It was incorporated in 1905, with booming lumber, railway, and farming industries creating the early foundation of the community.

[7] In 1818, the United States and Great Britain agreed to a treaty of joint occupancy in the Oregon Country, which included the land that would eventually become Oakville, Washington.

[8] In 1850, the land in the area was mainly open prairie, maintained by yearly fires started deliberately by local tribes, which kept the forest from encroaching and which encouraged the bloom of camas, a staple food, and other plants.

[9] The prairie lands were attractive to settlers arriving in the area, helped by the indigenous people, and towns began to be platted up and down the Chehalis River.

[9] The leader of the party, James Reed Harris, had purchased the donation claim for the area from John Hole for $1200.

[9] He applied for a post office, and after some discussion, it was decided to use the name "Oakville," inspired by the Garry oak trees in the area.

[11] Logging and railroad construction soon brought other settlers to the area; the plat of the city site was filed on September 27, 1887.

[9] By the turn of the century, a Northern Pacific train station had been established in the city, and the area had several general stores, a new school, and a couple of hotels.

Oakville is a growing town and will develop more rapidly as the resources of the surrounding district are more thoroughly exploited.

[16] On August 7, 1994, a resident reported that a translucent, gelatinous substance had rained down in the night; she expressed concern that it may have caused her and her mother to become ill, and speculated it may have been the reason her kitten died.

[22][dubious – discuss] Several theories were given by residents, including wondering whether the substance might have been waste from a commercial plane toilet or whether it may have been particles of deceased jellyfish that had evaporated and been incorporated into a rain cloud.

[27] The incident received coverage in several media outlets, including The New York Times,[24] and a segment was produced about the event for an episode of Unsolved Mysteries, Monsters and Mysteries in America,[22][27] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.50 square miles (1.29 km2), all of it land.

Both of these floods were federally declared disasters due to the extensive damage to human life, livestock, and property in the region.

The tribe offers many services to its members in the community, helping to maintain the cultural heritage of the area.

Founded in August 1923 in Porter, Washington, the association moved to Oakville after taking residence in the Sharon schoolhouse.

[10] The city has commemorated the Oakville State Bank robbery throughout the years by hosting reenactments of the crime, with groups competing to give the best performance.

[38] The area surrounding the city is host to a variety of outdoor activities, with boating, fishing, and swimming taking place in the Chehalis and Black rivers to the south, and hiking, hunting, camping, horseback riding, and mountain biking in Capitol State Forest to the north.

The Oakville Regional Event Center hosts a variety of competitions, from rodeos to adventure races.

The city also maintains a municipal court, a cemetery, water utility, and a fire department.

The $5.6 million measure covered the cost of a new elementary building and help to refurbish several areas at the high school.

A separate, small schools modernization grant of $4.6 million covered additional upgrades on the campus.

[44] Additional programs, funded separately from the construction bond by business, charity, and government grants, were implemented during the time, such as the beginnings of a preschool curriculum, additional building upgrades and renovations, and the creation of a library at the elementary building.