The 2023 history report of the Clark County Historical Society and Museum was recently released. The wonderful lead article, authored by retired Columbian reporter Gregg Herrington (“The Checkered Past of Clark County’s Own Railroad”), tells the story about this county asset.
The first 5 miles of the railroad were completed May 13, 1888, and a locomotive and 17 cars arrived by the end of 1888, one year before Washington became a state. In January 1903, the line was extended to Yacolt. Once-a-day passenger service to Yacolt started Nov. 14, 1903, and continued until 1932. In 1948, the line was extended from Yacolt to a new mill site 6.2 miles north to the end of Chelatchie Prairie.
The railroad is a major historical and economic resource of the county and should be protected and enhanced, not abandoned as some in the county are now advocating. It should be remembered that a ton of freight can be moved by rail with 10 percent of the energy required by highway travel and with far less environmental impact.
Among the major benefits of the railroad are job development in north county and diversification of tax sources for Battle Ground Public Schools, which currently is overdependent on residential tax sources.
The Clark County Council should focus on protecting and enhancing this economic resource and not surrendering to the Not In My Back Yard advocates who are not interested in the welfare of the county.
