Editing Washougal, Washington (section)

==History==
[[File:Downtown Washougal, Washington 02.JPG|thumb|right|Downtown Washougal facing north]]

The area around present-day Washougal was originally home to the [[Watlala]], an indigenous [[Chinookan languages|Chinookan]]-speaking group with settlements along the [[Columbia River]]. Among the first non-indigenous people to visit the area were the [[Corps of Discovery]] led by [[Meriwether Lewis]] and [[William Clark]] in 1805 and 1806; they camped near the [[Washougal River]] during their return voyage in April 1806 and tentatively named it the "Seal River" and "Seacalf River".

English sailor Richard Ough (also spelled Howe) built a home in what would become present-day Washougal sometime between 1838 and 1841; he had arrived in the area to work at [[Fort Vancouver]] for the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] and later married the daughter of Cascade Chinook chief Schluyhus. Ough was followed in 1844 by a cohort led by David C. Parker, who built Parker's Landing and claimed {{convert|580|acre|ha}} under the [[Donation Land Claim Act]]; among the settlers was [[George Bush (pioneer)|George Bush]], among the first African American settlers in the Pacific Northwest.<ref name="Columbian-Firsts">{{cite news |last=Beck |first=Bob |date=September 29, 1974 |title=Washougal can claim own 'firsts' |page=24 |work=[[The Columbian]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbian-washougal-can-claim-own-f/127291182/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |accessdate=June 29, 2023}}</ref> Parker's Landing, later renamed Parkersville, unsuccessfully applied for incorporation in 1852 or 1854; by this time, it had a hotel, bar, and a store and was a trading post along the river. A public school—claimed to be the first American school north of the Columbia River—was established in 1852–53.<ref>{{cite news |last=Beck |first=Bob |date=July 28, 1994 |title=Clark County History: Washougal |page=3 |work=The Columbian |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbian-clark-county-history-wash/127291237/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=June 29, 2023}}</ref> A portion of Ough's own claim was sold to Joseph E. C. Durgin, who established a townsite in 1880 that was named Washougal; the new settlement overtook Parkersville and was [[plat]]ted on May 6, 1880.<ref name="HistoryLink"/>

Washougal was connected to the [[Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway]] in 1908 and was incorporated in November of that year. In 1910, a textile mill opened in the town and grew to become a major part of the area's economy; it was acquired by [[Pendleton Woolen Mills]] two years later.<ref name="Columbian-Firsts"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Gunderson |first=Laura |date=December 23, 2009 |title=Pendleton Woolen Mills blanketing the runways |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2009/12/pendleton_takes_its_plaid_to_t.html |work=[[The Oregonian]] |accessdate=June 29, 2023}}</ref> A new east–west highway along the Columbia River (now part of [[Washington State Route 14|State Route 14]]) opened in 1927 and aided development of summer homes and recreation areas near Washougal.<ref>{{cite web |title=Community History |url=https://visitwashougal.com/157/Community-History |publisher=Visit Washougal |accessdate=June 29, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Van Arsdol |first=Ted |date=July 28, 1994 |title=Miners, mill mark Washougal history |page=3 |work=The Columbian |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbian-miners-mill-mark-washouga/127291256/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=June 29, 2023}}</ref> In the mid-to-late 20th century, Washougal became a [[bedroom community]] for workers in Vancouver and Portland, but grew slower than neighboring [[Camas, Washington|Camas]].<ref name="HistoryLink"/> Its Mount Pleasant Grange Hall is the oldest continually used [[Grange movement|grange]] hall in Washington.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}