From Prune Hill’s sweeping views of the Columbia River and Mount Hood to a charming downtown, the city of Camas has much to offer residents, many of whom didn’t live here when it was a mill town. Between 2004 and 2006, for example, the city added 2,213 homes.
• Population: 16,950.
• Major draws: Prune Hill, good schools, small-town appeal with proximity to Portland’s amenities.
• Must see: Lacamas Lake, Camas Public Library, charming downtown.
• Web site: http://www.ci.camas.wa.us.
The pulp and paper mill, which Koch Industries bought in 2007 from Georgia-Pacific Corp., remains a major physical presence at the west entrance of town even though it has endured years of cuts.
• Population: 16,950.
• Major draws: Prune Hill, good schools, small-town appeal with proximity to Portland's amenities.
• Must see: Lacamas Lake, Camas Public Library, charming downtown.
• Web site: <a href="http://www.ci.camas.wa.us.">http://www.ci.camas.wa.us.</a>
The city, knowing it wouldn’t be a mill town forever, attracted clean industry in the 1990s, including semiconductor businesses WaferTech and Linear Technology. Those began showing their own weaknesses in 2008, though. Linear Technology planned three weeklong shutdowns as a result of fewer chip orders and WaferTech scaled back capital spending plans. Both businesses began to show improvements in 2009.
Former Police Chief Don Chaney, who serves on the city council, said the community continues to work to woo industry that will be good for the economy and the environment. At the same time, the city wants to keep its small-town identity, best expressed in locally owned businesses that have taken root in downtown.
In 2007, Money magazine ranked Camas 63rd on its annual list of 100 best places to live in America. The national publication focused on small towns with high scores on quality-of-life issues such as good schools and safe streets.
The city has plans to grow in the future. In 2008, it annexed an estimated 1,200 acres north of Lacamas Lake.
