Editing Montesano, Washington (section)

===South Montesano===
Prior to that time, the name ''Montesano'' was used to refer to the homestead of Isaiah Lancaster Scammon and his wife Lorinda. They filed a 640-acre Donation Land Claim on January 15, 1853, on the [[Chehalis River (Washington)|Chehalis River]], opposite the mouth of the [[Wynoochee River]], in the area now referred to as South Montesano. The Scammon home was often referred to as "Scammon's Landing" or "Scammon's Hotel", because it was an important stopping point along the Chehalis River for early pioneers, and the furthest up-river mooring point and railroad junction for seagoing ships.<ref name="syckle" />

According to [[Edmond S. Meany]], in 1860 the seat of what was then called Chehalis County was moved to "the place of J.L. Scammons". Mrs. Lorinda Scammon was very religious and wished to have the place named "[[Mount Zion]]". Another early settler, Samuel James, suggested "Montesano", which was derived from Spanish meaning "mountain of health"; it was said that this had a more pleasant sound and meant about the same. The suggestion was approved, and soon after, a post office was secured with the name "Montesano".<ref name="meany">{{cite journal|last=Meany|first=Edmond S.|author-link=Edmond S. Meany|year=1920|title=Origin of Washington Geographic Names|journal=The Washington Historical Quarterly|volume=XI|page=209|publisher=Washington University State Historical Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbsUAAAAYAAJ|access-date=June 11, 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The people of Chehalis County voted to move the county seat to the platted town of Montesano in 1886, and the Scammon home was then known as South Montesano.<ref name="meany" />