt Hood 2016-10-12 18702016Camas Mt Hood 2016-10-12 1870Camas, Washington aerial view2009Camas, Washington aerial view
On the map

Camas on the map, 1941 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Camas. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Camas on the 1941 USGS mapCamas on the 1954 USGS mapCamas on the 1975 USGS mapCamas on the 1993 USGS map1941Camas sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Camas.

Every building

Camas, building by building, 1909–1922

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Camas fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Bumblebee on a Lucifer lily (Camas, Washington, USA - 2007)
Retake this viewBumblebee on a Lucifer lily (Camas, Washington, USA - 2007)

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Camas’ page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Camas, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,000190019201940196019802000202026,065

Grew from 417 people in 1890 to 26,065 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Camas’ Wikipedia page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Camas

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Jimmie RodgersAmerican pop singer · b. 1933
Alexa EfraimsonAmerican middle-distance runner · b. 1997
Joey GibsonAmerican right-wing instigator of violence · b. 1983
D
Daniel NguyenAmerican politician
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Camas’s post office has been open since 1894. Another post office, La Camas, opened and closed inside today’s town.

La Camas
1884–1894
Camas
1894–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Oak ParkParker Landing Light
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Camas
CamasKnight

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Vancouver21 historic placesB+WashougalIts storyC

Questions about Camas’ history

What year was Camas founded?

In 1883, according to Wikidata. Camas’ post office opened in 1884, and the census of 1890 counted 417 people here.

How does Camas rank for history?

Camas is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #59 of 285 in Washington. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Camas?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Pittock House (listed 1979, the first). 5 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Camas?

11% of Camas’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 2001.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (7), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.