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Wahkiakum County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,422, making it one of the least populous counties in Washington. The county seat and only incorporated town is Cathlamet. The county was formed out of Cowlitz County in April 1854 and is named for Chief Wahkiakum ("Tall Timber") of the Chinook, who is buried in the Pioneer Cemetery in Cathlamet.
The county operates the Wahkiakum County Ferry, which connects Cathlamet to Westport, Oregon, across the Columbia River.
The region that became Wahkiakum County was home to the Wahkiakums, one of the Chinookan peoples. Archaeological investigation at Skamokawa indicated that the site, where the inhabitants engaged in fishing, hunting, wood-working, and tool manufacture, was approximately 2,300 years old.
Merchant sea captain Robert Gray, on his Columbia River expedition in 1792, was the first American known to arrive in the area. During salmon season in the early 1800s, the Hudson's Bay Company's post at Fort George operated a salting station in the region. In 1844, the first trading post was established in the area, near Skamokawa. It was succeeded by Birnie's Retreat, a trading post established in 1846 by James Birnie, who had previously worked for the Hudson's Bay Company. The influence of his wife, Charlotte Beaulieu Birnie, whose parents were a French voyageur and a Kootenay tribe member, helped protect Cathlamet during the Puget Sound War.
Wahkiakum County, with Cathlamet as the county seat, was created by the First Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Washington in 1854.
Early settlers came from Great Britain and the eastern United States until around 1870, when they were followed by a large number of immigrants from Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Dalmatia. From 1870 to the early 1900s, there was a large population of Chinese residents who worked in the fish canneries. The total population in 1912 was 5,283. Lacking roads, travel between early communities was by foot or by boat. Numerous areas of population disappeared in the years after roads began to replace water transportation.
Settlers engaged in fishing, logging, farming, and trading. Salmon canning began in 1866, quickly followed by the establishment of multiple canneries. In 1872, Chinese laborers were brought in to work in the canneries. Salmon canning over the years was impacted by overfishing and habitat degradation, with declines observed by 1889. The last salmon pack in Wahkiakum County took place in 1947.
As a densely wooded region, Wahkiakum County was an abundant source for logging companies. Logs were easily transported by water, although that transport relied on seasonal changes in freshets. When timber nearest the water had been felled, loggers had to rely on oxen, and then on railroads. The first logging train began operating in 1892, established by Simon Benson.
Many trees were also felled by immigrants to clear land for farming. By 1912, there were approximately 140 farms in the region, primarily dairy farms. The first cooperative creamery on the west coast was organized in 1898 in Skamokawa. The first chapter in Wahkiakum County of the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry was organized in 1901.
The earliest periodicals in the area included the Cathlamet Gazette (1889), the Skamokawa Eagle (1891) which continues to be the county's official newspaper, and the Timberman (1899).
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