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Grays River, Washington, looking upstream from near mouth.
Image taken October 15, 2013.
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Grays River ...
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Grays River originates in southeast Pacific County, Washington, and flows southwest through Wahkiakum County to its confluence with the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 21. It enters Grays Bay north of the main channel shipping.
Deep River lies downstream of Grays River, and also enters Grays Bay. Miller Point divides the two.
Upstream of Grays River is Harrington Point and Pigeon Bluff. Downstream is Portuguese Point and Grays Point.
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Grays River Drainage ...
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According to the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority website (2004), the lower six miles of Grays River are a slough subject to tidal influence. Dikes have been constructed in this area to protect the low-lying land. The next six miles flow through a wide, flat valley before entering the steep foothills. Most of the upper watershed flows through steep narrow canyons in the rugged Willapa Hills. The entire basin encompasses 124 square miles.
A number of natural and man-made barriers to fish migration were removed in the early 1950s under the Columbia River Fisheries Development Program. Prior to 1952 an 8-foot cascade in a narrow canyon at Grays River Mile (RM) 13 was a barrier to most salmon. Steps were blasted in the falls in 1951 effectively opening the upper watershed to salmon. Falls were also modified on the East Fork Grays River, Mitchell and Hull creeks. Other projects included the removal of log jams and abandoned splash dams and construction of a salmon hatchery on the West Fork of the Grays River in 1960.
The geology in the Grays River subbasin is a mix of sedimentary and volcanics
in the western watersheds
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Grays River (the town) ...
Early Grays River ...
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Edmund S. Meany wrote in "Origin of Washington Geographic Names" (1923, University of Washington Press);
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"Grays River ... flowing into the lower Columbia River at Grays Bay, Wahkiakum County. The name is for Captain Robert Gray. On the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, chart it has the Indian name Ebokwol, and in 1853 it was given another Indian name, Moolhool. ("Pacific Railroad Reports, Vol. XI, Part II, Chart 3.)
Robert Hitchman wrote in "Place Names of Washington" (1985, Washington State Historical Society):
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"Grays River (T10N R8W) ... The stream of the river rises on the boundary ridge between Lewis and Wahkiakum counties; flows 20 miles to Columbia River at Grays Bay. The Indian name was Moolhool or Moohool. In 1841, Cmdr. Charles WIlkes charted the stream as Ebokwol River. The present name is for Robert Gray, who discovered and named Columbia River."
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"Grays River (T10N R8W, Section 13) ... Town on Grays River, 46-1/2 miles west of Longview, northwest Wahkiakum County. This Finnish community of loggers, fishermen, and dairyment is named for the river on which it is located."
In 1841, Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Exploring Expedition gave the name of "Grays Bay" to the bay west of
Grays Point, and the name "Kutzule Bay" to the bay today known as Grays Bay. Draining into "Kutzule Bay" were two rivers. "Kla-be-katl R." was on the west (today's
Deep River) and "Ebokwol R." was on the east (today's Grays River).
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Grays River in 1941 ...
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From "The New Washington: A Guide to the Evergreen State, Federal Writers' Project, 1941":
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US 830 crosses the Grays River, named in honor of Captain Robert Gray. West of the bridge it parallels the river, which rolls along the floor of the valley. Rich dairy pastures alternate with groves of alder, maple, and other leafy trees.
GRAYS RIVER, 91.8m. (112 alt., 40 pop.), trading and marketing center for the adjoining dairy region, is a cluster of buildings beside old maples. High hills contact the town. A co-operative dairy, a church, a store, and a few other enterprises are housed in neatly painted, well-kept buildings. The income of the town is supplemented by nearby logging.
The first forge brought into Grays River Valley is said to have produced everything from ox yokes to dental forceps. The smith, H.P. Anderson, made the forceps for Thomas A. Holden and pulled his tooth. Holden purchased the forceps and became the chief "tooth puller" of the settlement.
West of the junction, the route descends into Deep River Valley with its thousands of acres of diked land tilled by Finnish fishermen and dairy farmers. ..."
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Views ...
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Grays River, Washington, looking downstream from near mouth.
View from Altoona-Pillar Rock Road.
Image taken October 15, 2013.
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Click image to enlarge
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Grays River, Washington, looking upstream from near mouth.
Image taken April 9, 2004.
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Click image to enlarge
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Grays River, Washington, looking downstream from near mouth.
Image taken April 9, 2004.
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Grays River, Washington, from near Rosburg, Washington.
Image taken April 9, 2004.
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- Grays Bay ...
- Grays River Covered Bridge ...
- Lower Columbia Co-Operative Dairy Association ...
- Rosburg ...
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Grays Bay ...
Grays River Covered Bridge ...
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The Grays River Covered Bridge crossed the Grays River between Altoona and Rosburg. It was built in 1905 and covered in 1908. It is 148 feet long (other sources say 156 feet and 158 feet) and 14 feet wide, with two 9-foot "porches" on the ends. Construction is "Howe Truss framing". The bridge was restored in 1988-1989.
The Wahkiakum County Historical Society states that this is the last covered bridge in the State of Washington which is still used by a public highway.
The Grays River Covered Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 (Structure #71000880).
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Grays River Covered Bridge.
Image taken April 9, 2004.
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Grays River Covered Bridge.
Image taken April 9, 2004.
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Lower Columbia Co-Operative Dairy Association ...
In the late 1800s to early 1900s, Wahkiakum County was home to many dairy co-operatives, including the Lower Columbia Co-Operative Dairy Association.
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"In 1898, John Strom organizes farmers in Skamokawa, Wahkiakum County, into the first cooperative creamery on the West Coast. The Skamokawa Farmers' Creamery Association purchases the privately owned Proebstal Brothers Creamery and runs it as a cooperative. Wahkiakum dairy farmers, many of them immigrants from Skandinavia, home to a strong co-op movement, soon organize more cooperatives creameries, which flourish in the county until the Depression years.
Agricultural cooperatives -- farmer-owned businesses that process and distribute their members' goods and return the profits to the farmers -- originated in Northern Europe. Many of the immigrants who settled Wahkiakum County in the 1870s emigrated from Scandinavian countries where the cooperative movement was strong and brought the tradition with them to southwest Washington. ...
When the Proebstal brothers decided to sell in 1898, John Strom encouraged local farmers to buy the creamery and run it as a cooperative. The Skamokawa Farmers' Creamery Association that Strom organized was the first cooperative creamery on the West Coast. ...
More dairy co-ops soon flourished in the county. ...
Wahkiakum County creameries thrived only until the early 1930s, when the combination of the Depression and, ironically, the long-awaited extension of the state highway system to the county sent them into a decline from which they could not recover. ..."
Source:
"HistoryLink.org" website, 2006, "John Strom organizes Skamokawa Farmers' Creamery Association in 1898", written by Kit Oldham, HistoryLink.org Essay 8045.
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Lower Coumbia Co-Operative Dairy Association Building, Grays River, Washington.
Image taken October 15, 2013.
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"The Lower Columbia Co-Operative Dairy Association building was built in 1916 and is now a private residence."
[2017, Washkiakum County & Town of Cathlamet]
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Rosburg ...
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Robert Hitchman wrote in "Place Names of Washington" (1985, Washington State Historical Society):
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"Rosburg (T10N R8W, Sec. 23) ... Hamlet on Grays River, 10 miles northwest of Skamokawa, west central Wahkiakum County. It was named for Christian Rosburg, the first postmaster."
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Rosburg, Washington.
Image taken October 15, 2013.
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Scenic, Rosburg, Washington.
Image taken October 15, 2013.
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Grays River at Rosburg, Washington, looking downstream.
View from Altoona-Pillar Rock Road.
Image taken October 15, 2013.
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Click image to enlarge
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Grays River at Rosburg, Washington, looking upstream.
View from Altoona-Pillar Rock Road.
Image taken October 15, 2013.
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From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...
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Clark, November 8, 1805 ...
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