 Wahkiakum County Eagle building | |
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Jacob Nelson and Brandon J. Simmons |
| Founder(s) | S. G. Williams |
| Founded | 1891 |
| City | Cathlamet, Washington |
| Circulation | 1,693(as of 2022) [1] |
| OCLC number | 17377207 |
| Website | waheagle |
The Wahkiakum County Eagle is a weekly newspaper, originally founded in 1891, based in Cathlamet and covering Wahkiakum County in the U.S. state of Washington. [2] [3]
The newspaper was founded as the Skamokawa Eagle in 1891 by S. G. Williams. [4] It joined the Cathlamet Gazette in the local news field in this lower Columbia River town. [5] In 1930, David Head of Cathlamet bought the paper; at the time it was thought to be the only newspaper in the Pacific Northwest still produced with a hand press. [4] Although one source states that the Gazette lasted only about five years, [5] a 1940 Oregon Journal news item states that it continued as the Columbia River Sun from the early 20th century until it merged with the Eagle in that year, and was renamed to simply The Eagle. [6]
It has been owned by several generations of the Nelson family since 1963. Rick Nelson, who took over as owner and publisher after his parents' death in 2006, died in 2023. His son Jacob and Jacob's husband, Brandon Simmons, took over after Rick's death. Both expect to continue in their existing careers while managing the Eagle. [7] [8]
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 of the Chinook, who is buried in the Pioneer Cemetery in Cathlamet.
Cathlamet is a town located along the Ocean Beach Highway in Wahkiakum County, Washington, United States, where it is the county seat. The population was 560 at the 2020 census.
Chinookan peoples include several groups of Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest in the United States who speak the Chinookan languages. Since at least 4000 BCE Chinookan peoples have resided along the upper and Middle Columbia River (Wimahl) from the river's gorge downstream (west) to the river's mouth, and along adjacent portions of the coasts, from Tillamook Head of present-day Oregon in the south, north to Willapa Bay in southwest Washington. In 1805 the Lewis and Clark Expedition encountered the Chinook Tribe on the lower Columbia.
U.S. Route 30 (US 30) in the U.S. state of Oregon is a major east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs from its western terminus in Astoria to the Idaho border east of Ontario. West of Portland, US 30 generally follows the southern shore of the Columbia River; east of Portland, the highway has largely been replaced with Interstate 84 (I-84), though it is signed all the way across the state, and diverges from the I-84 mainline in several towns as a de facto business route. Out of all the states US 30 traverses, it spends the most time in Oregon. At 477.02 miles (767.69 km), it is also the longest road in the state.
State Route 4 (SR 4) is a 62.27-mile-long (100.21 km) state highway, serving the southwestern region of the U.S. state of Washington. The highway, also known as Ocean Beach Highway, travels east along the Columbia River from U.S. Route 101 (US 101) at Johnston's Landing through Pacific, Wahkiakum and Cowlitz counties to an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) in Kelso. SR 4 is designated as part of the Lewis and Clark Trail Scenic Byway, a state scenic byway, as well as part of the National Highway System.
The Columbian white-tailed deer is one of the several subspecies of white-tailed deer in North America. It is a member of the Cervidae (deer) family, which includes mule deer, elk, moose, caribou, and the black-tailed deer that live nearby.
Julia Butler Hansen was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1960 to 1974. She represented Washington's Third Congressional District as a Democrat. She was the second woman and first Democratic woman elected to Congress from Washington.
Puget Island is a 7.5 sq mi(4,785 acre; 19.365 km2) island and Census-designated place (CDP) in the Columbia River in Wahkiakum County, Washington, United States. The island was named for Peter Puget, a lieutenant in the Vancouver Expedition of exploration, which first mapped the island in 1792.
Westport is an unincorporated community and census-designated place on the Columbia River in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 321.
The Wahkiakum County ferry crosses the lower Columbia River between the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon, and is the last regularly scheduled car ferry to cross the Columbia River between the two states.
State Route 409 (SR 409) is a short Washington state highway in Wahkiakum County. The highway runs north from the Wahkiakum County Ferry on Puget Island to SR 4 in the county seat of Cathlamet over a distance of 3.84 miles (6.18 km). The route connects Westport, Oregon, which is served by the county ferry, and Cathlamet. The highway was referred to as Secondary State Highway 12F (SSH 12F) from 1943 until 1964.
The Julia Butler Hansen Bridge in Wahkiakum County, in the U.S. state of Washington, connects Cathlamet to Puget Island. It spans the Cathlamet Channel of the Columbia River. The Wahkiakum County Ferry connects Puget Island to Westport, Oregon. The bridge was named after former United States Congresswoman Julia Butler Hansen, who represented Washington from 1960 to 1974.
The Kathlamet people are a tribe of Native American people with a historic homeland along the Columbia River in what is today southwestern Washington state. The Kathlamet people originally spoke the Kathlamet language, a dialect or language of the Chinookan language family. They were also called "Guasámas, or Guithlamethl, by the Clackamas", and "Kwillu'chini, by the Chinook."
Eagle Newspapers was an American newspaper publisher serving the states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho. The company originated in 1948 when Elmo Smith purchased the Blue Mountain Eagle. He would later sell the paper but the company's name would be derived from that title. Smith served a partial term as Oregon Governor and upon his death the business was managed by his son Denny Smith, who rapidly grew it from three newspapers to nearly twenty in the span of two decades. By 1985, Eagle Newspapers publications accounted for nearly one-half of the weekly newspapers sold each week in Oregon. The company sold off its last paper in 2020.
Binford & Mort Publishing is a book publishing company located in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1930, the company was previously known as Metropolitan Press and Binfords & Mort. At one time they were the largest book publisher in the Pacific Northwest. The privately owned company focuses on books from the Pacific Northwest, and has printed many important titles covering Oregon's history.
Columbia Gorge News is a weekly newspaper based in Hood River, Oregon. It covers communities throughout the Columbia River Gorge, including those in Wasco County, Oregon and Klickitat County, Washington. It was formed in April 2020 by the merger of The Dalles Chronicle, Hood River News and White Salmon Enterprise after Eagle Newspapers sold them to Chelsea Marr. The paper has a circulation around 7,000 and publishes on Wednesdays. Columbia Gorge News is a member of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association.
Joseph George Megler, generally known as J.G. Megler, was a German-American salmon cannery owner and politician in Washington. He was a member of the Washington House of Representatives for the first legislature in 1889 and five terms thereafter. He was also a member of the Washington State Senate for two terms.
Manzanillo was a stern-wheel driven steamboat built at Portland, Oregon in 1881. Manzanillo was first run on the Columbia River route from Portland to Clatskanie, Oregon and way points along the river. The initial owner of the boat was the People's Freighting Company, but the Shaver family soon acquired control of the vessel, which became the first vessel of what is now Shaver Transportation Company.
Lilian Hale is an American politician who currently serves as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 19th district, which encompasses Lewis, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Pacific, Thurston and Wahkiakum counties since 2024.