Fifty years after its publication, Louise Tucker’s book “Battle Ground … In and Around” remains one of the most comprehensive visual histories of the Battle Ground and north Clark County area.
Published in 1976 during the United States Bicentennial, the nearly 400-page book documented early pioneer life through more than 1,000 photos and illustrations. As the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary this year, the book itself reaches a milestone, marking 50 years since it first captured the everyday stories of the people who built Southwest Washington.
Tucker, who spearheaded the project while working in advertising at The Reflector newspaper and volunteering with the Battle Ground chapter of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC), said preserving those everyday stories was the central goal.
“I guess one of the things that I really wanted to point out was how people lived day to day, as opposed to political history or who was voted into what office for how many votes,” Tucker recalled. “That's important, but it doesn't give anyone a feel for how people lived.”
From picture show to years-long historical project
The project began in 1973 as a much smaller idea. At the time, Chief Umtuch Primary School was preparing to open, and the local GFWC chapter planned a community event called “The Old Picture Show Night.” Residents were invited to bring photographs showing what life in the area had been like in earlier decades.
The response surprised organizers. Photos filled nine large library tables that evening, showing farms, schools, logging camps and community gatherings from across north Clark County.
Tucker, who chaired the project, was encouraged to turn the material into a small pamphlet. Over the next three years, that idea expanded into a hardbound book.
Working after hours while raising three teenage sons, Tucker gathered photographs, interviewed families with strong ties to the area and laid out the pages herself with help from fellow club members.
“Without the pioneer families willing to share their photos, it never could have happened,” Tucker said.
The first edition sold out quickly after its 1976 publication. Tucker later formed her small publishing company, The Write Stuff, and released two additional printings in 1984 and 2006. The book, funded in part through a United States Bicentennial Commission Grant, significantly contributed to preserving Clark County’s history. Proceeds funded Mini-Mobile-Museums, small glass displays placed in schools around Clark County with historical items and stories. GFWC also supported the construction of a large shed for antique farm equipment at the Clark County Fairgrounds, and bought the Clark County Historical Museum’s first copy machine.
A portrait of early community life
The book organizes the region’s story into seven sections.
“The County’s Settlement” explores early pioneer life and the roles of doctors, postal workers and other community figures. “Transportation” traces how people traveled across the region as roads and vehicles evolved.
“I thought it was really interesting, the life of a doctor at the time,” Tucker said. “It was a horseback job, and the doctor went out to the injured and sick. Of course, that’s out of the question for today’s world.
“Community Growth” covers developments such as the expansion of local schools and the incorporation of the City of Battle Ground in 1951. “Income Sources” examines the industries that supported the area, including farming, logging and sawmilling.
The book’s three final sections examine the community’s battles with wildfires and Mother Nature, recreational life in the region and the patriotic celebrations that marked events such as Fourth of July parades dating back to 1907.
Tucker chose to structure the book by category rather than chronologically to offer readers a clearer historical perspective. This approach, for example, highlights how the arrival of new residents, industries and methods of travel changed the way people lived in Clark County.
Tucker structured the book by category instead of chronologically to offer readers a clearer historical perspective. This approach, Tucker noted, highlights how the evolving methods of transportation and the arrival of new residents influenced the way people lived.
Tucker chose to structure the book by category rather than chronologically, which he felt would give readers a clearer perspective on the history. The final three sections cover the community's history of combating wildfires and natural disasters, the area's recreational life, and patriotic observances, including Fourth of July parades dating as far back as 1907.
“My favorite instructor at Clark College was Homer Foster,” Tucker said. “(During) the first class session, he said, ‘You are not going to have to remember any dates… but you have to know what led up to what, as far as important events go, and I learned so much from that.
Characters of local history
Tucker said researching the lives of early residents was one of the most rewarding parts of the project. Among her favorites are Clint Steele, who served as the area’s first Route 1 Postal Service carrier after the route was established in 1907, delivering mail through Lewisville, Charter Oak, Bee Tree and Rock Creek. According to Tucker’s research, he eventually left the job in 1913 when parcel post began, saying he was “not about to handle catalogs and packages!”
“They toted packages and sometimes personal mail that included notes and things… people who ran a postal run often didn’t stay within the rules strictly, they helped out everyone as if they were all neighbors. If somebody needed something notarized, he would take care of that,” Tucker said.
The wife of Battle Ground’s first Mayor, P.L. “Louie” Rasmussen, gave Tucker the original notary seal stamp that Steele used, an item she plans to send to a local historical organization.
Another well-known mail carrier was Joseph Woodin, namesake of Woodin Creek, which runs through Battle Ground. His route began as early as 1856, carrying mail from Vancouver to Pollock’s Landing and eventually expanding as more post offices opened in Amboy, Hopewell and Barberton. He established his own home along the creek, which would later be named after him.
Watching your world change
Tucker had deep ties to north Clark County. She grew up on her grandparents’ farmland and attended Pleasant Valley’s one-room schoolhouse before later studying at Battle Ground High School, Clark College and Pacific Lutheran University.
Tucker noted the area she grew up in has changed dramatically since the book’s publication half a century ago. Battle Ground has been greatly impacted by the rise of industry, corporations and “a heck of a lot more people.”
“When I was in high school, gel, shoes and clothing would have a one-day sale for the year (locally),” she said. “And now we have Walmart and Fred Meyer, the big boys in town, it’s more varied as to what you’re gonna buy and where you’re gonna buy it.”
The rapid growth has also changed the landscape that once surrounded the town.
“Dollars Corner seems like it changes every time you go around the corner,” she said. “The change is happening and a lot is happening very fast. I go down by the Orchards area and see warehouse after warehouse and three to four-story apartments and that’s just not what it looked like. We trade that for going down the highway and looking down the field and seeing Mt. Saint Helens and Mt. Hood. Now there are buildings blocking those scenes. If I owned the property that I was looking over without all the industry and housing, I’d probably feel a lot different about my property. It’d have a different kind of value.”
Still, many of Tucker’s childhood locations have remained as they were while taking different forms. Among the places she remembers most vividly are what are now Lewisville Regional Park and Battle Ground Lake State Park.
“Those are ‘people places,’ and I remember them as teenage fun,” Tucker said. “I know when I was in high school and earlier, there were just a lot of fun things going on there. There was no thought of (whether) this should be preserved, (so) it’s also good to see it now in this pristine condition.”
Battle Ground Lake began development as a private resort in 1914, which remained as such for many decades. The site later opened as Battle Ground Lake State Park in 1975. Remembering the lake’s time as a noisy resort compared to its current quieter state gives Tucker some mixed feelings.
“The activities (then) paid for the upkeep of the lake while you rented towels, you had a hamburger, you had a rowboat, so there was no ‘entry fee,’” Tucker said. “But now it just kind of gets to me when I have to pay to be able to see my lake. My kids grew up not far from there and they would just bike down and enjoy it on their own. It was just a whole different era, but it’s hard sometimes to go from one extreme to the other.”
Tucker later wrote another publication, Battle Ground Lake Before It Became a State Park, which explored the site’s earlier days as a privately operated resort.
What lies ahead
The book is currently out of print, but can still be purchased at a local bookstore, Literary Leftovers, in Battle Ground, as of press time.
Tucker said a third reprint is planned for later this year as a paperback edition. The book is expected to be sold locally at Literary Leftovers, with printing assistance from the Battle Ground business Ink Ability.
Today, Tucker remains active in several community organizations, including the Friends of the Battle Ground Community Library, the Daughters of Pioneers of Washington State Chapter 19, the Clark County Historical Museum, the north Clark County Historical Museum and the Battle Ground chapter of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs.
More information about the book and Tucker’s other historical works can be found at battlegroundhistorybook.com.
