Camas-Washougal Historical Society hosts presentation

CAMAS — The Camas-Washougal Historical Society hosted a presentation Nov. 16 at the Camas Mill Interpretive Center, 401 Adams St.

Curator Ron Hawkins showed a video featuring paper mill processes (as of six years ago) and an interview with local historian Virginia Warren.

Hawkins, a Washougal High School graduate, moved to the area in 1969 and worked 43 years at the paper mill. The last 20 years he was the senior environmental air technician, as well as a team leader for the technical operations group. He retired around five years ago.

“I caught the (history) fever years ago by listening to the old-timers talk about their experiences,” Hawkins said. “I researched for about a year to get the exact day they broke ground. I try to make some of the exhibits more interactive, so the youth enjoy the museum as well. The mill was built six years before Washington became a state, so there is a lot to talk about.”

Hawkins catalogs photos and documents and has collected 1,000 issues of the original mill newsletters, “Making Paper,” which he scanned by hand at the Clark County Historical Museum.

The mill’s history dates back to 1883 when Henry Pittock, who owned The Oregonian newspaper, formed a company called the Lacamas Colony Co. Under Pittock’s leadership, the business purchased 2,600 acres in and around what is now the town of Camas and began construction of a paper mill that would supply newsprint for The Oregonian.

Crews began clearing land, building dams and constructing a sawmill. During that same time, the town site of Lacamas was laid out and platted, and the town’s first store was opened for business.