Editing Cowlitz County, Washington

{{Short description|County in Washington, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county             = Cowlitz County
 | state              = Washington
 | ex image           = Cowlitz_County_Courthouse.jpg
 | ex image size      = 300px
 | ex image cap       = Cowlitz County Courthouse
 | flag               = 
 | seal               = 
 | coordinates        = {{Coord|46|11|48|N|122|40|42|W|region:US-WA_type:county|display=inline}}
 | founded year       = 1854
 | founded date       = April 21
 | named for          = 
 | seat wl            = Kelso
 | largest city wl    = Longview
 | area_total_sq_mi   = 1166
 | area_land_sq_mi    = 1140
 | area_water_sq_mi   = 26
 | area percentage    = 2.2%
 | population_total   = 110730
 | population_as_of   = 2020
 | population_est     = 113982 {{increase}}
 | pop_est_as_of      = 2024
 | density_sq_mi      = auto
 | time zone          = Pacific
 | district           = 3rd
 | website            = {{URL|https://www.co.cowlitz.wa.us/|co.cowlitz.wa.us}}
}}

'''Cowlitz County''' is a [[County (United States)|county]] located in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Washington (state)|Washington]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], its population was 110,730.<ref name="QF">{{Cite web |title=State & County QuickFacts |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/cowlitzcountywashington/PST045223 |access-date=November 10, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref> The county seat is [[Kelso, Washington|Kelso]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Find a County |url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=May 31, 2011 |access-date=June 7, 2011 |publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref> and its largest city is [[Longview, Washington|Longview]]. The county was formed in April 1854.<ref name="historylink">{{Cite web |date=March 6, 2003 |title=Milestones for Washington State History — Part 2: 1851 to 1900 |url=http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=5380 |publisher=[[HistoryLink.org]]}}</ref> Its name derives from the anglicized version of the [[Cowlitz people|Cowlitz Indian]] term ''Cow-e-liske'', meaning either 'river of shifting sands' or 'capturing the medicine spirit.'{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} Cowlitz comprises the Longview, WA [[Metropolitan statistical area]], which is also included in the [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]]-[[Vancouver, Washington|Vancouver]]-[[Salem, Oregon|Salem]], [[Oregon|OR]]-WA [[Portland metropolitan area|Combined statistical area]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 28, 2013 |title=Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/bulletins/2013/b13-01.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121004708/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/bulletins/2013/b13-01.pdf |archive-date=January 21, 2017 |access-date=July 5, 2015 |publisher=Office of Management and Budget}}</ref>

==History==
Prior to the Europeans' arrival to the area, it was inhabited by numerous Native American tribes, with the Cowlitz tribe being the largest. They were drawn to the region by the abundance of [[salmon]]. The Cowlitz are considered to be the first regional inhabitants to engage in commerce as they traded extensively with other tribes in [[Western Washington|Western]] and [[Eastern Washington]]. The Cowlitz Indian population declined significantly from the 1829-1830 [[smallpox]] outbreak.

European explorers discovered and began navigating the [[Columbia River]] in 1792 as [[British people|British]] Lieutenant W. R. Broughton sailed up the river to and past present day Cowlitz County. Then on November 5, 1805, [[Lewis and Clark Expedition|Lewis and Clark]] camped at the mouth of the [[Kalama River]]. Over the following days, they would reach the present sites of Kelso and Longview.

By the 1820s, the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] had established a lucrative [[fur trade]] in the region. Furs were shipped down the [[Cowlitz River]] to the Columbia where they were loaded and shipped around the world. Trade declined significantly in the late 1830s as over-hunting reduced the annual yields, and wearing fur had become less fashionable.

During the next several decades, white settlement of the region was in full swing. Most of the settlers homesteaded near the tributaries that fed the Columbia River, forming settlements. The first was Monticello, near present-day Longview. In 1841 several families with the HBC directed [[James Sinclair (fur trader)|Sinclair]] expedition from [[Red River Colony]] settled there.

On November 25, 1852, at Monticello, settlers from the Cowlitz and [[Puget Sound]] regions drafted a petition (the [[Monticello Convention]]) to the federal government, calling for a separate territory north of the Columbia River to be carved out of the existing [[Oregon Territory]]. The petition was successful; three months later the [[United States Congress]] formed the Columbia Territory, although it was soon renamed [[Washington Territory]].

The newly separated territory was governed by two existing counties. In August 1845, the Oregon Territorial government had created Vancouver County. Its boundary covered the entire area of present-day Washington state. In December of that same year, the Oregon Territorial government sliced off the eastern portion to create [[Lewis County, Washington|Lewis County]]. In 1849 the reduced Vancouver County was renamed [[Clark County, Washington|Clark County]]. So when the new Washington Territorial government began functioning, among its first actions was the creation of Cowlitz County, from the southwestern portion of Clark County. This proclamation was finalized on April 24, 1854, signed into law by Governor [[Isaac Stevens]]. Later in 1854, the western portion of the new county was partitioned off to form [[Wahkiakum County, Washington|Wahkiakum County]]; otherwise the county's boundary has remained unchanged until the present.

Nearly every town that sprang up in the late 19th century began around a [[logging]] or [[sawmill|lumber-milling]] operation. In the latter half of the 1920s, the [[Weyerhaeuser|Weyerhaeuser Company]] and [[Long-Bell Lumber Company]] established processing facilities. At the time, these two facilities were the first and second largest in the world. The county is still heavily dependent on the timber industry.<ref name="ESD">{{Cite web |date=October 1998 |title=Cowlitz and Wahkiakum County Profile |url=http://govdocs.evergreen.edu/wastate/wslmia/countyprofiles/cowlitz-wahkiakum/1998oct.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703092708/http://govdocs.evergreen.edu/wastate/wslmia/countyprofiles/cowlitz-wahkiakum/1998oct.pdf |archive-date=July 3, 2010 |access-date=September 14, 2009 |publisher=Employment Security Department |format=[[comma-separated values|CSV]]}}</ref>

Four towns have functioned as the Cowlitz County seat:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cowlitz County |url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wasgs/cowlitz.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110626224834/http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wasgs/cowlitz.pdf |archive-date=June 26, 2011 |access-date=September 14, 2009 |format=CSV}}</ref>
* [[Longview, Washington|Monticello]] (1854–1865)
* [[Freeport, Washington|Freeport]] (1865–1872)
* [[Kalama, Washington|Kalama]] (1872–1922)
* [[Kelso, Washington|Kelso]] (1922–Present)

==Geography==
Cowlitz County is in the southwestern part of Washington state. According to the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|1166|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|1140|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|26|sqmi}} (2.2%) is water.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 22, 2012 |title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files |url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_53.txt |access-date=July 4, 2015 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>

Cowlitz County is part of the Puget Sound – Willamette Depression, a geologic formation extending southward from the Puget Sound to the [[Willamette Valley]] in [[Oregon]]. Nestled against the [[Cascade Range|Cascade Mountains]], many of the county's major rivers originate in this range, including the Columbia, Cowlitz, [[Coweeman River|Coweeman]], Kalama, [[Lewis River (Washington)|Lewis]] and [[Toutle River|Toutle]].<ref name=ESD/>

Cowlitz County is one of the state's smaller counties (28 of 39).<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 2004 |title=Region 4 |url=http://www.emd.wa.gov/plans/documents/reg-4-profile.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719120102/http://www.emd.wa.gov/plans/documents/reg-4-profile.pdf |archive-date=July 19, 2011 |access-date=September 14, 2009 |publisher=Washington State Hazard Mitigation Plan |format=CSV}}</ref>

===Geographic features===
*[[Cascade Range|Cascade Mountains]]
*[[Columbia River]]
*[[Cowlitz River]]

===Major highways===
*[[Image:I-5.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 5 in Washington|Interstate 5]]
*[[Image:WA-4.svg|20px]] [[Washington State Route 4|State Route 4]]
*[[Image:WA-411.svg|20px]] [[Washington State Route 411|State Route 411]]
*[[Image:WA-432.svg|20px]] [[Washington State Route 432|State Route 432]]
*[[Image:WA-503.svg|20px]] [[Washington State Route 503|State Route 503]]
*[[Image:WA-504.svg|20px]] [[Washington State Route 504|State Route 504]]

===Adjacent counties===
*[[Lewis County, Washington|Lewis County]] - north
*[[Skamania County, Washington|Skamania County]] - east
*[[Clark County, Washington|Clark County]] - south
*[[Wahkiakum County, Washington|Wahkiakum County]] - west
*[[Columbia County, Oregon|Columbia County]] - south

===National protected areas===
* [[Gifford Pinchot National Forest]] (part)
* [[Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument]] (part)

===County parks===
* Catlin Cemetery
* Cougar Wayside
* Finn Hall Wayside
* Harry Gardner Park
* Hog Island Access
* Riverside Park
* SRS Viewpoint
* Woodbrook Park<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 10, 2009 |title=Cowlitz County Parks and Recreation Division |url=http://www.co.cowlitz.wa.us/Maintenance/parks/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614092031/http://www.co.cowlitz.wa.us/Maintenance/parks/index.htm |archive-date=June 14, 2009 |website=co.cowlitz.wa.us/}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1860= 406
|1870= 730
|1880= 2062
|1890= 5917
|1900= 7877
|1910= 12561
|1920= 11791
|1930= 31906
|1940= 40155
|1950= 53369
|1960= 57801
|1970= 68616
|1980= 79548
|1990= 82119
|2000= 92948
|2010= 102410
|2020= 110730
|estyear=2024
|estimate=113982
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2024">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-counties-total.html|title=County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 17, 2025}}</ref>
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. Decennial Census |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html |access-date=January 7, 2014 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref><br/>1790–1960<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historical Census Browser |url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120811110448/http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/ |archive-date=August 11, 2012 |access-date=January 7, 2014 |publisher=University of Virginia Library}}</ref> 1900–1990<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990 |url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/wa190090.txt |access-date=January 7, 2014 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref><br/>1990–2000<ref>{{Cite web |title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000 |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226035610/http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=February 26, 2015 |access-date=January 7, 2014 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref> 2010–2020<ref name="QF" />
}}

===2020 census===
As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], there were 110,730 people, 42,787 households, and 28,644 families residing in the county.<ref>{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table P16: Household Type |url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=Cowlitz%20County,%20Washington%20p16&y=2020 |access-date=November 10, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref> The [[population density]] was {{convert|97.0|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 45,424 housing units at an average density of {{convert|39.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the county was 82.0% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.7% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 1.6% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 1.6% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.6% [[Race (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 4.3% from some other races and 9.2% from two or more races. [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] people of any race were 9.8% of the population.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How many people live in Cowlitz County, Washington |url=https://data.usatoday.com/census/total-population/total-population-change/cowlitz-county-washington/050-53015/ |access-date=November 10, 2024 |publisher=USA Today}}</ref> 22.3% of residents were under the age of 18, 5.6% were under 5 years of age, and 20.2% were 65 and older.

===2010 census===
As of the [[2010 United States census|2010 census]], there were 102,410 people, 40,244 households, and 27,241 families living in the county. The population density was {{convert|89.8|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people|}}. There were 43,450 housing units at an average density of {{convert|38.1|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units&nbsp;|units|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 88.9% White, 1.5% Asian, 1.5% American Indian, 0.6% black or African American, 0.2% Pacific islander, 3.5% from other races, and 3.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 7.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 24.4% were [[Germans|German]], 15.0% were [[Irish people|Irish]], 12.3% were [[English people|English]], 6.2% were [[Norwegians|Norwegian]], and 5.4% were [[Americans|American]].

Of the 40,244 households, 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.3% were non-families, and 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.99. The median age was 40.2 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,877 and the median income for a family was $55,002. Males had a median income of $48,329 versus $32,438 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,948. About 11.8% of families and 16.9% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 23.3% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

==Politics==
The county had been reliably Democratic in Presidential elections for over three decades, and [[Walter Mondale]] won this county in [[Ronald Reagan]]'s 49-state landslide in 1984. [[Donald Trump]] won a majority of the vote in 2016, 2020, and 2024, becoming the first Republican to win this county since Reagan in 1980.

{{PresHead|place=Cowlitz County, Washington|whig=no|source1=<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leip |first=David |title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections |url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS |access-date=April 6, 2018 |website=uselectionatlas.org}}</ref>|source2=<ref>The leading "other" candidate, [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive]] [[Theodore Roosevelt]], received 1,006 votes, while Socialist candidate [[Eugene V. Debs|Eugene Debs]] received 527 votes, [[Prohibition Party|Prohibition]] candidate [[Eugene W. Chafin|Eugene Chafin]] received 79 votes, and [[Socialist Labor Party of America|Socialist Labor]] candidate [[Arthur Reimer]] received 10 votes.</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP/Whig vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|34,580|22,825|1,920|Washington (state)}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|34,424|23,938|1,918|Washington (state)}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|24,185|17,908|5,049|Washington (state)}}
{{PresRow|2012|Democratic|20,746|22,726|1,540|Washington (state)}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|19,554|24,597|1,361|Washington (state)}}
{{PresRow|2004|Democratic|20,217|21,589|724|Washington (state)}}
{{PresRow|2000|Democratic|16,873|18,233|1,856|Washington (state)}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|11,221|18,054|4,240|Washington (state)}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|10,000|15,052|9,477|Washington (state)}}
{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|12,009|16,090|366|Washington (state)}}
{{PresRow|1984|Democratic|14,858|15,361|749|Washington (state)}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|13,154|12,560|2,925|Washington (state)}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|12,531|14,958|917|Washington (state)}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|14,431|12,682|1,069|Washington (state)}}
{{PresRow|1968|Democratic|10,842|13,363|1,545|Washington (state)}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|6,708|17,605|188|Washington (state)}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|12,103|12,054|153|Washington (state)}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|11,912|12,448|50|Washington}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|12,366|11,242|138|Washington}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|7,098|11,075|729|Washington}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|6,157|10,485|157|Washington}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|6,078|11,420|216|Washington}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|3,617|10,147|528|Washington}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|3,767|5,443|1,903|Washington}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|5,882|2,581|91|Washington}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|3,274|927|1,681|Washington}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|2,267|801|619|Washington}}
{{PresRow|1916|Republican|2,113|1,282|439|Washington}}
{{PresRow|1912|Republican|1,348|919|1,622|Washington}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|1,573|617|206|Washington}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|1,589|317|149|Washington}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|1,171|619|59|Washington}}
{{PresRow|1896|Republican|989|974|25|Washington}}
{{PresFoot|1892|Republican|738|566|466|Washington}}

==Communities==

===Cities===
{{Div col|colwidth=15em}}
*[[Castle Rock, Washington|Castle Rock]]
*[[Kalama, Washington|Kalama]]
*[[Kelso, Washington|Kelso]] (County seat)
*[[Longview, Washington|Longview]]
*[[Woodland, Washington|Woodland]] (Partly in [[Clark County, Washington|Clark County]])
{{div col end}}

===Census-designated places===
{{Div col|colwidth=15em}}
*[[Beacon Hill, Cowlitz County, Washington|Beacon Hill]]
*[[Cougar, Washington|Cougar]]
*[[Lexington, Washington|Lexington]]
*[[Longview Heights, Washington|Longview Heights]]
*[[Ryderwood, Washington|Ryderwood]]
*[[West Side Highway, Washington|West Side Highway]] (former)
{{div col end}}

===Unincorporated communities===
{{div col|colwidth=12em}}
*[[Ariel, Washington|Ariel]]
*[[Bunker Hill, Washington|Bunker Hill]]
*[[Caples, Washington|Caples]]
*[[Caples Landing, Washington|Caples Landing]]
*[[Carrolls, Washington|Carrolls]]
*[[Coal Creek, Washington|Coal Creek]]
*[[Columbia Heights, Washington|Columbia Heights]]
*[[Davis Terrace, Washington|Davis Terrace]]
*[[Eufaula, Washington|Eufaula]]
*[[Eufaula Heights, Washington|Eufaula Heights]]
*[[Evergreen Terrace, Washington|Evergreen Terrace]]
*[[Kid Valley, Washington|Kid Valley]]
*[[Oak Point, Washington|Oak Point]]
*[[Olequa, Washington|Olequa]]
*[[Ostrander, Washington|Ostrander]]
*[[Pleasant Hill, Washington|Pleasant Hill]]
*[[Rocky Point, Cowlitz County, Washington|Rocky Point]]
*[[Rose Valley, Washington|Rose Valley]]
*[[Saint Helens, Washington|Saint Helens]]
*[[Sandy Bend, Washington|Sandy Bend]]
*[[Sightly, Washington|Sightly]]
*[[Silver Lake, Washington|Silver Lake]]
*[[Stella, Washington|Stella]]
*[[Toutle, Washington|Toutle]]
*[[Vision Acres, Washington|Vision Acres]]
*[[West Longview, Washington|West Longview]]
*[[Yale, Washington|Yale]]
{{div col end}}
==See also==
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Cowlitz County, Washington]]
* [[Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on the meat industry in the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Geographic Location
|Centre    = Cowlitz County, Washington
|North     = [[Lewis County, Washington|Lewis County]]
|Northeast = 
|East      = [[Skamania County, Washington|Skamania County]]
|Southeast = 
|South     = [[Clark County, Washington|Clark County]]
|Southwest = [[Columbia County, Oregon]]
|West      = [[Wahkiakum County, Washington|Wahkiakum County]]
|Northwest = 
}}

{{Cowlitz County, Washington}}
{{Washington}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|46.19|-122.68|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-WA_source:UScensus1990}}

[[Category:Cowlitz County, Washington| ]]
[[Category:1854 establishments in Washington Territory]]
[[Category:Washington (state) placenames of Native American origin]]
[[Category:Western Washington]]