It’s a new building but one that’s awash in history.
Walk around, grab a drink, explore, and take in the architecture, artwork, photographs, and stunning river views.
This spot has been attracting people for centuries.
The Lodge itself stands invitingly on its riverfront perch, boasting a look and style that’s not from here. Those who have visited Maui, though, will surely see a resemblance to the historic Pioneer Inn at Lahaina. This architectural choice is a tribute to the community’s namesake, John Kalama.
Kalama was one of the many Hawaiians who came to the Pacific Northwest in the early 1800s to work for the British Hudson’s Bay Company, fur-trapping and farming. Unlike most of the Hawaiians, though, John remained in the area, married a native Nisqualy woman and had children. For a time, they made their home just north of here, near the mouth of the river that now bears his name, Kalama.
For centuries before John Kalama’s arrival, this area was home to Native Chinook and Cowlitz people, and they maintained seasonal camps for fishing and gathering food near the Kalama River’s confluence with the Columbia River. Theirs was a long and rich existence along the Columbia River corridor, until British and American traders and settlers arrived and made claim to the land and introduced disease.
1870 was a momentous year in the history of this community, for that’s when the Northern Pacific Railroad initiated construction of its new transcontinental rail line. This site was declared the railroad’s western terminus, and a town was platted. Suddenly prices for town lots skyrocketed. Bids came in from as far away as New York City. Searching for a suitable name for the new town, an NPR official said, “Name it after the nearby river.” And so Kalama it was.
And what followed was an impressive boom. Over the next few years, Kalama was a cosmopolitan place, with a rising population from diverse backgrounds and economic stations. And of course there were plenty of hucksters and shysters at the ready to separate people from their money.
As quickly as it had started, the bottom fell out of Kalama’s soaring prosperity. The community lost its status (and lots of income-generating business) as NPR’s western terminus, when the rail line was completed to the Puget Sound, and Tacoma was named the new “end of the line.”
This misfortune was followed by a seemingly continuous stream of calamities (sometimes referred to as Kalamaties) into the early 1900s, most in the form of destructive fires and floods.
Kalama’s saving grace during this difficult stretch was the advent of railroad transfer ferry service in and out of Kalama. In lieu of a railroad bridge across the Columbia, a massive ferryboat was built to carry entire trains (the cars of which were disconnected for the journey) from one side of the river to the other. This service ensured Kalama a certain amount of business and status during its operation from 1884 to 1908.
During this period, other developments gradually came to the community. Fishing was always abundant. The establishment of processing plants, notably the Doty Fish Company, increased production and created more local jobs. The same was true in the logging and lumber industry. The first large scale railroad logging and milling operation began in 1909 with the Willard Case Timber Company, which promptly morphed into the Mountain Timber Company the following year.
These developments gradually, and sometimes halting, led to the improvement of the harbor and development of the Port of Kalama, and today it is a West Coast leader, serving companies from all over the globe.
What’s made the difference in Kalama are the local people committed to their neighbors and their community. It still is small town here, but does big business with the world.