Cowlitz County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of July 2007 its population was 100,467 It forms the Longview, Washington, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. The county seat is at Kelso, and its largest city is Longview. Its name derives from the anglicized version of the Cowlitz Indian term, Cow-e-liske, meaning either “river of shifting sands” or “capturing the medicine spirit.” It was ...
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Cowlitz County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of July 2007 its population was 100,467 It forms the Longview, Washington, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. The county seat is at Kelso, and its largest city is Longview. Its name derives from the anglicized version of the Cowlitz Indian term, Cow-e-liske, meaning either “river of shifting sands” or “capturing the medicine spirit.” It was formed on April 21, 1854.
Prior to European arrival to the area, it was inhabited by numerous Native American tribes, with the Cowlitz tribe being the largest. They were drawn to the region by the abundance of salmon. The Cowlitz are considered to be the first regional inhabitants to engage in commerce as they traded extensively with other tribes in Western and Eastern Washington. The Cowlitz Indian population declined significantly from the 1829-30 smallpox outbreak.
European explorers discovered and began navigating the Columbia River in...
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