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Rainier Valley Historical Society's roots go back to 1891, when the families who bought the first lots in Columbia City gathered to celebrate the founding of their community.
The "Columbia Pioneers" continued to meet every April for 100 years. During that time they gathered an extensive collection of photographs documenting the early years of Columbia City and Rainier Valley.
In 1993 the group reorganized and became Rainier Valley Historical Society. RVHS inherited the mantle of the Columbia Pioneers, along with their collection of historic photographs, documents, and artifacts. RVHS has continued to expand their archives, which now includes more than 30,000 photographs, documents, artifacts, and oral histories.
Through projects such as Dismantling Racism Series, Images of America: Rainier Valley, Rainier Valley Food Stories, Looking Into Courtland Place, Double Exposures, Hidden Stream of Columbia City, Hillman City Time Capsule, and Honored to Serve, we have involved Rainier Valley neighbors in gathering and sharing more stories about our community's unique history.
