History of Claquato
By Curt Cunningham

The town of Claquato is located about 3 miles SW of Chehalis on the north side of the Chehalis River near SR 6. The word Claquato comes from the Chehalis People and means high prairie. The Chehalis People had buried their dead on this high prairie that is located on the eastern edge of the town near SR 6. There are no markers signifying this burial ground except for a notation on the map that is hung next to the old church.

The first European settler in the area was Louis H. Davis who arrived in 1853 with his family and filed a donation land claim around the area that would become Claquato. Not long after Davis built his cabin, he began to build the first roads in the area and contributed heavily to the construction of the Military Road. During the war of 1855, the few families living at Claquato built a blockhouse that they lived in for 16 months until it was safe for them to return to their homes. During that time, the families continued to tend to their animals and fields.

The first death in fledgling settlement was a young child by the name of Mary Spinning. The death was a blow to the little community and Davis donated a small plot of land for a cemetery, in which Mary was laid to rest. This was the beginning of the Claquato Cemetery, which over the years, grew to the 70 acres it is today and is maintained by the Claquato Cemetery Association.

In 1857, after the settlers returned to their homes, Davis built a sawmill and gristmill on Mill Creek southwest of the town. The first lumber made from this mill was used to built the Claquato church that is now the oldest standing church building in the State of Washington. Davis donated the lumber and the land for the Methodist Church. Although Davis was a Presbyterian, the church was open to all denominations as Davis had requested. The Claquato Academy, the second school district formed in the state used the church for classes during the week days until 1864.

Also in 1857, Lieutenant George H. Mendell had hired road crews to begin construction of the Military Road from Drew's Sawmill to Claquato. The road was built in 5 sections; Section 1; was 2.5 miles long, beginning from the Cowlitz Landing to Drew's Sawmill that included a bridge over Lackamas Creek. Section 2; was 4 miles long, beginning at Drew's Mills to Katman's on the Grand Prairie. Section 3; was 4 miles long beginning from Katman's to Cutting's Prairie. Section 4; was 9 miles long beginning at Cutting's Prairie to the Davis Ferry on the Chehalis River. Section 5; was from the Ferry on the Chehalis at Claquato to a point opposite Borst's on the Chehalis.

On January 28, 1858, Davis was granted a license to operate a ferry over the Chehalis river for the next 10 years. The post office was established on May 10, 1858, and was first called Davis Prairie. After four short months on September 15, 1858 the name of the post office was changed to Claquato.

The first bricks made in Lewis County were fired at Claquato in the late 1850's. Dan House who lived on the Davis claim, built a small kiln. To make the limited supply of bricks last longer between firings, they were only used for making fireplaces and chimneys.

After the Military Road was completed in 1861, Henry Windsor who had a transportation company, started running stage coaches between Monticello and Olympia. Rice Tilley was one of the drivers. Windsor had built a livery stable and stage barn at Claquato and it became the third stopping point on the route north from Monticello.

Elkanah Mills had kept the hotel, stage station and ferryboat running that accommodated the daily run of mail and passengers between Monticello and Olympia. The stage coach company, was later sold to Charley Granger of Olympia and A. L. Davis of Claquato and the last owner of the stage line was Mr. Coggins of Olympia.

Settlers and travelers who could not afford to sleep in the hotels or if they were full, would camp out under an old fir tree located in the Claquato Cemetery. The "Pioneer Tree" as it is now called, has a wide spreading and low hanging branches that made it a good spot to get out of the hot sun or pouring rain. There is a plaque mounted on the tree marking the spot that so many had spent the night.

In 1862, Davis donated some land for a courthouse and Claquato became the Lewis County Seat. The court house later served as the grange building before it was turned into a cheese factory. By the end of the 1860's, Claquato had grown to include the courthouse, a school, the Pearson Carpenter Shop, McGrew's Blacksmith Shop, the Claquato Church, Henry Windsor's stage barn and livery stable, J. T. Browning's store, Mills Astor House Hotel, Clinger's Hotel, Gordon's Blacksmith shop and the Davis sawmill and gristmill.

On April 4, 1865, the Territorial Union Convention was held at Claquato. The convention was for the nomination for a congressional delegate. At the meeting Arthur Denny was chosen as the delegate. Selucius Garfielde made a speech endorsing the nomination. "The platform" he said, "was excellent, just what we needed." and he stood upon it "flat footed and square toed." They said he never stood on a Democratic platform that way.

In 1866, J. T. Browning wanted to build a small steamer to carry grain to market and then bring merchandise in from Olympia. Browning contracted Courtland Ethridge a boat builder from Olympia, to come to Claquato to construct a steamer. When the boat was ready to launch, the whole town came out and had a party. The bottle of champagne was broken across the bow and she was named the Satsall. After a year a service the Satsall was rebuilt and renamed the Carrie Davis and was launched in the spring of 1867.

The little steamer of 40 tons ran down the Chehalis to the mouth of the Black River and then up that river to Shotwell's Landing. The cargo then was unloaded and hauled 10 more miles to Olympia. Shotwell's Landing was named after Frank Shotwell who had settled in what will become Littlerock. The steamer could make the trip in one day and they were friendly to the locals and would always stop to pick up a passenger along the way.

That same year in 1867, the Carrie Davis was joined by an unnamed sternwheeler owned by the Goff Brothers. The brothers owned land in Claquato and raised cattle for the market in Olympia. They wanted to run a steamer on the 100 miles of river from their Landing at Adna to meet the ocean going ships from San Francisco. The steamer was about 75 feet in length and drew 3 feet of water when loaded.

Both steamers plied the Chehalis river for a number of years during the 7 to 8 months of high water. The river was continuously blocked with snags and stumps that made the trips difficult. This coupled with the few people living in the area made the runs unprofitable. By the mid 1870's they had stopped running on the river.

In 1872, the businesses of Claquato were; J. J. Browning, general merchandise; A. L. Davis, flour and lumber; J. Fay, dry goods, etc.; G. J. Hogue, general merchandise; and Elkanah Mills, hotel keeper.

In 1874, the Northern Pacific Railroad had built it's mainline through the bottom lands of the Chehalis and bypassed Claquato. This was the beginning of the end for the little town. Not long after, most of the business shifted to Chehalis. The citizens of Chehalis decided that they should be the county seat and late one evening they snuck into the Claquato court house and took all of the records back to Chehalis. The railroad also took away the need for a stage coach line and they also disappeared. the Military Road was now obsolete with only sections that continued to be used by the locals.

In 1878, J. L. Long started a butter and cheese factory in the old court house building at Claquato. There were 7 dairy farms in the area including Longs herd of 50 milking cows that furnished the factory twice a day. The factory operated for about 10 years when the building was demolished.

The death of Claquato came in 1902, when the town was officially removed from the county records. The post office was moved a mile SW to Littell on February 21, 1903 and lasted there until 1938. Today Claquato is a historical place habited by a few residential homes. The old church and the pioneer tree are the only remaining reminders of the once bustling town along the Military Road.