La Center, Washington

La Center began as Timmen's Landing, a steamboat stop at the head of navigation on the East Fork of the Lewis River. The landing, tied to a settler named Timmen, dates to about eighteen seventy-one, and it quickly became the main commercial hub for the northern end of Clark County, the point where goods moving up from the Columbia River could go no farther by boat. The name La Center, often explained as a hybrid of French and English, was said to announce the town's role as the center of trade for the region.

Exactly when the name changed is disputed. Some accounts say it happened within a few years of the original plat; others say not until formal incorporation in August of nineteen oh nine. The landing's commercial importance declined once roads and railroads offered alternatives to river transport.