Frenchtown, Washington

Frenchtown was a settlement in the Pacific Northwest established by Métis and French Canadian fur traders in the 19th century.

[4] After most French Canadian and Métis residents were expelled in 1855, the area was largely resettled by Americans and the community closest to it was renamed Lowden in 1915.

[6] Retired Canadian Métis fur traders continued to settle and marry into the local tribes.

This would evolve into a mixed ancestry village of log cabins and Indian camps scattered over approximately 50 sq mi (130 km2).

Fifty Métis families lived in the area by 1847, as estimated by counting the number of cabins on Thomas Bergevin’s map.

The Frenchtown Métis community was shattered, with many families scattering around the Pacific Northwest and some returning to Canada.

A formal opening of the site and re-dedication of the St. Rose of Lima cemetery occurred in 2010 in collaboration with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.