Where the River Road Begins
Old Evergreen Highway is one of those Vancouver neighborhoods that feels less like a subdivision and more like a landscape with memories layered into it. Tucked between State Route 14 and the Columbia River, the neighborhood follows the historic road that gives it its name. Towering evergreens, open wetlands, river views, railroad tracks, and long-established homes create a setting that feels surprisingly rural for a neighborhood within the Vancouver area.
The Old Evergreen Highway neighborhood is generally associated with the Columbia River corridor east of Interstate 205, stretching along Evergreen Highway toward the Camas and Washougal area. Its character comes from that narrow geography: the river to the south, the modern highway to the north, and an older road winding through trees and historic properties in between.
The City of Vancouver describes the corridor as a place known for Columbia River and Mount Hood views, historic homes, lush vegetation, wetlands, and a continuing rural atmosphere. Those qualities remain central to what makes the neighborhood special today. ([cityofvancouver.us](https://www.cityofvancouver.us/community/neighborhoods/neighborhoods-list/?utm_source=openai))
The Story Behind the Name
Old Evergreen Highway takes its name from Evergreen Highway, the historic east-west route that parallels the Columbia River. The name reflects both the dense evergreen landscape of the region and the longstanding identity of Washington as the Evergreen State.
The highway’s name was not always universally accepted. In the 1920s, civic leaders promoted “Evergreen Highway” as a regional name, while communities along the route debated how the road should be identified. A 1928 account describes the Vancouver Chamber of Commerce considering an endorsement of the Evergreen Highway name, amid disagreement from leaders in Camas and Washougal. ([gorgefriends.org](https://gorgefriends.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Magazine-Winter-1993.pdf?utm_source=openai))
Over time, “Evergreen Highway” became the familiar name for the road. As newer, faster routes were built nearby—including State Route 14—the older riverside road became known as Old Evergreen Highway. The word “old” is not merely a distinction on a map; it recognizes that this route predates the modern highway system and still preserves the scale and scenery of an earlier era.
A Road Before the Automobile Age
Long before motorists traveled the road, the Columbia River corridor was shaped by Indigenous communities, river travel, fishing, seasonal movement, and established trails. The route that eventually became Old Evergreen Highway followed a landscape already connected by Native paths and later settlement roads.
By the early twentieth century, Vancouver and the surrounding communities were growing rapidly. Timber, shipping, railroads, agriculture, and manufacturing all influenced life along the Columbia River. The road became increasingly important as automobiles changed how people traveled through Clark County.
Concrete sections of Evergreen Highway still carry date stamps from as early as 1918. These small marks are easy to overlook, but they are among the neighborhood’s most tangible historical details. They show the transition from older wagon and dirt routes to durable paved roads built for the automobile age. The road is often described as one of Clark County’s oldest paved highways, and it remains a popular bicycle route. ([cityofvancouver.us](https://www.cityofvancouver.us/community/neighborhoods/neighborhoods-list/?utm_source=openai))
For longtime residents, those old concrete slabs tell a story in their own quiet way. They connect today’s walkers, cyclists, commuters, and neighbors with the generations who first traveled the route by early automobile.
Fisher’s Cemetery and the First Settlers
One of the most important historic landmarks in the neighborhood is Fisher’s Cemetery, located near SE 164th Avenue and Old Evergreen Highway. It is a small pioneer burial ground with a headstone dating to 1850 and is considered one of the oldest settlers’ cemeteries in Clark County.
The cemetery is associated with early families who lived and worked along the Columbia River corridor. Unlike a large formal cemetery, Fisher’s Cemetery has an intimate, almost hidden quality. Its presence reminds visitors that the neighborhood’s history is not limited to grand public buildings or famous events. It is also preserved in family names, weathered stones, and the resting places of people who helped establish the surrounding community.
The cemetery is administered by the Fishers Cemetery Association, and its setting remains closely tied to the landscape that surrounded the earliest settlements: trees, open ground, water, and working roads. ([cityofvancouver.us](https://www.cityofvancouver.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/final_final_eoehna_nap_oct2011.pdf?utm_source=openai))
Timber, Railroads, and Industry
The Old Evergreen Highway corridor also developed alongside the timber industry. The neighborhood’s early history included one of the Northwest’s earliest sawmills, located east of Fisher’s Cemetery. Timber operations helped shape the economy of the lower Columbia River, while the railroad provided a practical way to move lumber and other goods.
Today, the BNSF Railway line runs parallel to the river and Old Evergreen Highway in several stretches. The trains are a familiar part of the neighborhood’s soundscape, just as whistles and industrial activity would have been for earlier generations. Although rail transportation no longer defines the local economy in the same way, the tracks remain a visible reminder of Vancouver’s industrial and transportation heritage.
The combination of highway, railroad, river, and mill history gives Old Evergreen Highway an unusually layered identity. It has always been a place where people, products, and ideas moved through the region.
Wetlands, Trails, and River Views
The neighborhood’s heritage is also natural. Mimsi Marsh, a wetland within the corridor, provides habitat for mallards, wood ducks, and other wildlife. Wetlands and small tributaries appear throughout the area, helping preserve the feeling of a river landscape even as homes and transportation routes have expanded.
Near the western end of the neighborhood, the Evergreen Highway Trail at Columbia Springs provides access to a larger regional trail system. The trail begins at the Columbia Springs Environmental Education Center and connects with routes extending along the Columbia River and toward Oregon City. Columbia Springs itself is an important local institution, combining environmental education, habitat restoration, and public access to the waterways that have shaped Vancouver’s history. ([cityofvancouver.us](https://www.cityofvancouver.us/parks_trails/evergreen-highway-trail-at-columbia-springs/?utm_source=openai))
For residents, these natural spaces are more than scenery. They help explain why the neighborhood developed in a relatively low-density pattern and why its historic atmosphere remains so strong.
How the Neighborhood Has Changed
During the middle decades of the twentieth century, more homes appeared along and near Old Evergreen Highway. Some were modest mid-century residences, while others were larger houses set among mature landscaping. The City of Vancouver’s neighborhood profile notes that many newer homes were built in the 1940s and 1950s, with some original owners remaining in place for decades. ([cityofvancouver.us](https://www.cityofvancouver.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/final_final_eoehna_nap_oct2011.pdf?utm_source=openai))
Later development introduced newer residential enclaves, including communities such as Steamboat Landing and Rivercrest. These newer properties brought updated construction and higher-density pockets, but they did not erase the corridor’s essential identity. Mature trees, historic road sections, river views, and the presence of older homes continue to shape the neighborhood.
State Route 14 has also changed how people experience the area. The modern highway provides a faster regional connection, while Old Evergreen Highway remains the slower, scenic route. In many ways, the two roads represent different eras of transportation: one designed for speed and regional mobility, the other retaining the curves, trees, and river-oriented character of an earlier Vancouver.
A Neighborhood Worth Taking Slowly
Old Evergreen Highway is special because its history is still part of everyday life. A cyclist can pass concrete stamped in 1918, a driver can glimpse the Columbia River through the trees, and a short walk can lead to a pioneer cemetery, a wetland, or a trail connected to Columbia Springs.
The neighborhood has changed from a rural industrial corridor into a desirable riverside residential area, but it has not lost its sense of place. Its historic homes, railroad line, wetlands, cemetery, and enduring road all contribute to a story that is easy to feel even when every detail is not immediately visible.
For anyone exploring Vancouver’s neighborhoods, Old Evergreen Highway is best experienced slowly. Follow the road, notice the trees, look for the old pavement, and remember that beneath the modern homes and traffic patterns is one of the region’s oldest continuous landscapes—a river road still carrying Vancouver’s past into the present.