Cora, Washington

Cora was established in either 1886 or 1888^[a] by Levi A. Davis, son of the founder of Claquato, and was either named after Cora Davis, Levi's wife, or his niece, Cora M. Ferguson Patterson.^[4][5][6] At the time, Cora was far removed from other settlements, necessitating the need for supplies to be delivered by foot trails to the homestead.^[3] Levi Davis died in 1901.^[7]

A large portion of the Davis landholdings were sold in 1906 for $32,000 to the Chicago and North Western railroad, with plans to convert the acreage into a townsite and rail headquarters.^[8] The sons of Levi Davis were involved in lawsuits over ownership rights of coal lands near Cora in 1906 and 1907; successful in those proceedings, the coal disagreement reached the Supreme Court of the United States^[9]

The community, situated near the Cowlitz River, experienced its first recorded flood in 1896.^[10] In 1905,^[4] the town began providing a cable ferry, known as the Cora Ferry, which supplied service over the Cowlitz. The operation of the ferry was based on a lease and bids to operate the transport was often done on an annual basis.^[11] The ferry landing was moved in 1913 to another site within Cora,^[12] and a new transfer system was built the same year.^[13] A ferry accident involving the Cora occurred in 1915 that took 5 lives^[14] and by the following year, the service was discontinued after the completion of the Cora Bridge.^[4]

During World War I, a Red Cross auxiliary was formed in Cora in 1918.^[15] By the 1920s, the growing community had a grange and held a variety of events and dances at its hall.^[16] The grange building was converted into a community hall in 1923^[17] which helped Cora accommodate a large gathering of regional grange members that same year.^[18]

A post office was established at Cora on June 11, 1890, and remained in operation until November 30, 1908.^[4][19][20] Operated exclusively during its run by members of the Davis family,^[4] the closure of the post office was due to a lack of anyone else in the community wanting to undertake the postmaster position.^[21]

The community shares its names with the nearby Cora Falls, a waterfall near the Nisqually Entrance to Mount Rainier National Park, fed by Cora Lake.^[22]

Cora had a school as early as 1903.^[23] The log building^[24] was replaced in 1915 after a new one-room school site, at a cost of $500, was constructed between Cora and Lewis (present-day Packwood).^[25] The newer schoolhouse, which held summer classes, was reported as still existing by 1953.^[26]