Ethel is an
unincorporated community located along
U.S. Route 12 in east
Lewis County, Washington, United States.
It sits between
Mary's Corner and
Salkum.
History
A
post office called Ethel has been in operation since 1886.
The town's moniker was intended to be "Lacamas", after a creek that flowed through the town, however the
Postmaster General at the time,
William F. Vilas
William Freeman Vilas (July 9, 1840August 27, 1908) was an American lawyer, politician, and United States Senator. In the U.S. Senate, he represented the state of Wisconsin for one term, from 1891 to 1897. As a prominent Bourbon Democrat, he wa ...
, declared that too many towns in Washington state were named after Native tribes, and choose Ethel, without an explanation. The reason and origins for the Ethel name, despite several theories, remains obscure.
Ethel's early economy was derived by the logging of old growth timber and farming. Education was provided at the Hopewell School, a one-room schoolhouse featuring eight different grade levels. The school would become the location for the Ethel
Grange Hall. The town also formed teams to participate in Grange League baseball.
Government and politics
Politics
Ethel has historically voted as favoring the
Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
*Republican Party (Liberia)
* Republican Part ...
and
Conservatism. As this is an
unincorporated community, there are no defined bounds, and the precinct may be incongruous with the census boundaries.
Third parties that received ballots in the 2020 election include 15 votes for the
Libertarian Party and 4 votes for the
Green Party. There were 5 votes for
write-in candidates
A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be p ...
.
References
Populated places in Lewis County, Washington
Unincorporated communities in Lewis County, Washington
Unincorporated communities in Washington (state)
{{LewisCountyWA-geo-stub