First Thursday Speaker Series
These engaging talks feature a variety of topics ranging from popular local stories to broad organizational histories, and much more. The First Thursday Speaker Series runs from February to November each year. The Speaker Series is sponsored by Clark County’s Historic Preservation Commission.

Walking Tours
The Clark County Historical Museum sponsors historic walking tours that offer a fascinating glimpse through the windows of time, focusing on a mix of memories, research, and architectural details. For each tour, guides will lead up to 25 people for approximately a mile, making frequent stops along the way to view buildings, tell stories, and answer questions. Each tour highlights a different destination in the county.

Historic Sites Mobile App
The Historic Routes mobile app brings history to life with augmented reality. Immerse yourself in the past with riveting audio stories and historic images during this walking tour of downtown Vancouver, Washington.  Explore Vancouver from the comfort of your home or while walking along its bustling streets.  

Oral History
Clark County Historical Museum Oral Histories is a publicly accessible, digital collection containing transcripts and sound recordings from over 200 interviews with a wide variety of people who lived in the county from as far back as the 1950’s. Interviews with POWs, railroad workers, business owners, ranchers, historians, and many others create a fascinating look at the history of Clark County. The digitization of these interviews was made possible by a Clark County Historical Promotions Grant.

Located in the former Amboy United Brethren Church, the museum focuses on Native American culture, pioneer heritage, and logging. The Museum is open every Saturday from noon to 4 pm. Admission is free.

The historical Venersborg Schoolhouse was built in 1912 and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the Washington State Heritage Register. Residents are welcome to use the community center for family and neighborhood events. The building is located at 24309 NE 209th Street, Battle Ground, WA.

Talking History of Venersborg 
Listen to the stories and remembrances of long-time residents of Venersborg. The audio and video are downloadable from the website. The digitization of these interviews was made possible by a Clark County Historical Promotions Grant

In the logging boom days, this railroad line transported logs to Columbia River ports. Today the train transports passengers through scenic northern Clark County from Yacolt to Moulton Falls and Chelatchie Prairie and back, pulled by an 1841 diesel locomotive. Open on weekends during the summer, with special events throughout the year that include Christmas tree runs, murder mysteries, staged hold-ups, and more. Track and railroad car maintenance and repair has received funding support from the Clark County Historical Promotions Grant.

Located on a 100 acre natural area in the City of Vancouver, Columbia Springs is dedicated to providing outdoor recreation and science education close to home. Columbia Springs sponsors free Guided Walks of the historic Vancouver Trout Hatchery. Funding from the Clark County Historical Promotions Grant has been awarded to support some of the development of the Guided Walks.

Free Historic Walking Tours

​Pearson Field Education Center
Pearson Field is the oldest continuously operating airfield in the Pacific NW and one of the two oldest continuously operating airfields in the United States. Through aviation, we inspire youth to pursue education and careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, while instilling an appreciation for the people, events, and innovations of historic Pearson Field.

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
Located on the north bank of the Columbia River, in sight of snowy mountain peaks and a vibrant urban landscape, this park has a rich cultural past. From a frontier fur trading post, to a powerful military legacy, the magic of flight, and the origin of the American Pacific Northwest, history is shared at four unique sites. Discover stories of transition, settlement, conflict, and community.

The Museum has a large collection of Native American baskets and artifacts; dairy, farming, and logging equipment, musical instruments, old kitchen displays, antique furniture, toys, dolls, tools, a replica of a farm blacksmith workshop, and an old Washougal town pump. The museum also houses a collection of more than 6000 photos of local businesses, buildings and people, books, land records, cemetery records, and many family history records. Visitors from all over come to the museum to research their homes, property, and relatives. The gift shop includes published histories by local authors. Located in downtown Washougal, the museum is open Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Gathering Place at Washuxwal
The Gathering Place is an outdoor pavilion being constructed at the Two Rivers Heritage Museum to bring history to life through storytelling and serve as a unique backdrop to host educational and community programs. The structure will be constructed with traditionally used cedar logs and be reminiscent of the Columbia River Native American plank house.  Carved art by Adam McIsaac will adorn the ridgepoles, telling stories of the rich history found along the shores of the Columbia River.

CCGS maintains an active schedule of classes, meetings, and seminars and supports a genealogical research library, open to the public, specializing in Southwest Washington, but with world-wide coverage. Volunteers are involved in local cemetery maintenance, researching pioneer stories, and indexing vital records.

Friends of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Cathlapotle Plankhouse 

Built by more than 100 volunteers over the course of two years, this modern full-scale Chinookan plankhouse was built based on findings from the archaeological village site of Cathlapotle. The Plankhouse and the objects inside of it offer a tangible link to those who lived there and provide a unique site for the interpretation of the natural and cultural heritage preserved on the Refuge. The Cathlapotle Plankhouse House serves as an education and interpretive center that is open to the public on certain dates and times. Funding from the Clark County Historical Promotions Grant has been awarded to support some of the museum collections preservation and database management.