Toledo, located a few miles off of Interstate 5 at exit 63, was built on the bank of the Cowlitz River and became populous in the 1880s and 1890s due to that auspicious location.
Toledo celebrated its annual Cheese Days event on Saturday, July 11, 2009. Photos by Jesse Smith
Through the 1890s several mills and factories came into town, including a flour mill, sawmill and furniture factory. The seemingly perfect location along the river, however, held one major disadvantage: sizable floods hit the town in 1896, 1906 and 1933. A lack of railroads through the town also hurt, and growth sputtered out around 1912.
The city currently has a population of around 700 and includes a rustic downtown area with several eateries and a locally-owned grocery store.
The big event in town is the annual Toledo Cheese Days, a four-day festival in remembrance of a cheese factory that closed down in the 1940s.
The big cheeses are a featured part of Toledo’s annual Cheese Days, a celebration harkening back to the days when a cheese factory was a big part of the business community there. Photo by The Chronicle.
The celebration includes a frog jumping contest, parade and, of course, free cheese sandwiches. 2010 Cheese Days start on Friday, July 9 and run until Sunday, July 11.
Visitors to Toledo can drive by the historic St. Mary’s Center, a former all-girls Catholic school now owned by the Cowlitz Indian Tribe. The center is a few miles north of town along Jackson Highway.
For more adventurous souls, Toledo offers the chance to jump out of a moving plane. Skydive! Toledo, one of the oldest continuously operated parachuting centers, offers training courses and a variety of packages for prospective jumpers. Call 1-800-531-JUMP for more information or go to skydivetoledo.com