Town file
Skamania, Washington
Skamania, Washington (Skamania County, Washington) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 246, "New Year's Evil" (21 October 2021). Skamania is a very small town in Skamania County, Washington, set in the Columbia River Gorge about 45 minutes from Portland and across the water from it.
- Town
- Skamania
- County
- Skamania County
- State
- Washington
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 246
- Approximate location
- 45.617, -122.042
Episode 246 / 21 October 2021 / 162 min / full
New Year's Evil
"We're going to Scamania, Washington. I think Scamania is how they say it locally, but it's Ska mania." about 0:05:23
The case: Murder of the Butler family (January 1, 1987). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2021
- Median age
- about 45
- Median household income
- $35,500
- Median home value
- $374,000
- Two-bedroom rent
- $1,382
- Cost of living
- 114 out of 100
- Religious
- 17.3%
- Property crime
- ▲ about 15% high
- Violent crime
- ▼ about half
History, in brief
- Stevenson is named for an early settler, George H. Stevenson. about 0:08:19
- The Stevenson family settled in the gorge in the 1800s after coming from Missouri. about 0:08:33
- They founded the town of Stevenson on the old Shepherd donation land claim. about 0:08:44
- The Stevenson Land Company purchased the original town site for $24,000 in 1893 and built the town along the lower flat near the river. about 0:08:52
- In 1893 a dispute over rental fees led an unknown crew to steal the county records from Cascades in the night and bring them to Stevenson, which then became the county seat overnight. about 0:09:18
- The Spokane Portland and Seattle Railroad arrived in 1908 and pushed the town up the hill away from the river. about 0:10:21
- Streets were graded, wooden sidewalks built, and residents were asked to keep their cows from roaming the streets. about 0:10:39
- Mills and logging camps surrounded the town, with log flumes carrying timber. about 0:10:51
- Saloons served the lumberjacks until Prohibition, which hurt the town. about 0:11:24
- A highway and a dam followed, the town moved further up the hill, and a flood also struck; it is a twice-moved town. about 0:11:42
The reviews read out
3 stars
"Beautiful views of the mountains and the Columbia River with abundant hiking and water sports, but the community is cliquish, very conservative and unwelcoming to newcomers, with minimal health care and grocery shopping and high prices."about 0:13:32
5 stars
"Very small but with the perfect small-town vibe, obsessed with Bigfoot, super-friendly people, plenty of outdoor activities and not too far from Portland for nightlife."about 0:14:29
"Moved from Buffalo, New York, in second grade; timber funded the schools until the mills closed, then the town turned to tourism. Recommends the Walking Man Brewery and the Blues Brews and Barbecues festival in June, but says the county fair is only worth it for locals' high-school reunions."about 0:16:12
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Gresham, Oregon21 miles
- Oak Grove, Oregon32 miles
- Colton, Oregon36 miles
- Dallas, Oregon78 miles
- Tillamook, Oregon87 miles
- Seaside, Oregon94 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.