[6] The area around present-day Washougal was originally home to the Watlala, an indigenous Chinookan-speaking group with settlements along the Columbia River.

English sailor Richard Ough (also spelled Howe) built a home in what would become present-day Washougal sometime between 1838 and 1841; he had arrived in the area to work at Fort Vancouver for the Hudson's Bay Company and later married the daughter of Cascade Chinook chief Schluyhus.

Ough was followed in 1844 by a cohort led by David C. Parker, who built Parker's Landing and claimed 580 acres (230 ha) under the Donation Land Claim Act; among the settlers was George Bush, among the first African American settlers in the Pacific Northwest.

[7] Parker's Landing, later renamed Parkersville, unsuccessfully applied for incorporation in 1852 or 1854; by this time, it had a hotel, bar, and a store and was a trading post along the river.

[8] A portion of Ough's own claim was sold to Joseph E. C. Durgin, who established a townsite in 1880 that was named Washougal; the new settlement overtook Parkersville and was platted on May 6, 1880.

[6] Washougal was connected to the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway in 1908 and was incorporated in November of that year.

[7][9] A new east–west highway along the Columbia River (now part of State Route 14) opened in 1927 and aided development of summer homes and recreation areas near Washougal.

[10][11] In the mid-to-late 20th century, Washougal became a bedroom community for workers in Vancouver and Portland, but grew slower than neighboring Camas.

[citation needed] Washougal is located 18 miles (29 km) east of Vancouver on the north bank of the Columbia River.

The Washougal River, a tributary of the Columbia, runs along the north side of downtown and separates the city from neighboring Camas.

[12] This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F (22 °C).

There is also recreational fishing on the Washougal River, where steelhead trout and salmon flourish.