Etymology The county was founded in 1854 and derives its name from the
Cascades Chinook word ''sk'mániak'', meaning 'swift waters'.
County beginnings The area delineated by the future Washington state boundary began to be colonized at the start of the nineteenth century, both by
Americans and British subjects. However, the majority of British exploration and interest in the land was due to the fur trade, whereas American settlers were principally seeking land for agriculture and cattle raising. The
Treaty of 1818 provided for the region to be an Anglo-American
condominium. During this period, the future Washington Territory was divided into two administrative zones:
Clarke County (now Clark County) and
Lewis County (made official in 1845). The condominium was unwieldy and led to continual argument, and occasional conflict. The status of the Washington area was settled in 1846, when the
Oregon Treaty ceded the land south of North latitude 49 degrees to American control. On March 9, 1854, Skamania County was split from the original Clarke County and stretched east to the
Rocky Mountains in present-day Montana.
Walla Walla County was split from the portions of Skamania County east of the
Deschutes River on April 24. The county lost its eastern edge during the creation of
Klickitat County in 1861.
Fort Cascades, built to protect the Columbia River, served as an early county seat, but the county seat has been in Stevenson since 1893.
20th century to present day Skamania County is also known for enacting what has been described as the "Bigfoot Ordinance", passed by the Board of County Commissioners at its meeting of April 1, 1969, and published twice in the
Skamania County Pioneer, the newspaper of highest circulation in the county, as required by law. The ordinance forbids the slaying of any "nocturnal primate mammal variously described as an ape-like creature or a sub-species of Homo sapiens ... generally and commonly known as a 'Sasquatch', 'Yeti', 'Bigfoot', or 'Giant Hairy ape'", subject to a maximum penalty of a $10,000 fine and five years imprisonment. Although its passage coincided with April Fool's Day, Ordinance 69-01 was real, was amended in 1984, and has not been repealed. Its purposes included protection of residents and visitors from in the county from a very real concern, "an influx of scientific investigators as well as casual hunters, many armed with lethal weapons", who had been attracted to the area by reported sightings of a creature. Mt. St. Helens, which is located in Skamania County,
erupted in 1980. ==Geography==