Heisson is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

Clark County, Washington Clark County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 503,311, making it Washington's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat and largest city is Vancouver. It was the first ...

. Heisson lies just north of Battle Ground Lake State Park, south of the

East Fork Lewis River The East Fork Lewis River is a river in the state of Washington in the United States. It is the largest tributary of the Lewis River. Its source is on Green Lookout Mountain in Skamania County. It then flows to the west through Clark County until ...

, and northeast of

Battle Ground, Washington Battle Ground is a city in Clark County, Washington, United States. The population was 20,743 at the 2020 census. As of 2023, its population is 22,285. History Name Battle Ground got its name from a standoff between a group of the Klickitat p ...

. It consists of a combined general store and post office, along with several houses. Among these houses is the Henry Heisen House, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Clark County, Washington. The post office is located adjacent to a crossing for the historic Chelatchie Prairie Railroad.

History

The community was named after German immigrant Alexander Heisen who, along with his family, homesteaded in the area in 1866. The spelling of the community, Heisson, is considered to be in error. Heisen granted land to the government for logging in exchange for having the post office named after him and the post office was founded in 1904, recorded as "Heisson" rather than Heisen. Only the railroad retained use of the "Heisen" spelling. The general store and post office signage, as well as maps, use the modified "Heisson" spelling. Heisen's son built a home in the area, which is known as the Henry Heisen House and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The house is owned by Heisen House Vineyards. The town flourished until 1923, when the timber was depleted and workers from the Ryan and Allen Mill, located across the

, began to move away.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Clark County, Washington Unincorporated communities in Washington (state)