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History · Cathlamet

Cathlamet dates to 1846, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Pioneer Church and the Julia Butler Hansen House. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1880.

1846founded
2on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cathlamet’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cathlamet began

When was Cathlamet founded?

1846

Cathlamet dates its founding to 1846 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 133 in 18802020 census: 560180 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1851.The full story ↓

What stands out about Cathlamet’s past

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

Deep rootsEstablished in 1846: 180 years of Cathlamet.
★ What stands out · Timeline

Cathlamet, 1846 to 1985

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1846
    FoundingCathlamet is established
  3. 1851Post officeThe Cathlamet post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1906In the archiveCharles R Spencer at Cathlamet circa 1906
  6. 1973In the archiveBOATING ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER AT CATHLAMET WHICH HAS A POPULATION OF 656
  7. 1985On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Cathlamet came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cathlamet.

Read it all →

Cathlamet was the largest, or one of the largest, villages of Columbia River Native Americans west of the Cascade Mountains, and the home of the Kathlamet people. "Cathlamet was sighted in 1792 by Lt. W.R. Broughton, while verifying Capt. Robert Gray's reported exploration of the Columbia River." This village of cedar houses included 300-400 inhabitants when visited by Lewis and Clark.

In 1846, James Albion Birnie became the first permanent white settler at Cathlamet, moving there after a career with the Hudson's Bay Company. He set up a trading post, remnants of which were reported still standing in 1906. "Birnie named the area Birnie's Retreat. The name was later changed to Cathlamet in 1851."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Cathlamet, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Charles R Spencer at Cathlamet circa 19061906Charles R Spencer at Cathlamet circa 1906
1910s–1960snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1970s5 items
BOATING ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER AT CATHLAMET WHICH HAS A POPULATION OF 6561973BOATING ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER AT CATHLAMET WHICH HAS …Cathlamet, WA, Population 6561973Cathlamet, WA, Population 656THE COLUMBIA RIVER AT1973THE COLUMBIA RIVER ATTHE RIVERSIDE TOWN OF CATHLAMET BOASTS A POPULATION OF 6561973THE RIVERSIDE TOWN OF CATHLAMET BOASTS A POPULATION O…THE RIVERSIDE TOWN OF CATHLAMET BOASTS A POPULATION OF 6561973THE RIVERSIDE TOWN OF CATHLAMET BOASTS A POPULATION O…
1980s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today12 recent
Cathlamet Washington Boardercross Competition 22012Cathlamet Washington Boardercross Competition 2Cathlamet Downhill Corral Longboard Contest- local kids trying to win prize2012Cathlamet Downhill Corral Longboard Contest- local ki…Cathlamet Downhill Corral Boardercross Competition 12012Cathlamet Downhill Corral Boardercross Competition 1Wahkiakum County courthouse in2011Wahkiakum County courthouse inJulia Butler Hansen Bridge 39862011Julia Butler Hansen Bridge 3986Julia Butler Hansen Bridge 3986 (cut)2011Julia Butler Hansen Bridge 3986 (cut)Julia Butler Hansen Bridge 39842011Julia Butler Hansen Bridge 3984Bricks and chunks of basalt rock forms wall of building in2011Bricks and chunks of basalt rock forms wall of buildi…Astoria to Mt Rainier2011Astoria to Mt RainierAstoria to Mt Rainier2011Astoria to Mt RainierWahkiakum sd bus 6 03112007 122007Wahkiakum sd bus 6 03112007 12WAMap-doton-Cathlamet2004WAMap-doton-Cathlamet
On the map

Cathlamet on the map in 1985

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cathlamet.

Cathlamet on the 1985 USGS map1985Cathlamet sheet · 1:24,000

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

Every building

Cathlamet, building by building, 1914–1929

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.

Cathlamet fire insurance map, 1914, sheet 11914Sheet 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.

Charles R Spencer at Cathlamet circa 1906
Retake this viewCharles R Spencer at Cathlamet circa 1906, 1906

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Cathlamet

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Pioneer Church
Pioneer ChurchJulia Butler Hansen House
Buildings
Pioneer ChurchBuilding
All 2 listings
Julia Butler Hansen HouseBuilding · listed 2024

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

People over time

Cathlamet, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 647

Between 133 and 647 people in every census since 1880.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Cathlamet’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCharles R Spencer at Cathlamet circa 19…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lower ElochomanIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEast CathlametIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cathlamet’s history

What year was Cathlamet founded?

In 1846, according to Wikidata. Cathlamet’s post office opened in 1851, and the census of 1880 counted 133 people here.

What is on the National Register in Cathlamet?

Two places: the Pioneer Church (listed 1973) and the Julia Butler Hansen House (2024).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (18), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.