On April 28, 1921, newly elected Port of Kelso commissioners are sworn into office. They were elected when Cowlitz County voters overwhelmingly approved port formation on March 19, 1921. Voting turnout was small since earlier in the week the Kelso State Bank closed, diverting attention from the election. Located on the Cowlitz River, the Port takes the name of the largest city in its district, becoming the Port of Kelso. In 1925 it will relocate to the Columbia River at Longview for its deep-draft channel potential and in 1929 citizens will vote to change its name to Port of Longview. During World War II, the Port will serve wartime needs, but for decades its economy will remain dominated by the lumber trade, with the Long-Bell Lumber Company and Weyerhaeuser prominent. In the 1990s the Port of Longview will shift to manufacturing and in 2009 will receive Port of the Year recognition for economic development efforts in recruiting Export Grain Terminal (EGT), the first such terminal built in the U.S. in the past two decades.
Port Beginnings
Both the town of Longview and the Port owe their origins to the Long-Bell Lumber Company. Company president Robert Alexander Long (1850-1934) chose a site in 1920 on 2,000 acres of waterfront property near the town of Kelso, at the confluence of the Cowlitz and Columbia rivers, to build what was then the world's largest mill. The Long-Bell Lumber Company had become a giant in the timber industry, expanding from its base in Kansas to Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and then the state of Washington. The mill began operating in July 1924 and the town of Longview grew around the mill.
Longview citizens regarded port creation as necessary to the town's growth and on March 19, 1921, voters approved the measure. Since ports were required to take the name of the largest city in their district, the port was brought into being as the Port of Kelso. T. D. Dungan, D. M. Atkins, and Elias Holbrook (1878-1957) were elected Port Commissioners, each to serve for three year. They took the oath of office on April 28, 1921.
In July 1923 Longview was formed and the Long-Bell Lumber Company officially dedicated the town on April 1, 1926, the same year that the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company purchased land from Long-Bell to build a lumber manufacturing plant.
Relocating the Port
The Kelso site on the Cowlitz River served the county well in earlier years when, from the mid-1800s, a small passenger, freight, and mail business operated using shallow-draft steamers. But larger vessels required deeper water. The new port commissioners began planning for a deep-draft harbor, impossible on the Cowlitz River site.
The issue of relocation was controversial and debate continued from 1923 into 1925. Business leaders favored relocating the Port of Kelso to the foot of Oregon Way on the Columbia River. By 1926 the Port had moved to the Longview location and port commissioners issued bonds to purchase 40 acres from the Long-Bell Lumber Company to begin construction of the first dock. On December 7, 1929, citizens voted to change the port's name to Port of Longview.
Numerous times during the prosperous 1920s, Cowlitz County citizens were called upon to vote for new Port projects. On August 1, 1925 they approved a measure to build new port facilities at the foot of Oregon Way in Longview and to expand geographic boundaries to include the northwest portion of Cowlitz County, an area of 836 square miles not including the city of Longview. On September 12, 1925, they voted to expand Port District boundaries to encompass the entire town of Longview, a measure strongly supported by Long-Bell Lumber Company and Weyerhaeuser Timber Company. Voters also approved a measure authorizing the Port to issue $11 million in development bonds. With this appropriation, the Port paved and built a new dock, which required dredging and filling.
Bust and Boom
Port development slowed during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The lumber economy declined, workers lost their jobs, and there were fewer products to export. During this time State Steamship Company vessels continued to load goods and passengers for trade with Asia. A devastating flood in 1933 caused considerable damage for Cowlitz County, but Longview was spared due to the effective dikes built by the Long-Bell Lumber Company. The company survived the flood but it was a casualty of hard times. President Robert A. Long died in 1934 and that year the Long-Bell Lumber Company filed for bankruptcy, reorganizing through the Kansas courts the following year.
World War II revived the country's economy and Cowlitz County thrived from wartime production. The Port records that 650,000 tons of cargo left Longview docks during the war years, with products including military equipment, war materials, food and supplies, tanks, aluminum, magnesium ingots, locomotives, and railroad cars.
Due to its abundance of hydroelectric power Reynolds Metals Company chose Longview for a new aluminum plant in 1941.
The Harvey Hart Era
In 1943 Harvey Hart (1906-1993) became Port manager and kept the position for 30 years, directing the Port through World War II, the postwar 1950s, and the new age of containerization that revolutionized port operations in the 1970s.
Under Hart's leadership the Port of Longview became a U.S. Port of Customs and was one of the main supply bases for lend-lease shipping to Russia during World War II, gaining about 40 percent of the U.S. trade with Russia. Three or four shiploads left for Russia each week during this time, sent from the Port's three deepwater docks. When commerce with Russia fell off drastically in postwar years, the Port found new directions. While war materials continued to be shipped during the Korean War (1951-1953), the Port of Longview brought in goods from the Midwest and the East to ship through the Port of Longview and became the first small port on the Pacific Coast to be given "Terminal Port" status. It was one of only six ports considered to be in the transpacific route, along with the ports of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Tacoma, and Seattle.
In the 1960s the Port enjoyed new prosperity. Its largest project came after purchasing 37 acres from International Paper Company (the old Long-Bell Lumber Company property) for the addition of a 4,000-foot dock, Berth 7, which accommodated six more vessels. A new bulk facility was built at Berth 5 for the Reynolds Metals Company and the Port constructed a new two-billion-bushel-capacity facility at the grain elevator, which was being leased by Continental Grain. Weyerhaeuser continued its strong timber exports.
The Age of the Container
World trade was revolutionized in the 1970s with containerization that allowed vessels to move cargo more efficiently. The Port of Longview set records at this time for warehousing, storage, and shipping and could easily connect to truck and rail for transfer of incoming goods. Timber exports continued to be strong in the 1980s with log exports to Japan, which earned recognition from the White House as they received the "E" award for Excellence in Exporting during the administration of President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004).
By the 1990s Cowlitz County and the Port began shifting economic focus from a lumber/timber economy to manufacturing. Bulk and breakbulk cargos increased and the Port worked to develop an industry park to accommodate new industry. In 1996 the Port celebrated its 75th birthday.
Planning for Growth
Anticipating future growth, the Port purchased property now known as the East Industrial Park in 1999 from International Paper Company and in 1988 the Columbia River Channel Coalition was formed between U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and six Oregon and Washington ports to deepen the Columbia River navigation channel from 40 to 43 feet in order to accommodate larger and more fuel efficient ships. The project included ecosystem restoration. Following 20 years of studies, lobbying for funds and permitting, work began in 2005 and completion of the Channel Project was celebrated in October 2010.
A $21 million Port project added an Industrial Rail Corridor in 2005, providing a direct connection from the Port to the Burlington Northern Sante Fe (BNSF) and Union Pacific rail lines and included an overpass and 3.2 miles of uninterrupted rail track.
EGT and Skyline Steel
Channel deepening and the rail connections prepared the way for new business and in 2009 the Port of Longview entered into a land lease agreement that will bring an export grain terminal to Longview, the first to be built in the United States in the past two decades. This venture is a joint project of Export Grain Terminal (EGT) Development, LLC (a partnership between Bunge North America, Inc., ITOCHU and STX Pan Ocean). EGT's investment in the project is more than $200 million with the Port providing a ship dock at a cost of $6 million. This state-of-the-art facility is expected to bring more than 250+ jobs to the Longview community.
In June 2010 the Port approved leases with IDM Longview, LLC and Skyline Steel to construct and operate a steel pipe manufacturing center in the Port's West Industrial Park. Skyline is a subsidiary of the world's largest steel manufacturer AcelorMittal and at the new facility the company will produce rolled, welded. and spiral pipe. The project is expected to add 65 family wage jobs and $100,000 a year in property tax revenue for the area.
Port of the Year and Expansion
The Washington Public Ports Association (WPPA) recognized the Port of Longview in 2009 with its Port of the Year Award, given for leadership in economic development efforts. Specifically the Port of Longview was honored for recruiting Export Grain Terminal and for construction of the Castle Rock Boat Launch, the only engineered approach on a 23-mile stretch of the popular Cowlitz River.
In October 2010 the Port increased its industrial property by 70 percent with the purchase of 306 acres of undeveloped property near the Port's existing facility on the Columbia River. Although the Port presently has no specific plans for its use, the acquisition nearly doubles its former 437 acres of industrial property. The purchase cost of $2,451,750 will be paid through non-tax-supported general revenue bonds.
Today's Port
Located 66 river miles from the Pacific Ocean, the Port of Longview is the first full-service operating port with transportation connections on the Columbia River shipping channel. Port facilities include eight marine terminals (berths) and industrial property with direct connections to main-line rail and interstate highway. Cargo handling specialties include all types of bulk cargos and breakbulk commodities, including steel, logs, project and heavy-lift cargo. One of Washington's 11 deep-draft ports, the Port of Longview is now the state's sixth busiest port.
In 2011 the Port's business partners included EGT, LLC, BP, Brown-Strauss Steel, GE Energy, International Salt Company, Kinder Morgan Terminals, Longview Timber, North American Pipe and Steel, Siemens Power Generation, Weyerhaeuser, and U.S. Cellular. Both 2008 and 2009 were record business years for the Port of Longview. Port Commission president Bob Bagaason stated, "In this tough economic market, the Port of Longview is holding strong" (Port of Longview website).
