:Swofford, Washington

The valley was first settled by farmers Thomas and Jennie Swofford and their children in 1887 after a migration journey from Illinois. Thomas purchased {{convert|160|acre|ha}} in the center of the valley. The family created the post office in their home and opened a drug store, thereby naming the town.{{cite news |title=Mrs. Jennie Swofford, 87, Dies Monday |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1932/08-05/page-1 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=August 5, 1932 |page=1}}{{cite book|last=Meany|first=Edmond S.|title=Origin of Washington geographic names|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015027074981;view=1up;seq=314|year=1923|publisher=University of Washington Press|location=Seattle|page=298}}{{efn|Thomas' son, Harry Swofford, is often given credit, in later news reports, for the valley and community being named after him rather than the Swofford family.}} When the office and store were shut down, the building was converted into a dance hall. The Swoffords eventually moved to nearby Mossyrock; Thomas died in early 1924{{cite news |title=Deaths Reported This Week - T.F. Swofford |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1924/02-15/page-49 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=February 8, 1925 |page=5}} and Jennie died on August 1, 1932. Their son, Harry Swofford, became a state representative and senator, and continued to live in the area until his death in 1970.{{cite news |title=Swofford Valley, near Mossyrock, once had post office, drug store |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1976/07-01/page-31 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=July 1, 1976 |page=C11}}{{cite news |title=Swofford Death Told - Former Solon Claimed |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1970/12-30/page-1 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=December 30, 1970 |pages=1, 4}} A valley pioneer farmer, postmaster, and father to a Centralia mayor, D.C. Davis lived in Swofford for 65 years.{{cite news |title=D.C. Davis Succumbs |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1967/04-25/page-1 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=April 25, 1967 |page=1}}

The first recorded airplane flight in Swofford Valley was reported in 1920 and there were joking concerns that farmers would get stiff necks if more aircraft were flown overhead.{{cite news |title=Swofford News |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1920/06-25/page-11 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=June 25, 1920 |page=6 |quote=See fourth column}} In the 1920s, the community had an organized grange.{{cite news |title=Mossyrock Grange Is Crowded at Meeting |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1928/02-17/page-34/ |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=February 17, 1928 |page=14}}

A post office called Swofford was established in 1890, and remained in operation until May 1922; mail was available for pick-up at the post office in the nearby community of Ajlune.{{cite news |title=No Swofford P.O. |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1922/05-05/page-6 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=May 5, 1922 |page=13}}{{cite web | url=http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?state=WA | title=Post Offices| publisher=Jim Forte Postal History | accessdate=25 August 2016}} Indigenous people, using horses, helped to deliver mail in the surrounding area over existing Native American trails{{cite news |last1=Blomdahl |first1=George |title=Harry Swofford, Early-Day Auditor Of Lewis County, Is 91 in February |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1963/12-30/page-10 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=December 30, 1963 |page=10}} before a county road connecting to the communities of Ajlune and Riffe was built.{{cite news |title=To Dig A Ditch At Swofford |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1921/09-30/page-11 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=September 30, 1921 |page=10}} Members of the Swofford family were postmasters continuously since its inception until Jennie Swofford resigned in 1909;{{cite news |title=New Postmaster at Swofford |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1909/01-29/page-9 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=January 29, 1909 |page=9}}{{cite news |title=New Washington Postmasters |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045604/1898-05-20/ed-1/seq-3 |access-date=June 10, 2024 |work=The Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=May 20, 1898 |page=3}} the postmaster job was routinely vacated by the late 1910s.{{cite news |title=Swofford Postoffice |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1919/01-03/page-17 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=January 3, 1919 |page=9}}

The community was referred to as Swafford in local news articles near its beginnings{{cite news |title=Untitled |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee/1897/07-09/page-5 |access-date=January 13, 2025 |work=The Chehalis Bee |date=July 9, 1897 |page=5}} and was the original post office listing for the community. The post office name was corrected to Swofford in 1891.{{cite news |title=Washington Postoffices |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045604/1891-09-24/ed-1/seq-4/ |access-date=February 20, 2025 |work=The Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=September 24, 1891 |page=4}} Reports often switched between Swafford and Swofford in the same article{{cite news |title=Fine celebration at Swafford |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1901/07-12/page-26 |access-date=January 13, 2025 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=July 12, 1901 |page=26}} and the Swafford spelling continued into the 2010s.{{cite news |author1=The Chronicle staff |title=Hunting/Fishing Report: Blue Creek Steelheaders Find Success |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/huntingfishing-report-blue-creek-steelheaders-find-success,150585? |access-date=January 13, 2025 |work=The Chronicle |date=December 15, 2011}}

The valley is known for farming and the land considered to consist of meadows amid rolling hills. Swofford Pond is fed by Sulphur Creek. In the early days of farming, the valley contained various orchards.{{cite news |title=From Randle to Cowlitz Bend |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1912/07-25/page-16 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=July 25, 1912 |page=7}}{{cite news |title=Cold Snap In Lewis County |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045604/1896-12-04/ed-1/seq-2 |access-date=June 10, 2024 |work=The Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=December 4, 1896 |page=2}}

Swofford is home to Swofford Pond, a {{convert|240|acre|ha|adj=mid}} lake. Once known as Swofford Valley Pond, it increased in size after the flooding of the surrounding region due to the creation of the Mossyrock Dam.{{cite news |last1=Mohney |first1=Russ |title=Swofford Pond offers something for everyone |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-chronicle/1999/08-27/page-8 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=August 27, 1999 |page=A8}}{{cite news |title=Second Mossyrock 'Lake" Slated |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1966/12-15/page-1 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=December 15, 1966 |page=1}} The pond was first planned as a park in the late 1960s,{{cite news |title=Mossyrock : New Look In Power |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1969/05-17/page-12/ |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=May 17, 1969 |page=2}} and the waters are accessible by boat launch. The shallow lake contains such fish species as bass, bluegill, catfish, crappie, perch, and sturgeon. Trout, specifically brown and rainbow, are stocked and the pond is usually accessible throughout the year for fishing.{{cite news |author1=The Chronicle staff |title=Swofford Pond Offers Year-Round Fishing Fun |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/swofford-pond-offers-year-round-fishing-fun,166842? |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=March 29, 2011}}

Paralleling the south shore of the pond is the Swofford Pond Trail, established over an old logging road.{{cite news |last1=Rose |first1=Buddy |title=Lowland trails offer snowless walks |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/lowland-trails-offer-snowless-walks,226609? |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=November 18, 2005}} The mostly flat, approximately {{convert|3.0|mi|adj=on}} out-and-back trail courses through a mixed coniferous and hardwood forest with several open areas. The trail provides viewing of several species of birds, such as ducks, eagles and ospreys, and the area is visited by deer, elk, and otters.{{cite news |last1=Rose |first1=Buddy |title=Swofford Pond Trail |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/swofford-pond-trail,236082? |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=November 12, 2004 |page=C1}}

Additional recreation includes a campground at Riffe Lake and Mossyrock Park.

A farming community, the early economy in Swofford centered on hog farming. Settlers drove the pigs, in a similar manner to that of cattle, to markets in Chehalis.

File:Swofford, Washington 02.jpg

The Swofford school was part of district no. 66 and enrollment was small-to-moderate, with a 1903 report listing 37 students.{{cite news |title=Swofford School Report |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/chehalis/chehalis-bee-nugget/1903/12-18/page-2 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Chehalis Bee-Nugget |date=December 18, 1903 |page=2}} The one-room schoolhouse was located on a homestead farm.{{cite news |title=Birthdays - Dorothy Powell |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-chronicle/2005/06-04/page-32 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=June 4, 2005 |page=D4}} The Swofford school building was still in use for religious gatherings in the 1950s.{{cite news |title=Sunday in the Churches - Mossyrock |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1951/02-09/page-9 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=February 9, 1951 |page=9}}

In the early days of the Swofford community, a trip to Chehalis and other towns was accomplished by use of a dirt road and travel over a wooden bridge in Mayfield. By 1900, the main route to Chehalis was a {{convert|4|in|cm|adj=on|abbr=on}} thick, {{convert|8|foot|abbr=off}} wide plank road that also contained stretches of gravel and rock.{{cite news |title=To Make A Rock Road |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/oregon/portland/portland-morning-oregonian/1900/12-11/page-4 |access-date=September 30, 2024 |work=The Morning Oregonian |date=December 11, 1900 |page=4}} The same year, the community requested the county and state fund the build of a better rock road. A county road was built beginning in 1915, connecting Swofford to local communities, such as Ajlune and Riffe, and continuing on to Morton.{{cite news |title=Get Continuous Road |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle-examiner/1915/04-23/page-4/ |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Centralia Daily Chronicle-Examnier |date=April 23, 1915 |page=4}} In continuing to develop the central Lewis County area around the Cowlitz River, Swofford joined with other nearby towns, such as Harmony, Mayfield, and Nesika, to form the Cowlitz Valley Civic League, with the intent to construct an interconnecting road system.{{cite news |title=Both Houses Pass Bills To Aid Fairs |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88085445/1917-02-22/ed-1/seq-1 |access-date=June 10, 2024 |work=Lynden Tribune |date=February 22, 1917 |page=1}} Residents in Swofford undertook the construction of a {{convert|5,000|foot|abbr=off}} drainage ditch to siphon water off the valley for additional land for farming. A county road, built over a logging route, was constructed in the mid-1950s to connect Swofford to nearby Winston Creek.{{cite news |title=From The Files Of The Chronicle |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-chronicle/2006/01-10/page-16 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Chronicle |date=January 10, 2006 |page=B6}}

Swofford Pond, beginning in 1966-1967, was originally a holding and rearing hatchery used to help offset fish losses due to difficulties in aquatic migration around the dams in the area.{{cite news |title=Cowlitz River - Fish Price : $12 million |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1966/07-21/page-1 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=July 21, 1966 |page=1}}{{cite book |title=Federal Power Commission Reports |date=1970 |publisher=United States Federal Power Commission |page=1048 |edition=Volume 35 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1wwUAQAAMAAJ |access-date=June 6, 2024}} The site was part of the larger Cowlitz Fish Hatchery project, considered at the time to be the largest such in the world.{{cite news |title=Cowlitz Fish Hatchery World's Largest |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1967/09-25/page-1 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=September 25, 1967 |page=1}}

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• [https://discoverlewiscounty.com/outdoors/swofford-pond/ Discover Lewis County - Swofford Pond]

{{Lewis County, Washington}}

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Category:Populated places in Lewis County, Washington

Category:Unincorporated communities in Lewis County, Washington

Category:Unincorporated communities in Washington (state)