Tagged Articles:
Clark County History

‘This Is Our Legacy’: Vancouver NAACP celebrates its 80 year history with new exhibit

April 19, 2025, 6:13am Clark County Life

The NAACP’s Vancouver branch is celebrating its 80th anniversary this month with a new exhibit at the Clark County Historical Museum. “This Is Our Legacy” opened with a reception April… Read story

Clark County history: 1894 taxpayers, what do you say?

April 19, 2025, 6:05am Clark County Life Updated 2 days ago

The Gilded Age ended in the worst economic depression to date. Effects of the Panic of 1893 lingered until 1897. Read story

This Week in Clark County History, April 25

April 25, 2025, 5:59am Clark County Life

A weekly look back compiled by the Clark County Historical Museum from The Columbian archives available at columbian.newspapers.com or at the museum. Read story

This week in Clark County history, April 18

April 18, 2025, 6:00am Clark County Life

A weekly look back compiled by the Clark County Historical Museum from The Columbian archives available at columbian.newspapers.com or at the museum. Read story

Humanities Washington musician and historian Joel Underwood delivers a musical talk about Woody Guthrie at The Historic Trust in Vancouver in September 2024.

DOGE cuts imperil Clark County nonprofits’ cultural, educational programming

April 12, 2025, 6:05am Clark County Life Subscriber Exclusive

Cultural and educational programming hosted by local nonprofit agencies including schools, libraries, the Clark County Historical Museum and The Historic Trust are in jeopardy after sweeping federal grant cuts earlier this month. Historical speakers and research, free event programming and literacy help for elementary students and their families all appear… Read story

In 1938, the Bonneville Power Administration received $10.75 million to lay dual transmission lines connecting Bonneville Dam and Vancouver. About 10 percent of the funds were used to build Ampere, which was renamed Ross Substation in 1941.

Clark County History: From Ampere to Ross

April 12, 2025, 6:02am Clark County Life

On July 13, 1938, The Columbian’s front page announced, “Way Cleared for Building Power Lines” in a single-column block headline. Those power lines were particularly vital to Vancouver, turning it into a literal powerhouse that remains today. Read story

Clark County history: Suicides led to bank failure

A.B. Eastman, Vancouver’s mayor and the receiver of the First National Bank, lived in this house during a local financial catastrophe. The crisis began when a bank examiner confronted bank President Charles Brown and cashier Edmund Canby about the bank’s fiscal anomalies in 1901. They panicked, fled and died by suicide, throwing the bank into financial chaos.

Two respected employees of the First National Bank used the same pistol when they died by suicide in 1901. Bank President Charles Brown and Cashier Edmund Lee Canby were well respected in Vancouver. Both were married, with children. Read story