University of Washington course brings students to Cathlamet

This spring, Cathlamet will host a University of Washington studio course focused on learning from our community’s unique cultural heritage and local landscape. The UW course is partnering with the Town of Cathlamet, the local nonprofit WHEELhouse, the Chamber of Commerce, and other community stakeholders to explore how these assets connect to community life and long-term opportunity.

Participating UW students and staff, working alongside local residents, will develop an exploratory report focused on Cathlamet’s heritage, landscape, and community connections. The project will offer ideas and observations that Cathlamet may find useful now or in the future, while also helping advanced college students learn from real places and real communities.

The UW team includes students and faculty in landscape architecture, urban planning, architecture, and Scandinavian Studies. They will make three planned visits to Cathlamet this spring. The first visit, Friday, April 3 through Sunday, April 5, will focus on program scoping, site visits, and learning about the community. A second visit, planned for late April, will center on gathering community input and sharing early ideas. The final visit, scheduled for late May, will include student presentations, a community gathering, and conversations about next steps.

Between visits, students will be developing ideas based on what they learn here. These ideas may touch on topics such as preserving and interpreting our landscape and historic structures, environmental restoration, public health, tourism, and local trail and signage connections.

A central part of the course is listening. During their visits, college students and faculty hope to spend time listening to local residents, business owners, and community groups to better understand Cathlamet’s history, priorities, and day-to-day realities.

The project grew out of discussions among WHEELhouse board members, hotel owner Laurel Waller, local resident and retired Architecture Professor, Dr. Dennix Doxtater, UW Assistant Professor Amanda Doxtater, and UW Senior Lecturer Elizabeth Umbanhowar. Their shared local connections shaped the project and ensured it reflects Cathlamet’s context and values.

The UW course proposal states, “Cathlamet has a rich social and environmental history. This history continues to shape today’s community as well as to present future opportunities to protect, enhance, and connect vital assets such as forests, historic structures, waterfront and marina, residential and retail areas, and the larger region. Cultural heritage serves as an anchor to the past and a beacon for the future. The Connecting Cathlamet studio will initiate the first of a series of longer-term productive collaborations.”

Like many rural communities, Cathlamet continues to think about how to sustain itself while preserving what makes it special. This collaboration provides an opportunity to step back, take a fresh look at the town’s heritage and landscape, and help students who are eager to learn from a small rural community.

There will also be opportunities for the broader community to learn alongside the students. Possible talks or presentations this spring may include topics such as collecting local oral histories, preserving historic structures, developing walking trails, or sharing Cathlamet’s heritage online. Community interest will help guide which of these opportunities move forward.

If you would like to learn more or stay informed about meeting times and locations, please email WHEELhouse at CathlametWheelHouse@gmail.com or leave your contact information at the Chamber of Commerce.