Branch Statistics and Building Histories
Every library building has a story. From historic relocations to brand-new construction, FVRLibraries’ branches reflect the growth, needs, and spirit of the communities they serve. This page offers a snapshot of each location—when it opened, how it’s changed, and the public support and local partnerships that helped bring it to life.
Numbers on the map correspond to branch details below.
- Ownership: FVRLibraries
- Square Footage: 7,560
- 1926: The Woodland Public Library was opened in the previous building at 700 Park Street. The city provided money for the maintenance of the library. Two privately operated libraries preceded the public library, one established by Mrs. Sam Conrad and the other, some years later, by the American Legion and the Men's Club. The Books from the latter were donated to the new public library. The building occupied by the library was built in 1909 on the Woodland school grounds and was moved to its present location when the high school was built in 1922. At one time it served as the school science building.
- 1954: On February 2, the Council of the Town of Woodland passed Ordinance No. 214, creating a Board of Library Trustees to be appointed by the Council.
- 1996: Woodland voted to annex to FVRLibraries.
- 1997: Woodland Public Library became a branch of FVRLibraries.
- 1997: The upstairs children's room was carpeted, painted, and decorated using funds donated by the Phyllis Nevil Memorial Fund.
- 1998: The downstairs floor of the library was remodeled using FVRLibraries funds and a Swift grant.
- 2017: FVRLibraries purchases land in Woodland for a new library.
- June 17, 2023: A groundbreaking ceremony was conducted at 411 Lakeshore Drive, the future site of the new Woodland Community Library.
- October 16, 2023: Construction began on the new Woodland Community Library building.
- October 12, 2024: Woodland Community Library opens on Lakeshore Drive.
- 2003: Citizens in the Yale precinct of Cowlitz County successfully voted to form a partial-county, rural library district. Yale Valley Library District contracts with Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries for services, which included bookmobile visits until the Clark County bookmobile was retired in June 2012.
- 2012: Weekly, limited library services at Yale Library Express, located at Yale Elementary School, were established in August.
- 2018: Ground was broken for a new, permanent library building.
- 2021: The new Yale Valley Community Library opened in July.
- Ownership: Fort Vancouver Regional Library District
- Square Footage: 8,000
- 1914: The Priscilla Study Club founded in Ridgefield to offer literature to its readers. Members started collecting books for their club library.
- 1923: Priscilla Club Library opened to the public in City Hall.
- 1934: Library portion of the new Priscilla Building opened.
- 1961: FVRLibraries took over the library under contract with the city.
- 1981: City of Ridgefield annexes the library to FVRLibraries.
- 1982: Library remodeled.
- 1985: Priscilla Club disbanded; Club space becomes meeting room.
- 1985: Ridgefield Community Center Association established.
- 1994: Library opened in Ridgefield Community Center on December 6.
- 2018: Ridgefield Community Center board donates the entire Ridgefield Community Center to FVRLibraries.
- 2019: The library plans a complete remodel and expansion.
- 2020: Construction of the expanded library begins in August. The library is moved to a temporary location a few blocks away at 228 Simons Street.
- 2021: The bigger, better Ridgefield Community Library opened July 9.
- Ownership: Robert Colf
- Square Footage: 3,380
- Early 2001: Margaret Colf Hepola saw new life for a historic, circa-1905 hospital building as a public library and saved it from being destroyed in a firefighter burn exercise.
- May 2001: Friends of La Center Community Library formed.
- August 2001: The hospital building was moved a half-mile to its current location on NE Lockwood Creek Road. The building was then transformed into a library, thanks to generous contributions from the Colf Family Foundation, Friends of the Library fundraising, multiple grants and donations, and the library district.
- May 8, 2004: The library opened to the public.
- January 2019: The library gets a new carpet and paint.
- The historic red brick building that now holds the library express has been home to many of the town of Yacolt’s services over the years—a garage for the city's fire truck, town hall, and jail. The three jail cells, constructed with the building about 100 years ago, line the passageway along the east wall of the building. The cells, which still have bars for doors, were used up until the mid-1970s. In the early years of Yacolt, the town had a hotel, a hospital, and seven saloons. The saloons helped keep the jail cells operational for decades, as a place where people would “sleep it off” after a wild night—so there may be some people around town who remember spending a night there (or know someone who did)!
- Yacolt Library Express opened in 2012, following the retirement of the Clark County Bookmobile, which had stopped weekly at Yacolt Primary School. It is largely self-service library facility with a collection of about 2,000 books, CDs and DVDs; furnishings and equipment, telephone connection to the downtown library in Vancouver; Wi-Fi; and part-time staffing.
- Ownership: Fort Vancouver Regional Library District
- Square Footage: 13,000
- 1995-1997: Talks between North Salmon Creek Neighborhood Association and Fred Meyer concerning proposed new store.
- 1997: Fred Meyer agreed to sell parcel to library for price they paid for the land.
- 1998: Service area defined as Fire District 6 (Salmon Creek, Hazel Dell, Felida, Mt. Vista, Fairgrounds, and Lakeshore).
- 1998: Name of Three Creeks chosen for Salmon, Cougar, and Whipple Creeks.
- 1998: Voters approved Library Capital Facility Area and $4.5 million bond.
- 1999: Friends of Three Creeks Library formed.
- 2000: Broke ground on December 29.
- 2002: Library opened on January 12.
- 2008: Three Creeks bond paid off.
- 2014: Library gets new carpet, paint, and study rooms.
- Ownership: Fort Vancouver Regional Library District
- Square Footage: 14,356
- 1941: Battle Ground served by bookmobile.
- 1944: First Battle Ground Library, a branch of Clark County Library, opened.
- 1959: Battle Ground Library opened on Main Street.
- 1981: City of Battle Ground annexed to FVRLibraries.
- 2009: New library opened in Battle Ground Village on May 15.
- 2019: The library closed for a few weeks in April for a refresh: new carpet, new paint, furniture reupholstery, rearranging of the children's area, and new sound panels.
- Ownership: Vancouver Library Capital Facility Area
- Square Footage: 83,000
- 1877: Vancouver Library Association, a subscription library, formed.
- 1891: Vancouver Public Library established.
- 1909: Carnegie Building at 16th & Main built.
- 1950: Vancouver Public Library and Clark County Library merge on July 1.
- 1960: Bond measure passes to replace the library on Main Street with a larger library on Mill Plain Blvd.
- 1963: Library on Mill Plain Boulevard. opens; Carnegie library on Main Street closes.
- 2006: Bond measure passes and includes funding for a new Vancouver library.
- 2011: Grand opening of the new library at 901 C Street on July 17. Watch the video! (The building on Mill Plain Boulevard housed the library district's Operations Center from 2011–summer 2023.)
- Ownership: Centennial Collection
- Square Footage: 3,575
- 1983: Library at Vancouver Mall opened in November.
- 1997: Name changed to Vancouver Mall Community Library as branch is moved to larger space.
- 2000: Branch moved to larger space.
- 2013: Location remodeled and reopened April 6 as the more compact The Mall Library Connection.
- 2018: Library renamed Vancouver Mall Library.
- Ownership: Vancouver Library Capital Facility
- Square Footage: 24,175
- 1980: Interest in a branch for the Cascade Park area began to develop.
- 1993: Election (lid lift), a portion of which was for a new branch.
- 1996: Branch opened on February 28 on Hearthwood Boulevard.
- 2006: Bond measure passed and included funding for a larger Cascade Park library.
- 2009: New library opened on December 15 in the Firstenburg Community Center complex on 136th Avenue. Watch the video!
- 2020: The library gets new paint and carpet during January and February.
- June 2023: Growing a Reader, a six-panel mural installation series commissioned by FVRLibraries and painted by Vancouver artist Sarah Lynne Hunter, debuts inside the library.
- Ownership: City of Washougal
- Square Footage: 2,400
- 1924: Washougal Women's Club organized. Soon after, they established a reading room and a circulating library in the back of the Carpenter General Store on Main Street.
- 1930: Mrs. Mabel Moody willed her house on “E” Street to be used as a library and clubhouse. Later the library was given to the city.
- 1941: WPA bookmobile from Clark County Library stopped at the Washougal Library.
- 1944: Library moved to City Hall at 16th & “B."
- 1946: Washougal contracted with Clark County Library.
- 1960: The library moved to 20th & “B” with 800 square feet of space.
- 1981: Washougal voted to annex to FVRLibraries; the current library building, built by the city, opened.
- Ownership: City of North Bonneville
- Square Footage: 565
- 1952: Skamania and Clark Counties formed FVRL. State grant supported service to North Bonneville with a bookmobile stop.
- 1953: Community organizations raised funds for library service contract.
- 1954: North Bonneville signed contract with FVRLibraries; library opened in City Hall.
- 1979: Library opened in City Hall in the new town.
- 1998: City of North Bonneville annexed to the library district.
- Ownership: Fort Vancouver Regional Library District
- Square Footage: 7,980
- 1921: Library founded by Stevenson Woman's Club.
- 1938: Library building constructed on Russell Street.
- 1942: Bookmobile service from Vancouver supported by WPA demonstration grant, Skamania County, and the City of Stevenson.
- 1952: Skamania and Clark Counties formed Fort Vancouver Regional Library District.
- 1953: City of Stevenson contracted with FVRLibraries for library services.
- 1967: Current library building opened.
- 1994: Stevenson voted to annex to FVRLibraries.
- 2017: Stevenson Community Library is remodeled and celebrates its 50th anniversary.
- Ownership: SDS Lumber Company
- Square Footage: 9,015
- 1929: Library founded by White Salmon Woman's Club; Library operated by City and Club.
- 1973: City of White Salmon contracted with Fort Vancouver Regional Library for library services.
- 1978: City moved out of the library building.
- 1980: Library remodeled.
- 1982: White Salmon voted to annex to FVRLibraries.
- 1995: Bingen voted to annex to the FVRL District; name changed to White Salmon Valley Community Library.
- 2000: New library opened April 28 in a former bowling alley and retail space.
- 2016: Library remodeled.
- Ownership: City of Goldendale
- Square Footage: 15,660
- 1912: Women's Association of Goldendale established library.
- 1912: Goldendale City Council established library funding.
- 1914:Library constructed with Carnegie funds.
- 1915: Goldendale Free Public Library opened.
- 1972: Library service for Klickitat County approved by voters.
- 1973: Klickitat County became part of Fort Vancouver Regional Library.
- 1973: City of Goldendale contracted with FVRLibraries for library service.
- 1981: Goldendale voted to annex to FVRLibraries.
- 1985: Library expanded and remodeled.
- 2018: New Library remodel completed