Walluski [wôl•æ•skɪ]

1. Wallooskee River: a winding, 10-mile tributary of the Youngs River that flows downhill southwest of Astoria to dump into the river at the mouth of Youngs Bay.

2. Olney-Walluski: common name of the unincorporated territory due south of Astoria on the Nehalem Highway, which includes the Olney-Walluski Fire & Rescue district.

Though never a proper town or settlement, Walluski was a census district until 1950. The Walluski School served the area between 1892 until it burned down in September 1921 in an accident involving students emptying the wood stove at the end of the day. The area was the former location of the Clatsop County Poor Farm, where the indigent, disabled and aged traded labor for room, board and medical care. Walluski has also been the site of Oregon State University’s Astor Agricultural Experiment Station, Clatsop Community College’s farm and is currently home to the Clatsop County Fairgrounds.

3. Walluski Western: a local farm machinery and equipment manufacturer, specializing in silage baggers. Founded by Steve Cullen, the company is now more widely known as the Versa Corporation.

4. Walluski Soil: a government-recognized soil series whose source is located 500 feet west of Lewis and Clark Road.

The area takes its name from Wallooska, head of a small band of Clatsop Indians, who, as the sole surviving member of his family, ceded his land — which stretched as far south as Saddle Mountain — to the U.S. Government in August 1851 in exchange for cash, merchandise and other miscellany totaling $1,800. The land was desirable for being rich in timber, and a mill was soon constructed. Wallooska was also permitted to live out the rest of his days upon the land. The area and river were subsequently known as Walluski until the Board of Geographic Names officially changed the spelling of the river to “Wallooskee” in 1975, though businesses, roads and organizations continue to use the former spelling, which many locals appear to prefer.

“U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici has secured a provision in the federal Water Resources Development Act to clear the way for restoration of 52 acres of wetlands along the Walluski River by the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce.”

—Edward Stratton, “Federal legislation helps local wetland project,” The Daily Astorian, Monday, June 11, 2018

“The Walluski schoolhouse in district No. 26, near the Astor experiment station, was destroyed by fire about 6:30 o’clock last night. The loss was about $1200 on the building and $1000 on the contents, with $800 insurance.”

—“Walluski School Burns,” The Sunday Oregonian, Sunday, Sept. 25, 1921, P. 6