Editing Felida, Washington (section)

== History ==
The area has important ties to the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] of 1804–1806, being close to the [[Chinookan peoples|Chinookan]] town of Cathlapotle, then a settlement of 700–800 people, with at least 14 substantial [[plank house]]s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cathlapotle|url=https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/cathlapotle/#.WfwHQ3ZryM8|website=The Oregon Encyclopedia|publisher=The Oregon Historical Society|access-date=November 3, 2017|last1=Ames|first1=Kenneth}}</ref> The community's ties to the Chinookan people was commemorated by the construction of a replica of a Cathlapotle [[plank house]] at the nearby [[Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge]], which was dedicated March 29, 2005.<ref name="Caldbick">{{cite web|last=Caldbick|first=John|date=January 24, 2010|url=http://www.historylink.org/File/9281|title=Ridgefield — Thumbnail History|work=History Link}}</ref>

A post office was established for the area northeast of [[Vancouver Lake]], in 1890. While deciding what to name the post office, the first postmaster, Marian E. McIrvin, wanted it to be named Lakeview, but postal authorities informed him that there was already a place in Washington state named Lakeview. McIrvin's father-in-law suggested Felida for the name, and the name stuck.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Names in Clark County - Clark County: A history |url=https://history.columbian.com/names-in-clark-county-3/ |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=Clark County History |language=en}}</ref>

A competing theory is that the town's name came from a suggestion for the post office to be referred to as Powley, after a local resident. The post office didn't want that name, and suggested it should be named Polly instead. C.C. Lewis, the current postmaster, thought that Polly was a name for a parrot, and that it should actually be named for his cat, Thomas. He submitted the names, Thomas, Tomcat, and Felidae. The post office thought that Felida would be a nice name, and took it.<ref name=":0" />