Cathlamet A historic community overlooking the Columbia River, this small Washington town is infused with history L Looking for a pleas- ant drive and a bit of history? Cross the As- toria Bridge, turn right, Bradley House, and take Washington 61 Main St., 360-795-3030 State Routes 401 and then 4 east to the village Julia Butler Hansen Heritage Center, 35 Butler St. of Cathlamet. The town, River Rat Tap, 90 Broadway which has had a popula- Wahkiakum Historical Museum, tion of 500, more or less, for well over a century, 65 River St. still looks much as it River Mile 38 Brewery, did in the 19th century. 285 Third St., by Elochoman Marina, A historic community open 4 to 8 p.m. Friday & Saturday built on the steep slopes rising above the Colum- bia River, the life of the town centers on the river, as it always KDVDORWRIKLVWRU\KDVÀRZHGE\DQG through Cathlamet. On Nov. 11, 1805 the wind was, “very high from the S.W., with most tremendous waves breaking with great violence against the shores. Rain falling in torrents, we are all wet as usual and Today Bradley House is a bed and breakfast owned by Paige and Steven Lake. our situation is truly a disagreeable one.” Welcome to Cathlamet, Capt. Clark. One of the largest native settlements WUDGLQJIXUV¿VKDQGRWKHU Timber mogul Henry Armstrong built one of on the Columbia west of the Cascades foods to the river travelers these in 1907. This large Craftsman eventually was on the site of what is now Cathlamet. on their way to Astoria; became the home of Blanche Heron Bradley, who l There, Lewis and Clark met a canoe with soon others began to set- donated it to the city to become a library. Today ca ri to County His ing gg ¿YH :DKNLDNXP QDWLYHV ZKRP &ODUN Outside the Wahkiakum tle in Cathlamet. Bradley House is a bed and breakfast owned by lo ” ot Sp -ton “Six called, “the best canoe navigators I ever Museum sits the 70 James Birnie’s sister Steven and Paige Lake. The house is a prominent VDZ´ ,W ZDV QRW WKH ¿UVW FRQWDFW RI WKHVH locomotive. became Wahkiakum downtown landmark, and the interior has hardly indigenous peoples with Europeans; Clark &RXQW\¶V¿UVWVFKRROWHDFKHU6KHPDUULHGDIRU changed since Armstrong built it. Even the original noted that, “One of those men had on a sailor’s mer Hudson Bay clerk, George Roberts, and in 1857 heavy curtains survived the 14 years that the house jacket and pantaloons.” they built a home. Now the Julia Butler Hansen Her- served as a public library. Further contact was not advantageous to the itage Center, it is the oldest building in Cathlamet. The most infamous waterfront landmark was, Wahkiakum people, bringing as it did disease and 6KRUWO\DIWHU%LUQLHDUULYHGWKH¿UVWRIDVHULHV until 2010, the River Rat Tap tavern. The build- alcohol. The last speakers of the language they of lumber mills was built in the area, followed by ing and the sign remain, but the building currently shared with the Kathlamet people across the river ¿VKLQJDQGFDQQLQJ'XHWRWKHWRZQ¶VLVRODWLRQ houses a food bank. Once used for scenes in the died in the 1930s. IDUPLQJZDVDQHFHVVDU\LIYHU\GLI¿FXOWHQWHUSULVH movies “Man of Honor” and “Snow Falling on Ce- In 1846 James Birnie, a retired Hudson Bay As logging camps dwindled, the need for farms di- dars,” the River Rat is for sale ($125,000), waiting &RPSDQ\HPSOR\HHZDVWKH¿UVWQRQQDWLYHWRVHW minished, and few remain today. for a lover of waterfront taverns to revive it again. tle in what is now Cathlamet. His wife, Charlotte, What does remain is a picturesque town out of ,QWKHPHDQWLPH&DWKODPHWKDVWKH'URS$Q had Kootenai and French Canadian ancestry, and the WLPH7KHGRFNVRQFHXVHGE\FRPPHUFLDO¿VKHU chor Brewery — or the brewery that was once couple had 12 children. Birnie established a trading men are now use by tugboats and recreational boat- NQRZQDV'URS$QFKRU6HHPVWKDW$QFKRU%UHZ post called Birnie’s Retreat, and the family became HUV 2Q 0DLQ 6WUHHW \RX¶OO ¿QG DQ DQWLTXH VKRS ing of San Francisco thought that this small craft a part of the village of several hundred natives. restaurants, and all the other small town offerings. EUHZHU\ZDVLQIULQJLQJRQLWVWUDGHPDUN6R'URS Birnie’s Retreat soon became a thriving business,