Camas, Washington

History

Officially incorporated on June 18, 1906, the city is named after the camas lily, a plant with an onion-like bulb prized by Native Americans. A paper mill was first established in the city in 1883 with the support of Henry Pittock, a wealthy entrepreneur from England who had settled in Portland, Oregon, where he published The Oregonian. At the west end of downtown Camas is the large Georgia-Pacific paper mill from which the high school teams get their name, "the Papermakers".

By 1971, there had been four attempts to merge Camas and Washougal that were denied by voters.

Mill history

Pittock's LaCamas Colony bought 2,600 acres in 1883, forming the Columbia River Paper Company the following year to begin production in 1885, before merging with Oregon City's Crown Paper Company to form Crown Columbia Paper in 1905. After converting from steam to electricity in 1913, Crown merged with Willamette Paper in 1914 and then with Zellerbach Paper in 1928. Crown Zellerbach became the largest paper manufacturer on the west coast and the Camas mill the largest of its type in the world.

During World War II, the Camas mill temporarily manufactured parts and components for US Naval vessels produced at the nearby Kaiser Shipyards. In 1950, the Camas mill was the first factory to produce folded paper napkins. "Crown Z" was the area's biggest employer in 1971, with 2,643 of approximately 3,700 Clark County paper mill workers. In 1986, Crown Zellerbach was absorbed by James River Corporation; after further mergers with the Fort Howard Paper Company in 1997 and Georgia-Pacific in 2000, Koch Industries acquired Georgia-Pacific and the Camas mill in 2005. In 2018, Koch announced plans to lay off approximately 200–300 workers, shutting down all equipment related to communications paper, fine paper conversion and pulping operations.

Historically, the commercial base of the city was almost entirely the paper mill; In recent years, however, the diversity of industries in and near Camas has been enhanced considerably by the influx of several high-tech, white-collar companies. These include Hewlett-Packard, Linear Technology, WaferTech and Underwriters Laboratories.

Geography

, the city had a total area of 16.35 sqmi, of which 14.19 sqmi was land and 2.16 sqmi was water. There are numerous bodies of water within the city limits, including Lacamas Lake, Lacamas Creek, Round Lake, Fallen Leaf Lake, Tug Lake, the Washougal River, and the Columbia River.

Camas is approximately 20 mi northeast of Portland, Oregon.

Government

The City of Camas operates as a mayor–council government with an elected mayor and 7 elected council members, who appoint an administrator to supervise operations, including emergency services, judicial services, public parks and utilities, and a cemetery. , the city operated on a $153 million budget and employed approximately 267 staff.

Arts and culture

Annual events include the summer "Camas Days", as well as other festivals and celebrations.

Parks and recreation

There are numerous parks in Camas and within the Camas area, including:

• Crown Park
• Dorothy Fox Park
• Fallen Leaf Park
• Forest Home Park
• Goot Park
• Grass Valley Park
• Louis Bloch Park
• Oak Park
• Prune Hill Sports Park
• Skate Park
• Lacamas Heritage Trail Park

Lacamas Park encompasses Round Lake and runs against SR 500 on its west side. Across SR 500 is Lacamas Lake. The park is open year-round and includes barbecues, a playground, trails around the park and lake, and access to the Camas Potholes. The park includes trails which lead to the Camas Potholes and the Camas lily fields, as well as a 1.2 mi loop around Round Lake. Water activities in Round Lake are also common around summer time. Bathrooms are available on a seasonal basis only.

Heritage Park has facilities for launching boats into Lacamas Lake, a playground, much open field, and trails through the trees. The parking lot is large and includes numerous long parking stalls to accommodate vehicles with trailers.

Economy

Employment

, Camas had an unemployment rate of 4.5%; the top employers were:{{cite web | access-date = July 31, 2025

Demographics

City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2024|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=July 31, 2025}} |align-fn=center 2020 Census

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 26,065 people, and 8,923 households in the city. The population density was 1,851.9 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 76.3% White, 0.1% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 9.9% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, and 10.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.2% of the population.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 19,355 people, 6,619 households, and 5,241 families residing in the city. The population density was 1434.8 PD/sqmi. There were 7,072 housing units at an average density of 524.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 87.4% White, 1.0% African American, 0.6% Native American, 6.0% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 1.2% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.1% of the population.

There were 6,619 households, of which 46.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.7% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 20.8% were non-families. 16.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.27.

The median age in the city was 36.9 years. 31.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.1% were from 25 to 44; 26.8% were from 45 to 64; and 8.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.6% male and 50.4% female.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 12,534 people, 4,480 households, and 3,422 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,149.3 PD/sqmi. There were 4,736 housing units at an average density of 434.3 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 92.01% White, 0.69% African American, 0.69% Native American, 3.41% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 0.80% from other races, and 2.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.86% of the population. 18.8% were of German, 11.3% English, 9.6% American, 8.2% Irish and 5.6% Norwegian ancestry.

There were 4,480 households, out of which 42.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.9% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.6% were non-families. 18.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 31.2% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $60,187, and the median income for a family was $64,885. Males had a median income of $51,470 versus $31,985 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,267. About 4.4% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The vast majority of Camas is in the Camas School District. Small parts of the city limits are in Evergreen Public Schools.

Sister cities

Camas has the following sister cities, according to the Lieutenant Governor's Office:

• Japan Hamamatsu, Japan
• Japan Taki, Mie, Japan
• Poland Krapkowice, Poland
• Poland Morawica, Poland
• Poland Zabierzów, Poland

Notable people

• Michael R. Barratt, NASA astronaut
• Jaime Herrera Beutler, U.S. Representative
• Greg Biffle, NASCAR driver
• Shane Chen, inventor and entrepreneur
• Niko De Vera, professional soccer player for the Portland Timbers
• Alexa Efraimson, professional runner for Nike
• Kenneth Fisher, Forbes columnist, financial author, money manager
• Denis Hayes, environmental activist, coordinated first Earth Day
• Jimmie Rodgers, 1950s pop singer
• Taylor Williams, Major League Baseball player for the San Diego Padres
• Wendy Wilson, singer, member of 1990s girl group Wilson Phillips

Gallery

Image:Camas, Washington bathrub races.triddle.jpg|Camas Days bathtub races Image:US-WA-Camas-down_town-looking_east-tar.jpg|Downtown Camas, looking east Image:US-WA-Camas-down_town-looking_west-tar.jpg|Downtown Camas, looking west Image:Liberty Theater, Camas, Washington.jpg|Liberty Theatre in downtown Camas Image:Main US Post Office - Camas Washington.jpg|U.S. Post Office in Camas Image:US-WA-Round lake-north west bank-tar.jpg|Round Lake Image:US-WA-Camas potholes-triddle.jpg|Camas Potholes Image:US-WA-lacamas lake-north boat launch-tar.jpg|Lacamas Lake

References

References

1. "About the City's Government". City of Camas.
2. "Mayor Steve Hogan". City of Camas.
3. (March 6, 2017). "Tweet from City of Camas account".
4. {{GNIS. 2409967
5. "Explore Census Data". [[United States Census Bureau]].
6. [https://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Oregon/BoringLavaField/description_boring_lava.html Boring Lava Field], vulcan.wr.usgs.gov
7. Caldbick, John. (February 8, 2010). "Camas -- Thumbnail History". [[HistoryLink]].
8. (January 10, 1971). "Clark County's serenity shattered by urbanization". The Oregonian.
9. (February 1, 2018). "Timeline of Paper Mill's Presence in Camas". The Columbian.
10. Brynelson, Troy. (February 1, 2018). "May Day: Paper Cuts. Layoffs at Georgia-Pacific mill in Camas to start May 1, affect 280 to 300 workers.". The Columbian.
11. (August 30, 2024). "US Gazetteer 2024". [[United States Census Bureau]].
12. McCarthy, Pat. (August 25, 2025). "Accountability Audit Report; City of Camas; For the period January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024 (Report No. 1037869)".
13. "Lacamas Regional Park".
14. "Parks and Trails".
15. United States Census Bureau. "Census of Population and Housing".
16. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
17. Geography Division. (December 21, 2020). "2020 Census – School District Reference Map: Clark County, WA". [[United States Census Bureau]].
18. "Washington's Sister Cities Relationships". [[Lieutenant Governor of Washington.
19. "Ken Fisher's Forbes 400 Profile".
20. Eggers, Kerry. (September 20, 2017). "Wendy Wilson: Still Holding On". Pamplin Media Group.