The Cathlapotle Plankhouse

Building a future for the past

COME VISIT THE CATHLAPOTLE PLANKHOUSE!

The Cathlapotle Plankhouse will be open to the public most weekends from Noon to 4:00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays from March 29th to the end of October. Check the calendar page to make sure of open days. Docents will be available to answer questions and give tours. For further information contact the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge office at 360.887.4106.

New Programs for 2008: Lifeways and Landscapes Interpretive Program Click on Lifeways and Landscapes at the left to see the full program schedule,or on Calendar to see each month's offerings.

Artists-in-Residence Program. Chinookan artists will be at the Plankhouse on four separate occasions April through June, Wednesdays through Fridays to work with pre-scheduled school groups, and from Noon to 4:00 on the weekend to demonstrate their craft to the public. Dates and details are given in the calendar page and on the Lifeways and Landscapes page.

Second Sunday Series of talks and demonstrations. On the second Sunday of every month from April through October, at 2:00 pm. See Calendar and Lifeways and Landscapes for details.

Workshops will be scheduled throughout the summer. Check the Calendar page throughout the season for workshops, they will be listed as they are confirmed. Reservatons are needed to attend most workshops. There will be a fee for many of them.

The Lifeways and Landscapes Program is sponsored by theClark Co. WA Historical Promotion Grant Program, the Washington State Arts Commission Project Support Program, and the National Park Service Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Commission.

What is the Cathlapotle Plankhouse? It's a full-scale Chinookan-style cedar plankhouse with associated accoutrements that evokes a tangible link to those who lived here in the past. It's a unique site for the interpretation of the natural and cultural heritage conserved on Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Washington.

On March 29, 2005, the 199th anniversary of Lewis and Clark's visit to the Cathlapotle people, the door to the Cathlapotle Plankhouse on Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge was officially opened! Over 100 volunteers and 3500 hours of labor went into building the plankhouse. Today these and other volunteers have logged over 4000 additional volunteer hours staffing the Plankhouse for walk in visitors and groups of all sizes to learn about this great community resource. If you're interested in learning more about volunteering, click here.

The Plankhouse is typically open from Noon to 4:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from April to October, and by special arrangement. As much as we would like to keep the Plankhouse open more, open hours are based on volunteer availability, so please check the calendar before making a trip out. For a complete calendar of activities click the link on the left. We invite you to explore this web site and come out to the refuge to explore the Plankhouse.

Project Background

Cathlapotle was one of the largest Chinookan villages encountered by Lewis and Clark, but today it is one of the few archaeological sites on the Lower Columbia River that has withstood the ravages of flooding, looting, and development. A decade of archaeological research -- the result of a partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Chinook Tribe, and Portland State University -- has produced a wealth of information about the Chinookan people who lived on the river long before Lewis and Clark first observed Cathlapotle in 1805. To see a timeline of this research click here.

We are very excited to have completed a full-scale Chinookan-style cedar plankhouse on the Refuge which serves as an outdoor classroom for interpreting the rich natural and cultural heritage preserved on Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.