Standing on a hillside and gazing west across the broad valley, one scans a panorama which looks much like it did 100 years ago. Housing developments lurk on Prune Hill, at the south edge of the valley, and subdivisions are creeping eastward through Mill Plain from the west, but Grass Valley remains sprinkled only with isolated farm dwellings.
The valley lies southwest of Lacamas lake, about three miles north of Camas. It was settled just after the Civil War.
"I think that a Colonel Knapp was probably the first settler," said John Schick, who still lives on the Grass Valley farm on which he was born 70 years ago. He said Knapp had several sons, and among them they ended up with a quiet piece of the valley.
These first settlers were farmers. Among their crops was lush grass-the vegetation that gave the area its name.
"Timothy hay grew five or six feet tall in the fields," Schick said. "They carted it to Vancouver and sold it as feed for the Army's horses and mules."
Another early crop was a blue variety of potatoes, Schick said. These were grown because they could withstand long voyages by sailing ship.
In the 1880's, prunes became the big cash crop in Grass Valley, and everyone planted trees. "We grew more prunes here than anywhere else in the world," Schick said. "You could lok in any direction and see a prune dryer."
Today, the residents of Grass Valley are still farmers , but almost all of them hold other employment, primarily in the big paper mill in Camas.
Many of the historic old farms, including Colonel Knapp's homestead, have been bought up by MacKay and MacDonald, the land developers, who are selling much of it to a giant Canadian developer.
In the meantime, sleek black Angus beef cattle continue to graze on the lush grass thatgave this valley its name.
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Clark County, Washington
