Olequa, Washington | |
|---|---|
  Olequa Location in the state of Washington  Olequa Olequa (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 46°22′31″N 122°56′25″W / 46.37528°N 122.94028°W [1] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | Cowlitz |
| Elevation | 31 m (102 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC−8 ( PST) |
| • Summer ( DST) | UTC−7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code | 98611 |
| Area code | 360 |
| FIPS code | 53-51130 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1511203 |
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.
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]
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. [4] Olequa is a name derived from an Indian language. [5]
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Post Offices". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
- ^ Meany, Edmond S. (1923). Origin of Washington geographic names. Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 197.
Municipalities and communities of
Cowlitz County, Washington, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| CDPs | ||
|
Other communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
 | This Cowlitz County, Washington state location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |