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Columbia County, Washington

49 topographic sheets cover 25 settlements here, and 20 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

20 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Washington within the United States
Columbia County within Washington

What the record shows

  • 289 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 20 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 16 buildings, 3 districts and 1 structure.
  • 3 of the 20 listings were added during the 1970s.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 25 populated places in this county; 25 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

20

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Photograph PropertyType ListedReference
Bank of Starbuckbuilding197878002739
A. H. Bishop Housebuilding198686001516
John Brining Housebuilding198686001517
Columbia County Courthousebuilding197575001845
Dayton Depotbuilding197474001949
Dexter House No. 1building198686001519
Dexter House No. 2building198686001520
Downtown Dayton Historic Districtdistrict199999000567
Frank Flintner Housebuilding198686001522
Guernsey-Sturdevant Buildingbuilding199392001589
Grover J. Israel Housebuilding198686001525
Mancel Kelley Housebuilding198686001526
Mill Housebuilding198686001528
Andrew Nilsson Housebuilding198686001530
Dr. Marcel Pietrzycki Housebuilding198686001531
Snake River Bridgestructure198282004207
South Side Historic Districtdistrict198686001515
J. A. Thronson Housebuilding198686001532
Washington Street Historic Districtdistrict198686001514
Jacob Weinhard Housebuilding198686001524

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

437 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 437 of them, burning about 168,602 acres. 280 started naturally and 1 was recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Natural280
Recreation and ceremony96
Missing data/not specified/undetermined27
Debris and open burning21
Equipment and vehicle use5
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Other causes3
Smoking1
Arson/incendiarism1

The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
13 August 2015Natural80,212 acresUmatilla National ForestBUTTE CREEK
5 August 2005Power generation/transmission/distribution52,000 acresUmatilla National ForestSCHOOL
26 August 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined11,500 acresWashington State Fire Marshal's OfficeHUBBARD FIRE
7 August 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined9,168 acresWashington State Fire Marshal's OfficeFLETCHER ROAD
2 August 1992Missing data/not specified/undetermined3,000 acresUmatilla National ForestTUCANNON
29 August 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined2,533 acresWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersTUCANNON
17 July 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined2,380 acresWashington State Fire Marshal's OfficeSTARBUCK
5 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined1,350 acresWashington State Fire Marshal's OfficeWHETSTONE RD

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1966 to 2026

26 of 26 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 26 reports for this county, causing no deaths, no injuries and about $152,500 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Hail10
Thunderstorm Wind8
Tornado2
Flash Flood2
Flood2
Heavy Rain1
Lightning1

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
January 2000Tornado (F1)Dayton$100,000no account filed
July 2012Thunderstorm WindDayton$50,000Thunderstorm winds downed trees on power lines and at least one house.
March 1966Tornado (F2)not stated$2,500no account filed
March 2026FloodDayton-The Columbia County Emergency Managers office reported flooding of residences and water over roadways in the town of Dayton the morning of the 14th. Drone footage over Dayton taken on the 14th showed the Touchet river overflowing it's banks into numerous properties adjacent to the river, with flooding also along the Patit Creek that runs through the northern portion of Dayton.
June 2022Flash FloodWhetstone-A trained spotter 6 miles east of Dayton, WA reported that 2.5 inches of rainfall had fallen in less than an hour. This then led to runoff depositing mud and rock from an adjacent farm field, approximately 1 foot deep in some places, across Patit road. The flowing watr and mud also displaced a tractor in the field. Crops were also reported damaged from the heavy rain.
June 2021HailMarengo-A social media report 14 miles NE of Dayton, WA indicated a thunderstorm produced hail up to the size of 1.25 inches at 12:45 am PDT on June 15th.
February 2020FloodDayton-The North Fork and main Fork of the Touchet River as well as Coppei Creek and the Tuccanon River saw major flooding with numerous roads, bridges and home affected. 19 roads were closed, 21 bridges have moderate to severe damage, 144 homes were damaged and over 500 minor structures ( culverts, smaller bridges) affected. No dollar estimate at this time.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindDayton-Trees and powerlines down in Dayton.
September 2013Thunderstorm WindDayton-Trees and power lines down.
September 2013Thunderstorm WindDayton-Trees and power lines down.
July 2012HailMidway-At Camp Wooten State Park, hail ranged from quarter sized up to ping pong ball and was accompanied by heavy rainfall.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindHuntsville-Limbs were pulled off from a tree with the largest limb 4 inches in diameter.
June 2012HailHuntsville-Nickel sized hail with a few larger were observed with strong wind.
June 2012HailDayton-Hail damaged window covers on truck.
March 2011Thunderstorm WindDayton-Dayton Middle School recorded a gust to 59 mph.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindStarbuck-Numerous large tree limbs down. Shingles off roofs.
July 1998Heavy RainDayton-Up to two inches of rain fell in 45 minutes. Flooding was reported along Patit Creek. Water washed out nearby roads and mudslides covered some roads with as much as three inches of mud. 1/2 inch hail also fell.
September 2013Flash FloodDayton-no account filed
August 2013HailDunlap-no account filed
July 2012HailBaileysburg-no account filed
August 2008HailSki Bluewood-no account filed
June 2001HailStarbuck-no account filed
August 2001LightningDayton-no account filed
May 2000Thunderstorm WindDayton-no account filed
April 1998HailHuntsville-no account filed
August 1991Hailnot stated-no account filed

Mines and quarries

32 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 32 workings inside this county. 1 still produces and 31 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Stone, Crushed/Broken16
Sand and Gravel, Construction11
Pumice3
Clay1
Gold1

The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
DaytonClayPast Producer
HoffeditzGoldProspect
Lyons FerryPumiceOccurrence
Snake RiverPumiceOccurrence
StarbuckPumiceOccurrence
Delaney PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Grange City PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Hale PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Lee PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Mays PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Starbuck PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Starbuck PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unnamed PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unnamed PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Barkley QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Barnes QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Borrow PitStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Delaney QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Gaines QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Gravel PitStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Hester QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Patit Creek QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
State Pit Qs-Co-16Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed QuarryyStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed QuarryyStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every populated place in the county

25

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.

The vanished settlements of Columbia County: the places named above that are no longer on the map.

Provenance

  • Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
  • Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
  • Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.