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Vancouver — Thumbnail History (historylink.org) Vancouver, located in Clark County in the southwestern part of Washington state, lies along the North Bank of the Columbia River, near its confluence with Oregon’s Willamette River. The site was originally inhabited by Chinook Indians. The city is named for George Vancouver (1758-1798), the British explorer who mapped the Northwest coast in 1792…

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Amboy: When A.M. Ball circulated a petition asking for a post office in 1886, he was given the honor of naming the town. There are three versions of how he made his choice. One version is that there were several settlers with the initials A.M.B., among them Ball himself as well as A.M. Browning and A.M. Blaker, who were called the A.M. Boys.
Bachelor Island: Three unmarried men once owned the island, now home of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.
Camas: A deep blue lily, used by native Americans for food, was called the Kamass, or Kamiss. The French called it La Camas. The Lacamas Colony, which planned the town that later held paper mill workers, took the name from this flower. In 1909, the “La” was dropped to avoid confusion with La Center and La Conner.
Clark County: The county is named for William Clark, the co-captain of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which passed through here in 1805 and 1806.
Lewis River: Once spelled Lewes, the river is named for Adolphus Lewis, or Lewes, a former Hudson’s Bay employee who changed its name from Cathlepootle to his own. He had no relationship to Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The name Cathlepootle was given by Lewis and Clark who named it for the tribe living along its banks. The word means “People who live along the rocky river.”
Moulton Falls: After the Yacolt Burn of 1902, many sawmills were set up to scavenge the lumber, much like what happened after the St. Helen’s eruption in 1980. One of the mills was erected at the falls on the East Fork of the Lewis by a Mr. Moulton. Moulton Falls Park is on the Lewis and Clark Railway.
Mount St. Helens: Some Indians of the Pacific Northwest variously called Mount St. Helens “Louwala-Clough, or “smoking mountain or fire mountain.” In 1792 Capt. George Vancouver of the British Royal Navy, a seafarer and explorer named it in honor of a fellow countryman, Alleyne Fitzherbert, who held the title Baron St. Helens and who was at the time the British Ambassador to Spain. Vancouver also named three other volcanoes in the Cascades, Mount Baker, Mount Hood and Mount Rainier, for British naval officers.
Paradise Point: Off I-5, this area on the East Fork of the Lewis River was named by a vote among the members of the Portland Motor Boat club in 1915. The club used to cruise here for picnics. It would appear from the name they chose that they were will pleased with the area. It was dedicated as a state park in 1962.
Proebstel: Established in 1887 with the start of a post office east of Orchards. Named after John Proebstel, one of six brothers who came here in 1852 to settle a land claim.
Vancouver: Named for a British sea explorer who never saw the site, which was previously called Columbia City.
Washougal: Named after the Washougal River. Indians named the river Washougal, which means “rushing water.” Early names for the area were Parker’s Landing, Point Vancouver and Washoughally Camp.
Yacolt: The Indian word Yacolt means “place abounding in evil spirits” or “haunted valley,” derived from an incident in which five Indian children were lost while picking wild berries, the demon, Yacolt, had gotten them, so the story goes! Two post offices competed in the area, Yacolt and Garner. They were combined under the present name.
Names in Clark County (history.columbian.com)

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With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Ephesians 4:2 KJV

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HistoryLink.org HistoryLink.org is the continually evolving online encyclopedia of Washington state history. We provide a free, authoritative, and easily accessible reference for the benefit of all. With a few noted exceptions, all articles on this site are original works prepared exclusively for HistoryLink.org by staff historians, contract writers, volunteers, and consulting experts.