Toledo, WA

Toledo sits on the Cowlitz River in Lewis County, where the older map is river landing, steamboat, bridge, and highway. The Cowlitz people used the river for fishing and travel; later, Cowlitz Landing became a port for boats moving between Portland and the interior. The town took its name from a paddle steamer, incorporated in 1892, and remained a transportation terminal until riverboats stopped coming in 1918. A bridge and the Pacific Highway then carried the connection forward.

Toledo’s current identity still turns on that history. Cheese Days began in 1919 when the Cowlitz Valley Cheese Association gathered to distribute checks from cheese sales; the annual July celebration now includes a parade, community meals, crafts, and the giant cheese-ball drop. South County Regional Park provides boating access across the river, while Kemp Olson Memorial Park and Toledo School District keep everyday civic life close to town. The local scoop is a river town that lost its steamboats, kept its dairy story, and made both part of the annual calendar.