TOWNS
The Clark County Courthouse is located at 1200 Franklin Street, Vancouver WA 98666; phone: 360-397-2000.
Historians report that in 1806 Meriwether Lewis declared the area which is now the Clark County Seat (Vancouver) as "the only desired situation for settlement west of the Rocky Mountains." In 1825 Dr. John McLoughlin, Hudson Bay Company, made the northwest headquarters at Fort Vancouver, launching the area as a hub of commerce. Chinook Indians and other native tribes dwindled rapidly by the mid 19th century as merchants, farmers and missionaries dominated settlement of the region.