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Date
Visited:
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Sunday, June
23, 2002 |
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City
Visited #:
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199 |
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County:
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Cowlitz |
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Visited
With:
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Sister |
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City Name
History:
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Gen.
J.W. Sprague of the Northern Pacific Railroad named the town in 1871 for
the Native-American word calama, meaning "pretty maiden."
CITY OF KALAMA'S WEB SITE: Kalama received its
name from the river two miles to the north. The Kalama River was named
after John Kalama, a full-blooded Hawaiian, who was born on the Hawaiian
islands in 1814. John was forced to leave his Hawaiian home at sixteen
years of age to seek employment on one of the fur trading vessels that
made its way to the Northwest in the early 1830's. The rough life of the
sea did not appeal to John, so he found the Nisqually Indians where he
sang his native songs and joined in their festivities. John eventually
married Mary Martin, daughter of Chief Martin. John built a cabin near
Tumwater for his bride. When the Indians made their annual trip to the
Cowlitz for smelt and berries, John Kalama and his wife went with them.
John did not enjoy being on the move all the time so for that and perhaps
other reasons he did not return to the Sound, but took up permanent
residence at the mouth of the river bearing his name. He hunted, fished,
and trapped for many years, and the area soon became recognized as his
domain. |
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