Olequa, Washington

Unincorporated community in Washington, United States

46°22′31″N 122°56′25″W / 46.37528°N 122.94028°W / 46.37528; -122.94028^[1]CountryUnited StatesStateWashingtonCountyCowlitzElevation

^[2]

31 m (102 ft)Time zoneUTC−8 (PST) • Summer (DST)UTC−7 (PDT)ZIP code

98611

Area code360FIPS code53-51130GNIS feature ID1511203

Olequa, also known as Olequah, is an unincorporated community in Cowlitz County, Washington. Olequa is located north of the city of Castle Rock on the west bank of the Cowlitz River. Olequa is accessed by traveling 7.5 miles (12.1 km) north on West Side Highway from Castle Rock. The Olequa community is part of the Castle Rock School District, a K-12 school district of about 1,300 students.

Etymology

Named after Olequa Creek, circa 1872, by General J.W. Sprague, two competing theories of the Cowlitz Indian word, Olequa, exist. One hypothesis is considered to come from a vague association of the term "cametze", translated to mean "where the salmon come to spawn". A second theory suggests the name came from the sound associated with a nickname of an elder, well-known Cowlitz tribal member, "Old Laquash".^[3]^[4]

History

The community originally was situated on a main line of the Northern Pacific Railroad.^[3] A post office called Olequa was established in 1875, and remained in operation until 1912.^[5]

External links

Castle Rock School District website

References

^ "2013 U.S. Gazetteer Files". census.gov. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
^ "USGS—Olequa, Washington". Retrieved June 15, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Olequa Name From Creek". The Daily Chronicle. June 6, 1953. p. 4D. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
^ Meany, Edmond S. (1923). Origin of Washington geographic names. Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 197.
^ "Post Offices". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved August 22, 2016.