Ridgefield

History

Ridgefield is located near the site of Cathlapotle, a Chinookan village that had been occupied since 1450. It was potentially the latest version of a town that had existed there for over 2000 years. Cathlapotle participated in the fur trade since 1792, when villagers embarked on canoes to meet the Vancouver Expedition. The area has important ties to the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804–1806, which visited the town and described its layout in journals. By then, it was a settlement of 700–800 people, with at least 14 substantial plank houses. Malaria epidemics killed many of its residents during the 1800s, and most people left the village in the early 1830s. Some surviving Chinookan, Cowlitz and Klickitat people used the village until the 1850s, when white settlers began to establish themselves nearby. Use of the village ended when the U.S. forced local tribes to move onto reservations. James Carty, an Irish immigrant, built a log cabin at Cathlapotle in 1839 and lived with the remaining residents of the town for the next ten years. Three other men settled on a Lake River island nearby, which is now called Bachelor Island after them. In 1850, the U.S. Congress passed the Donation Land Claim Act, and over the next few years white settlers began to file land claims near Cathlapotle. Carty began a ferry over Lake River in 1851, and Arthur Quigley and Frederick Shobert created mud landings for passing steamboats to stop at the town, which became known as Shobert's Landing. This name is preserved in the current name of Union Ridge Elementary School. A school, more industry, and an inter-town telephone line were added during the 1890s. A near-unanimous petition by town residents succeeded in closing the town's only saloon soon after it opened around 1900, and the next…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.98%) is water. Parks in Ridgefield include Abrams Park, Community Park, Davis Park, and Overlook Park. The Ridgefield Veterans Memorial is adjacent to Community Park.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  29,255
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  27,548
• California/Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  26,953
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  24,612
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  23,557
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  21,855
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,764
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  21,741

Largest nearby schools

• Battle Ground High School
  High · BATTLE GROUND · 1,798 students · 19.5:1 ratio
• Skyview High School
  High · VANCOUVER · 1,739 students · 22.9:1 ratio
• Columbia River High
  High · VANCOUVER · 1,134 students · 21:1 ratio
• Ridgefield High School
  High · RIDGEFIELD · 1,133 students · 20.2:1 ratio
• Homelink River
  Other · BATTLE GROUND · 973 students · 22.1:1 ratio
• La Center Elementary
  Elementary · La Center · 790 students · 17.2:1 ratio
• Gaiser Middle School
  Middle · VANCOUVER · 763 students · 18.6:1 ratio
• Laurin Middle School
  Middle · VANCOUVER · 746 students · 18.6:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.65 — 2025-12-19
  5 km WSW of Pe Ell, Washington
• M 3.18 — 2025-11-23
  5 km SE of Amity, Oregon
• M 2.66 — 2025-06-16
  7 km ESE of Mossyrock, Washington
• M 2.65 — 2025-06-12
  9 km S of Morton, Washington
• M 2.66 — 2024-08-30
  14 km ESE of Molalla, Oregon
• M 3.48 — 2024-07-12
  20 km S of Morton, Washington