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Wahkiakum County, Washington

35 topographic sheets cover 18 settlements here, and 6 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

6 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Washington within the United States
Wahkiakum County within Washington

What the record shows

  • 272 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 6 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 3 buildings, 2 structures and 1 district.
  • 1 of them is a covered bridge.
  • 5 of the 6 listings were added during the 1970s.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 18 populated places in this county; 18 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

6

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
Columbia River Gillnet Boatstructure197878002783
Deep River Pioneer Lutheran Churchbuilding197474001983
Grays River Covered Bridgestructure197171000880
Julia Butler Hansen Housebuilding2024100010342
Pioneer Churchbuilding197373001893
Skamokawa Historic Districtdistrict197676001923

Covered bridges

1

Wahkiakum County has 1 covered bridge on the National Register. Each is a listed structure with a federal nomination on file.

Grays River Covered BridgeListed 1971

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

58 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 58 of them, burning about 144 acres. 2 started naturally and 9 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning16
Missing data/not specified/undetermined13
Arson/incendiarism9
Recreation and ceremony7
Equipment and vehicle use4
Other causes3
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Natural2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Fireworks1

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

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
19 March 2019Debris and open burning85 acresWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersWILDWOOD LANE
24 November 2005Debris and open burning30 acresWashington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters500
6 August 2014Power generation/transmission/distribution5.0 acresWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersEAST VALLEY
30 June 2009Debris and open burning3.0 acresWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersNAGASAWA PASS
19 March 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersELOCHOMAN DIVIDE
6 March 2001Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresWashington State Department of Natural Resources Headquartersnot named
12 June 2002Debris and open burning1.7 acresWashington State Department of Natural Resources Headquartersnot named
12 April 2020Equipment and vehicle use1.5 acresWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersDUCK CREEK

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

Storms, 2001 to 2025

47 of 47 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 47 reports for this county, causing no deaths, no injuries and about $769,000 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Flood41
Heavy Rain5
Hail1

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
December 2007FloodRosburg$420,000The Grays River at Rosburg reached major flood levels, and one family was evacuated when flood waters inundated their home. County roads throughout the area received damage, and one family near the river lost an entire herd of cows. NOTE: Damage estimates are for the entire Wahkiakum county.
December 2015FloodRosburg$339,000Heavy rain resulted in flooding of the Grays River near Rosburg.
November 2015FloodPillar Rock$10,000Several roads were closed due to water on the roadways including Covered Bridge Road, Eden Valley Road, Satterland Road, Foster Road, and West End Loop Road. Grays River near Rosburg exceeded flood stage early in the morning on the 17th then exceeded major flood stage in the evening. The river crested at 16.09 feet, and fell below flood stage around 2 pm Wednesday afternoon. Heavy rain also resulted in a small landslide near milepost 2 on Altoona Pillar Rock Road.
February 2025FloodGrays River-Grays River at Covered Bridge near Rosburg. Reached minor flood stage (28.5 ft) 2/25 at 3 15 am. Reached Moderate Flood (30.5 ft) 2/25 at 645 am. Peaked at 31.9 feet 2/25 at 1215pm. Fell below Moderate 2/25 at 2030 PST. Fell below minor at 2/26 5 am.
December 2024FloodRosburg-Along the Grays river an Emergency manager reported numerous road closures due to high water including Covered Bridge Road, Loop Road, and Altoona-Pillar Rock Road as of the morning of 12-18-2024.
December 2024FloodRosburg-River reached minor flood level 28.5 ft 12/26 at 830 am PST, peaked at 28.84 12/26 1145am, and fell below minor flood 12/26 5 pm.
December 2023FloodEden-The Grays River rose above flood stage on December 4th, cresting at 16.24 feet on December 5th at 9 am, and fell below flood stage on December 6th. Flood stage is 12.0 feet.
January 2022FloodGrays River-The gauge on the Grays River near Rosburg rose above flood stage of 12.0 feet at 2345PST, crested at 15.5 feet on the 12th at 0715PST, the fell below flood stage at 2330PST. A mudslide closed SR-4 in both direction near Raistakka Road.
January 2022FloodGrays River-The gauge on the Grays River near Rosburg rose above flood stage of 12.0 feet at 0640PST, crested at 16.2 feet on the 7th at 0200PST, then dropped below flood stage on the 8th at 0340PST. In addition to river flooding, widespread areal flooding resulted in a lot of road closures in the county, trapping people for 3 days.
February 2022FloodGrays River-Minor flooding occurred along the Grays River. Heavy rain fell as surrounding areas measured 2 to 10 inches of rain. No damages were reported.
January 2021FloodRosburg-The Grays River near Rosburg rose above 1145PST on the 12th, crested at 15.54 feet, then fell below flood stage at 0215PST on the 14th. Flood stage is 12.0 feet.
November 2021FloodGrays River-The Grays River crested at 12.5 feet on the afternoon of November 5th. Flood stage is 12 feet.
December 2020FloodGrays River-The Grays River gage (GRRW1) measured a crest of 12.1 feet. The flood stage is 12.0 feet. No damage was reported.
April 2018FloodGrays River-The Grays River near Rosburg crested at 12.6 feet around 1 AM, which is 0.6 foot above flood stage. No damage was reported.
December 2018FloodGrays River-The Grays River near Rosburg crested at 13.2 feet around 11:30 AM, which is 1.2 feet above flood stage. No damage was reported.
February 2017FloodGrays River-Heavy rain caused the Grays River near Rosburg to flood. The river crested at 15.57 feet, which is 3.57 feet above flood stage.
November 2017FloodGrays River-The Grays River crested at 13.6 feet around 10 am, which is 1.6 feet above flood stage. No damage was reported.
November 2017FloodGrays River-The Grays River crested at 15.3 feet around 12 am, which is 3.3 feet above flood stage. No damage was reported.
November 2017FloodGrays River-The Grays River crested at 14.0 feet around 3 am, which is 2 feet above flood stage. No damage was reported.
December 2017FloodGrays River-The Grays River near Rosburg crested at 13.4 feet around 7 pm, which is 1.4 feet above flood stage. No damage was reported.
October 2017FloodGrays River-Heavy rain caused the Grays River near Rosburg to flood. The river crested at 15.56 feet, which is 3.56 feet above flood stage.
September 2017HailRosburg-County official relayed a report of 1.0 inch hail from a resident in Rosburg.
October 2016FloodRosburg-The Grays River crested at 12.08 feet around 10 am, which is 0.08 feet above flood stage. No damage was reported.
November 2016FloodGrays River-Heavy rain resulted in flooding of the Grays River near Rosburg. Grays River reached flood stage at 1021 AM on November 24th, and crested at 13.9 feet at 1215 AM November 25th. The river dropped below flood stage at 850 AM November 25th.
January 2015FloodRosburg-Grays River near Rosburg reached flood stage of 12 feet at 1205 AM on January 5th, and crested around 15.4 feet at 815 AM. The river fell below flood stage around 1030 PM.
January 2015Heavy RainRosburg-The Washington Department of Transportation reported Westbound State Route 4 was closed at mile post 21 due to a rock or mud slide resulting from heavy rain. The rain gauge at nearby KM Mountain measured 2 inches of rain in the 6 hour period leading up to the slide.
February 2015FloodRosburg-The Grays River reached the flood stage of 12 feet at 935 AM on February 6th. The river crested at 13.9 feet at 218 PM, and dropped below flood stage at 850 PM.
October 2015FloodRosburg-Heavy rain resulted in Flooding of the Grays River. Grays River reached flood stage at 1230 pm on October 31, and crested at 14.7 feet at 415 pm. The river dropped below flood stage at 1215 AM November 1st. The local Sheriff confirmed that water from the river flooded the nearby Covered Bridge Road.
December 2014FloodRosburg-The Grays River near Rosburg reached the flood stage of 12 feet at 715 AM PST on December 20th. The river crested at 13.6 feet at 12:15 AM PST on December 21 before falling below flood stage at 8:15 AM PST.
March 2014FloodRosburg-Heavy rain resulted in the Grays River near Rosburg to reach flood stage around 7 pm on March 8. The river crested at 15 feet around 1 am on March 9th and fell below flood stage around 6 pm.
March 2014FloodRosburg-The Grays River near Rosburg briefly flooded March 6. The river reached flood stage around 11 am March 6th before cresting at 13.2 feet at 2 pm. The river fell below flood stage around 1 am on March 7th.
April 2014FloodRosburg-The Grays River near Rosburg reached flood stage around 6 am on April 24th, 2014. The river crested at 12.1 ft around 730 AM and fell below flood stage around 9 AM.
February 2014FloodRosburg-The Grays river at Rosburg reached flood stage at 150 AM PST. The river level crested at 13.2 feet at 545 AM PST, and fell below flood stage at 100 PM PST.
September 2013FloodRosburg-Around 4 inches of rain fell over the Willapa Hills, and resulted in the Grays River near Rosburg to exceed flood stage.
January 2012FloodGrays River-Heavy rain combined with snowmelt runoff caused the Grays River near Rosburg to overflow its banks and flood low lying areas. The Grays River crested at 13.1 feet on January 21st at 6 am PST, 1.1 feet above flood stage.
February 2012FloodGrays River-Heavy rainfall caused the Grays River near Rosburg to overflow its banks and flood low lying areas. The Grays River crested at 12.7 feet on February 22nd at 8 am PST, 0.7 feet above flood stage.
March 2012FloodGrays River-Heavy rain caused the Grays River near Rosburg to overflow its banks and flood low lying areas. The Grays River crested at 12.9 feet on March 29th at 8 pm PDT, 0.9 feet above flood stage.
November 2012FloodGrays River-Heavy rain caused the Grays River near Rosburg to overflow its banks and flood low lying areas. The Grays River crested at 16.0 feet on Novemeber 19th at 3 pm PST, 4.0 feet above flood stage.
March 2012FloodGrays River-Heavy rain combined with snowmelt runoff causing the Grays River near Rosburg to overflow its banks and flood low lying areas. The Grays River crested at 14.7 feet on March 15th at 2 pm PDT, 2.7 feet above flood stage.
January 2011FloodRosburg-Heavy rainfall combined with snowmelt runoff to produce flooding on the Grays River. The Grays River near Rosburg crested at 14.3 feet on January 16th at 13:15 PST.
December 2010FloodRosburg-Heavy rainfall over the area caused the Grays River near Rosburg to overflow its banks.
January 2009FloodRosburg-Heavy rain combined with snowmelt runoff caused the Grays River near Rosburg to overflow its banks.
January 2009Heavy RainDeep River-Heavy rain caused flooding across highway 4, resulting in the closure of highway 4 west of Rosburg.
November 2008FloodRosburg-Heavy rains over the Willapa Hills drained into the Grays River, raising the river out of it's banks. This combined with high tides brought flooding to areas in Wahkiakum county, especially around the town of Rosburg. Flooding in the area closed local roads as well as some evacuations of people from their homes.
August 2001Heavy RainCountywide-An unseasonably wet weather system brought heavy rain to Southwestern Washington. Storm totals include 1 to 4 inches in the Coast Range and along the Coast, 1 to 3 inches in the Cascades, and 0.75 to 1.75 inches in the inland valleys. No damage reports were received.
January 2003Heavy RainCountywide-no account filed
March 2003Heavy RainCountywide-no account filed

Mines and quarries

18 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 18 workings inside this county. None of them still produces: all are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Sand and Gravel, Construction8
Stone, Crushed/Broken8
Stone2

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

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Adams QuarryStonePast Producer
Rock Creek QuarryStonePast Producer
7000 Pit # 1Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Callahan QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Cathlamet PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Crown Cathlamet QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Elokomin River PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Elokomin River PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Elokomin River PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Grays River PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Johnson QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Mcnally QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Olsen PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unnamed PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unnamed QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every populated place in the county

18

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 Wahkiakum 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.