Kelso, Washington

The earliest known inhabitants of Kelso were Native Americans from the Cowlitz tribe. The Cowlitz people were separated into the Upper (or Taidnapam) and Lower (or Mountain) Cowlitz tribes, who were members of the Sahaptin and Salish language families, respectively. In 1855, European explorers noted that there numbered over 6,000 individuals of the Cowlitz Tribe.^{[citation needed]}

Kelso was founded by Peter W. Crawford, a Scottish surveyor, who, in 1847, took up the first donation land claim on the lower Cowlitz River. Crawford platted a townsite which he named after his home town of Kelso, Scotland. The original plat was dated and filed in October 1884.^[6] It became incorporated in 1889.^{[citation needed]}

In its early days, Kelso obtained the nickname "Little Chicago" as it became famous for its large number of taverns and brothels that catered to local loggers. On weekends, trainloads of loggers would come into town from the surrounding region looking for women, liquor, gambling and fights. The FBI finally forced the mayor to shut them down in the 1950s, with the last tavern/brothel closing in the mid-1960s.^[7] The economy continues to be based largely on wood products.^{[citation needed]}

In the late 19th century and into the first part of the 20th century, Kelso was the center for commercial smelt fishing on the Cowlitz River. In 1910, according to the Oregonian Newspaper, 5,000 tons of fish were caught.^[8] The Kelso Chamber of Commerce created the slogan in 1956 and became known as the Smelt Capital of the World.^[9][10] The Cowlitz River has historically had heavy runs of smelt and were shipped to markets around the country. Smelt numbers have declined significantly in the past several decades possibly due to overharvesting, global climate change and habitat loss.^[11]

The Allen Street Bridge disaster occurred on January 3, 1923, in Kelso. As of 2024^[update], the event is recognized as the deadliest bridge disaster in the state. The wooden drawbridge collapsed under a combination of high, rushing waters of the Cowlitz River, a log jam, and the poor condition of the overpass. The disaster happened during the end of work day, and 17 people were formally listed as having died due to the event.^[12]

In 1947, two military officers who were investigating the Maury Island incident (a UFO hoax) died when their plane crashed in southeast Kelso.^[13]

On May 18, 1980, being only 24 miles (39 km) away, Kelso residents experienced the shock wave caused by the eruption of Mount St. Helens. Called the largest volcanic eruption in historic times in the contiguous United States,^[14] Kelso received large amounts of volcanic ash through the air and from the massive mudflow caused by the eruption transported by the Toutle and Cowlitz Rivers. Many areas of the city, including the Three Rivers Golf Course are built on volcanic ash^[15] dredged from the Cowlitz River by inmates in state custody and volunteers.^{[citation needed]}

In March 1998, the Aldercrest-Banyon landslide began shifting the foundations of 64 homes and local infrastructure in the east Kelso neighborhood of Aldercrest. Eventually, 129 houses were destroyed by this slow-moving landslide. Investigation showed that these houses had been built on top of an ancient active landslide area, and three straight years of higher-than-average rains set the earth into motion.^[16] In October 1998, President Bill Clinton declared this slide a federal disaster. It was the second worst landslide disaster (in cost) in the United States, following the 1956 Portuguese Bend Landslide on Palos Verdes Hills in Southern California.^[17] This disaster at Aldercrest led to stricter city zoning ordinances and oversight over geological surveys.^{[citation needed]}

Kelso is mostly situated on the east side of the Cowlitz River near the Columbia River, opposite from its twin city of Longview on the west bank. It includes a small section west of the river, West Kelso. It is located on Interstate 5 approximately 48 miles (77 km) north of Portland, Oregon, and 125 miles (201 km) south of Seattle.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.50 square miles (22.01 km²), of which 8.14 square miles (21.08 km²) is land and 0.36 square miles (0.93 km²) is water.^[18]

The Columbia, Cowlitz, and Coweeman rivers were used as part of a historical transportation route from Portland, Oregon, to the Puget Sound.^[19] Cowlitz steamboats were used as a mode of transportation until 1918.

As of 2024^[update], Kelso had a per capita income of $57,947 and an unemployment rate of 5.3%;^[26] the top employers were:

More information Rank, Employer ...

Rank	Employer	Employees in 2024	Employees in 2015	2024 Share	2015 Share
1	PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center	1,740	1,919	4.60%	4.80%
2	Weyerhaeuser	1,600	2,500	4.23%	6.20%
3	Longview Fibre / Westrock	975	1,140	2.58%	2.80%
4	Longview School District	813	735	2.15%	1.80%
5	Foster Farms	787	687	2.08%	1.70%
6	Kelso School District	734	637	1.94%	1.60%
7	Cowlitz County	619	519	1.64%	1.30%
8	Nippon Dynawave Packaging	539	-	1.43%	-
9	Norpac	500	-	1.32%	-
10	Lower Columbia College	434	-	1.15%	-

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The city is home to several buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Cowlitz County, Washington, including the Adam Catlin House, the Nat Smith House, and the Kelso U.S. Post Office^[27]

Within the city limits, there are eleven city parks: Tam O'Shanter Park, Heerensperger, FieldRister, StadiumCatlin, Rotary Spray Park, Kelso Veterans Park, Lads & Lassies Park, Rhododendron Gardens, Rotary Park, Rotary Skate Park, Scot Hollow Park and Kelso Senior Center.^[28]

The largest park is Tam O' Shanter Park, a multi-use park comprising 38 acres (150,000 m²) along the Coweeman River. The facilities include multipurpose fields for soccer, three girls fastpitch softball fields, one Babe Ruth field, five Cal Ripken baseball fields, and three basketball courts. The park hosts the annual Kelso Hilander Festival which includes Scottish Highland games. The park is named after a Scottish bonnet, the Tam o' shanter.^[29]

Kelso operates under a city charter and is classified as a council–manager government. The city council has 7 members elected by residents, from which a mayor is chosen by its members every 2 years. Council positions are filled on an at-large basis and are held for 4 years, with council elections being held to fill either 3 or 4 positions in odd-numbered years.^[31]

As of July 2025^[update], the mayor is Kimberly Lefebvre.^[1]

The council also selects a city manager; former Kelso police chief Andrew O. Hamilton was hired as city manager in 2019 after the departure of Steve Taylor.^[32][33]

The Kelso School District manages public schools in the city and surrounding areas and has an enrollment of 4,715 students. It has three high schools, including Kelso High School, two middle schools, and seven elementary schools.^[34]

Kelso has four FM (KUKN, K268BN, KLOG and KTJC) and one AM (KLOG) radio stations licensed in the city. Kelso is provided with cable television from nearby Longview.

Kelso's primary newspaper is The Daily News, which won a 1981 Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the St. Helens eruption.

Interstate 5 runs through Kelso. Two highways, State Route 4 and State Route 432, connect Kelso to Longview via crossings of the Cowlitz River.

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to the twin cities of Kelso-Longview. The Amtrak station is located in the Kelso Multimodal Transportation Center along the Cowlitz River. The cities of Kelso and Longview are served by RiverCities Transit. Kelso is also served by Greyhound Bus Lines, which provides intercity bus service at the Kelso Multimodal Transportation Center.

Kelso is served by Southwest Washington Regional Airport, formerly known as Kelso-Longview Regional Airport.

Kelso has the two sister cities:^[35][36]

• Kelso, Scotland
• Makinohara, Japan

• Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on the meat industry in the United States