Washington Voter Check
Wahkiakum County, Washington
Cathlamet, WA - Wahkiakum County Courthouse 01 — CC BY-SA 3.0, Joe Mabel (on Flickr as Joe Mabel from Seattle, US) · source

Question 1 of 8

What should I know about this county?

About Wahkiakum County

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 the third-least populous county 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.

Description adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Question 2 of 8

What is this county like?

Wahkiakum County at a glance

County seat
Cathlamet
Population
4,422 (2020)
Land area
287 sq mi
Founded
1854

Question 3 of 8

Where do people live here?

Largest communities in Wahkiakum County

  1. Puget Island Census Designated Place922
  2. East Cathlamet578
  3. Cathlamet county seat560
  4. Skamokawa Valley487
  5. Rosburg340

Question 4 of 8

How did this county come to be?

History of Wahkiakum County

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 European 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.

Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Question 5 of 8

Am I registered here?

Start here

Confirm you're ready to vote in Wahkiakum County

  1. Step 1

    Run a guided check

    Scan Check Protect walks you through verifying your Washington registration and flags anything that needs fixing — free.

  2. Step 2

    Ask Wahkiakum County directly

    Your county election office handles registration, mail ballots, and polling places.

Question 6 of 8

Who runs elections in this county?

Official channels

Wahkiakum County election resources

Statewide tools and every Washington resource in one place: the Washington page at Scan Check Protect →

Question 7 of 8

Who are this county's neighbors?

Question 8 of 8

Who made this site?

Part of Washington Voter Check

This is the Wahkiakum County page of Washington Voter Check, a project of True the Vote, pointing Washington voters at the official tools that already exist — and at Scan Check Protect to verify your registration.

Where anything here differs from what Wahkiakum County or the Washington Secretary of State publishes, they are right and this page is not.