Naselle, WA

Naselle is a census-designated place in Pacific County, Washington, United States located about 23 miles from the mouth of the Columbia River. The 2020 census counted 421 residents. The valley's Naselle River flows west into nearby Willapa Bay and then into the Pacific Ocean. Close about the town lie the evergreen-covered Willapa Hills. Holm 's Newbery Honor -winning novel Our Only May Amelia is set in pioneer Naselle, then spelled "Nasel", and is based on Holm family documents of life as a Finnish-American frontier family. Naselle makes sense once you see how its past, landscape, and current gathering spots overlap.

The useful thing to know about Naselle is that its older landmarks and current settings belong to one connected place. The name comes from the Nisal Indians, a Chinookan tribe formerly residing on the river. The community first flourished as a logging town founded by Austin Dewing, and logging remains the dominant private industry. Settled primarily by Finnish and Scandinavian immigrants, the community has maintained this cultural heritage despite a declining percentage of traditional family names.