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Clark County history: Early African Americans residents of Clark County

By Martin Middlewood, Columbian freelance contributor
Published: February 1, 2025, 6:05am

With few exceptions, the historical footprints of African Americans who trod Clark County in the early days are challenging to track. Through the Corps of Discovery’s journals, we know about York. He’s mentioned throughout the journals yet remained William Clark’s slave even after the journey. He was likely the first African American to set foot locally, perhaps even near the present-day Capt. William Clark Park at Cottonwood Beach in Washougal.

One notable exception is James Douglas (1803-1877). Douglas was a longtime Hudson’s Bay Company employee in Vancouver who passed for white. The son of a white plantation owner and a Creole mother, Douglas was selected by George Simpson, the company’s governor, to set up its new headquarters in Canada. He was so successful he became known as the “father of British Columbia.” Queen Victoria knighted him in 1863 for his service.

Despite African Americans being a tiny demographic of the Pacific Northwest through the Civil War, the area debated slavery vigorously. Oregon reacted with anti-Black exclusion laws in 1844 and 1849. But not Washington Territory. Mostly, there wasn’t a need. (However, the territorial legislature passed a Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882.) The United States Land Donation Act of 1853 was a whites-only opportunity. It dismissed African American land ownership, leaving only subservient labor open to them.

Still, partial footprints of some local African Americans are visible. The 1850 census lists 49-year-old Monimia Travers as a member of Capt. Llewellyn Jones’ household. Jones purchased her as a slave before coming West with the Mounted Rifles in 1849. To date, no researcher has discovered a mention of Travers in accounts of the march. The captain released her in 1851, saying, “I have this day given her freedom unconditionally.” Unfortunately, she appears in no local census later. Curiously, the census listed her birthplace as New York, which abolished slavery in 1827.

In January 1883, Alta House owners Willis and Sloan placed a notice in the Vancouver Independent newspaper touting the skills of their unnamed African American cook, stating, “The proprietors of the Alta house, having employed one of the best colored cooks in the country; beg leave to announced that they are now prepared to furnish dinners for private parties, oysters and ball suppers at short notice, also to accommodate the traveling public in first-class style …” The notice reads as if their restaurant’s success depended on the cook’s culinary skill.

In April 1899, the USS Undine docked at the Vancouver wharf, and a crowd gathered to watch the 24th Infantry Regiment, Company B, Buffalo Soldiers disembark. One must wonder whether future Medal of Honor winner Moses Williams was among those watching before he died that August. The 24th spent 13 months at the Vancouver Barracks, becoming the area’s largest concentration of African Americans until World War II.

Military records provide us with details about the Buffalo Soldiers stationed here. Several, like Cpl. Mack Stanfield, Sgt. Charles W. Grayson, Sgt. Ezekiel H. Hill and Sgt. Richard Williams served at the barracks and other military posts throughout the American West. The Army also deployed them overseas, fighting in the Spanish-American and Philippine-American wars. Williams won a special commendation for bravery during the Battle of San Juan Hill.


Martin Middlewood is editor of the Clark County Historical Society Annual. Reach him at ClarkCoHist@gmail.com.

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Columbian freelance contributor