The First Victory

In light of the port’s centennial year launch, let’s take a look back to its beginning, 100 years ago.

Washington’s first public ports were established when the legislature, reacting against private railroad companies’ domination of the docks and harbors on which the state’s economy depended, authorized voters to create publicly owned and managed port districts under The Port District Act of 1911.

Port districts were given the power to levy taxes and issue bonds, to acquire property by eminent domain, to set wharf and dock rates, and to lease port-owned property to private operators. On February 7, 1912, a petition was sent to Clark County commissioners requesting that a port district be formed.

And on April 6 of that year a vote by Clark County residents established the Port of Vancouver with 631 in favor and 179 in opposition. This marked the third port organized after the 1911 act, following Seattle and Grays Harbor.

Today, Washington has 75 public port districts, more than any other state. The Port of Vancouver is the state’s third-largest public port, after Seattle and Tacoma, and the second-largest public port on the Columbia River, following Portland.

The port district encompasses an area of 111 square miles, with a population of more than 300,000 – quite a few more than voted us into existence in 1912!

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