Curtis is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in the U.S. state of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. It is located less than 3 miles north of Boistfort, and is south of

Washington State Route 6 State Route 6 (SR 6) is a long State highways in Washington, state highway in Pacific County, Washington, Pacific and Lewis County, Washington, Lewis counties in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The highway, which e ...

. The South Fork Chehalis River flows through the town.

History

A post office has been in operation since 1901 inside the Curtis General Store. Benjamin L. Curtis, the first postmaster of the area, built the store and gave the community his name. At its founding, the town's economy was based on logging and farming, particularly

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...

. The Klaber Hop Fields (Farm) once existed in Curtis, overlapping with the communities of Boistfort and Klaber. Recorded at , it was the largest hops field in the world for a time.

Arts and culture

Historic buildings and sites

Curtis is home to two listings on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, the Boistfort High School and the Wolfenbarger Site. A railroad

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

existed in Curtis but was removed in 1975 in favor of a steel girder crossing.

Education

The community once had a two-room schoolhouse. Curtis students are now served by the Boistfort School District and the Boistfort Consolidated School.

Government and politics

Politics

Curtis has historically voted Republican and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

. As this is an

, there are no defined bounds, and the precinct may be incongruous with the census boundaries. The 2020 election included two votes for candidates of the Libertarian Party and two votes for write-in candidates.

Notable people

* Warren A. Taylor, first Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives

References

Populated places in Lewis County, Washington Unincorporated communities in Lewis County, Washington Unincorporated communities in Washington (state) {{LewisCountyWA-geo-stub